Pirelli to supply Euroformula Open tyres after Hankook factory fire

The Eurofomula Open championship will move to Pirelli tyres midway through the 2023 season after a factory fire set back production for regular supplier Hankook.

Pirelli will join the Euroformula Open championship as tyre supplier with immediate effect. (Supplied)

The fire at the Daejeon factory in March left 11 people injured and destroyed parts of the factory, which produced around a fifth of the South Korean brand’s international supply, according to The Korea Economic Daily.

Pirelli has stepped in for the remainder of the 2023 Euroformula Open season as a “contingency” tyre supplier.

“It just proves how professional and how passionate about the sports they are,” said Jesus Pareja, CEO of GT Sport, who operate the Euroformula Open series.

“Pirelli, with its history, the technological edge of its products, and the quality of its customer service, is a true reference in motorsports and we are happy and proud to start this collaboration. The common wish is to expand it for the years to come and we see this technical partnership as one of the assets that will allow us to craft the future of the Euroformula Open.”

Fire destroyed parts of the Hankook Daejeon plant in March. (Arirang)

It is not the only series forced to find a replacement for Hankook tyres, with the Japanese Super Taikyu series moving to Bridgestone for the remainder of 2023, including the Fuji 24 Hours later in May, reports Motorsport.com.

The Euroformula Open series has also presented issues for promoter GT Sport this year, having to abandon this weekend’s Pau Grand Prix due to fuel requirements, and facing stiff competition for entries with the new Eurocup-3 series.