Hankook Tire played its role as the exclusive tyre supplier to the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship to perfection at the series’ recent visit to Saudi Arabia for a double-header event under the floodlights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. The company’s Hankook iON Race tyre was put to the test across two nights of intense racing, where driver precision and tyre durability were critical factors. In the first of the two rounds, Pascal Wehrlein of the Porsche Formula E Team claimed victory by combining consistent speed with clever positioning on the fast and challenging street circuit. The following evening, António Félix Da Costa of Jaguar TCS Racing took the win in a race that demanded careful attention to both energy consumption and tyre preservation until the very end.

The Jeddah circuit, measuring just over three kilometres and featuring 19 turns, is designed to complement Formula E’s unique braking and energy recovery systems. It offers a mix of long straights and demanding technical sections that place significant stress on tyres. Throughout both races, the Hankook iON Race tyre demonstrated its ability to maintain strong grip under heavy loads while managing heat effectively and supporting low rolling resistance. These characteristics are vital in a championship where tyre behaviour directly influences energy strategy and overall race outcomes.

In the days following the races, Formula E hosted its EVO Sessions 2 programme, inviting a group of international digital creators to experience the GEN3 Evo race car on the same circuit. The initiative, which first launched after last year’s Miami E-Prix, has generated substantial online engagement and provided additional visibility for Hankook’s tyre technology. Participants including Khaby Lame and Behzinga took part in driving sessions, while others assumed team principal roles for the event. The Hankook iON Race once again proved its capability by delivering strong traction and stability during these high-speed demonstrations.

Looking ahead, the championship will resume in Madrid on 21 March 2026 with a race at the Circuito de Madrid Jarama. This more compact and technically demanding permanent track will present a fresh challenge, with Hankook’s iON Race tyre continuing to serve as the foundation for competitive and sustainable racing.

Manfred Sandbichler, Senior Director, Hankook Motorsport, said, “Jeddah under the lights produced two demanding races with their own strategic patterns. Across both rounds, the iON Race demonstrated stable and consistent performance in conditions where track behaviour and tyre temperatures evolved through each session. Such tyre predictability is essential in helping teams execute their strategies on such a fast and technically complex circuit, and the data gathered here will feed directly into our ongoing iON development programme.”

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Hankook Tire, the official tyre supplier for the FIA World Rally Championship, successfully concluded the fourth round of the 2026 WRC season. The Croatia Rally took place near Rijeka and finished on 12 April, with Hankook equipping competitors using its Ventus Z215 and Z210 tarmac tyres. The Ventus Z215 proved especially effective on dry pavement, delivering responsive handling and dependable grip that helped drivers navigate constantly shifting course conditions throughout the event.

This year’s rally featured a brand‑new route winding along the Adriatic coast and through rugged mountain landscapes. Covering 300.28 kilometres divided into 20 special stages, the competition crossed the Kvarner Gulf and the Istrian peninsula, demanding maximum effort from both drivers and teams. The event is notoriously challenging due to extreme variations in road surfaces, including smooth asphalt, rough concrete and patched areas, plus numerous blind crests. Aggressive cornering frequently dragged gravel onto the tarmac, temporarily changing traction and forcing precise tyre choices.

Hankook also ran a Brand World booth in the service park, using immersive motorsport content and interactive activities to highlight its unified global brand identity to fans. After a fierce battle, Takamoto Katsuta of Toyota Gazoo Racing claimed the overall victory. With this result, Katsuta now leads the drivers’ championship with 81 points, while Elfyn Evans trails closely, raising the stakes for the season title.

The championship next moves to the Rally Islas Canarias in Spain from 23 to 26 April, centred in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. That round is expected to be a major test with volcanic asphalt, consecutive hairpin turns, and steep elevation changes. Since becoming the exclusive WRC tyre supplier for all classes in 2025, Hankook has reinforced its technological leadership by feeding data from over 70 global motorsport events into its research and development, continuously advancing high‑performance tyre technology and strengthening its brand prestige worldwide.

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Pirelli has confirmed that its three softest tyre compounds will be in action for the upcoming Sprint race weekends in Miami and Montreal. For both circuits, the C3, C4 and C5 specifications will serve as the Hard, Medium and Soft options, respectively, marking a clear choice towards maximum grip on these particular tracks.

The Miami Grand Prix, scheduled for the first weekend of May, will take place after a month‑long hiatus caused by the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian rounds. The circuit, built around the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins, features exceptionally smooth asphalt, which permits the use of Formula 1’s softest compounds. Thermal degradation is the main concern given Florida’s high temperatures, yet last year’s race showed limited tyre wear even with nominally identical compounds. This allowed drivers to push aggressively during the early laps, leading to numerous close battles on track.

In Canada later that month, Pirelli will again bring the softest selection because the Montreal surface is not very abrasive and extra grip is needed in heavy braking zones. Last season, when the range extended up to a C6 tyre, the trio including that option was used, though the soft compound itself played a minor role in race strategies as most teams preferred two‑stop plans relying solely on Hard and Medium tyres. Unlike Miami, the Canadian round introduces an unpredictable weather factor, especially given its earlier position on the calendar.

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Bekaert expects market conditions to remain mixed into 2026, with subdued demand across construction, hydrogen, and some industrial segments, along with ongoing uncertainty about global trade policies and tariffs. However, strong order books in energy and utilities, especially in Europe and North America, and stable demand in selected automotive segments in China should help offset weaker end markets.

Management indicated that structural cost improvements and focus on cash generation position Bekaert to improve margins as volumes recover. The company will prioritise growth through innovation, acquisitions, and further optimisation toward higher-margin activities.

Bekaert reported resilient 2025 results driven by cost controls, portfolio restructuring, and strong cash generation, despite weaker end markets.

The group posted consolidated sales of €3.7bn for the year, down 6% on a reported basis, reflecting currency effects, lower pass-through of input costs, and the disposal of lower-margin businesses. Underlying earnings before interest and tax were €297m, with a margin of 8.0%, compared with 8.8% a year earlier.

Profitability was supported by structural cost reductions and operational efficiencies, including a €40m cut in overheads and €39m in production savings. However, the company booked €162m in one-off restructuring and impairment charges as it adjusted its footprint to weaker demand.

Cash generation remained a highlight, with free cash flow rising 63% to €314m. Net debt fell to €180m, leaving leverage at 0.4 times EBITDA, reflecting a stronger balance sheet and disciplined capital management.

Investment and capital allocation

Bekaert continued to deploy capital selectively to support growth and efficiency. Capital expenditure included investments to expand capacity in high-demand segments such as energy and utilities, especially in North America, as well as equipment upgrades across its global footprint.

R&D investment totaled €69m in 2025, targeting sustainable construction, energy transition, and advanced materials to back the innovation agenda.

Alongside organic investment, acquisitions remained central to strategy. The company acquired Twincon and Flexofibers to strengthen its position in sustainable construction, and announced in early 2026 an agreement to acquire two tyre cord plants from Bridgestone.

Portfolio restructuring and expansion

Bekaert accelerated its shift to higher-margin and growth markets by exiting commoditised businesses in Latin America, cutting the region’s sales share to about 4% from 18% in 2022.

At the same time, the company expanded into targeted segments, including sustainable construction, lifting and mooring, and energy transition. Strategic partnerships and innovation initiatives—including developments in hydrogen, low-carbon construction materials and advanced rope technologies—continue to underpin this repositioning.

Geographically, the group maintained a broad global footprint, with demand growth strongest in China and North America, particularly in energy infrastructure and automotive applications.

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Bulloch County, Georgia, is testing an innovative road foundation method that extends pavement life, lowers upkeep costs and reuses large volumes of scrap tyres. This pilot project is upgrading one of the county’s busiest dirt roads, Five Chop Road near Statesboro, with support from a state environmental grant.

The county partnered with Liberty Tire Recycling and Century Road Solutions to install mechanical concrete on a 0.58-mile (approximately 0.93 km) stretch. Funding comes from a USD 250,000 Tire Products Grant from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. Mechanical concrete locks stone gravel into place using recycled tyre components. Scrap tyres are processed into honeycomb-like structures, laid along the roadbed and filled with aggregate, preventing shifting, erosion and potholes.

The surface remains flat with minimal upkeep. The technology has over 15 years of proven use on industrial and mining roads without follow up repairs. An estimated 200,000 recycled tyres have been reused in Georgia through this process. Reduced grading and resurfacing needs lower long-term costs. Bulloch County estimates paving one mile (approximately 1.61 km) of asphalt costs USD 1 million, whereas mechanical concrete can improve nearly two miles (approximately 3.22 km) for the same price.

County leaders will monitor durability before expanding use. A partnership with Georgia Southern University’s asphalt programme is being explored to independently study long-term performance. With 638 miles (approximately 1026.76 km) of dirt roads countywide, even modest maintenance savings would be substantial. If the technology proves effective, it will continue.

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