Deal announced at 2026 SEMA Show in Las Vegas

First WRC round title sponsorship for Hankook Tire

From left: Marc de Jong, WRC Rally US project leader; Matt Crews, Rally US CEO; Rob Williams, Hankook Tire North America COO; and Hong Seung-hwan, Hankook Tire North America marketing executive vice president, pose after signing the Hankook Rally US title sponsorship agreement at the 2026 SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Tuesday (local time). [Hankook Tire & Technology]
From left: Marc de Jong, WRC Rally US project leader; Matt Crews, Rally US CEO; Rob Williams, Hankook Tire North America COO; and Hong Seung-hwan, Hankook Tire North America marketing executive vice president, pose after signing the Hankook Rally US title sponsorship agreement at the 2026 SEMA Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Tuesday (local time). [Hankook Tire & Technology]

Hankook Tire & Technology announced Thursday that it has signed an official title sponsorship agreement for Round 11 of the 2027 FIA World Rally Championship, the US Rally.

The company signed the deal at a ceremony held Tuesday (local time) at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the 2026 SEMA Show. Representatives from Hankook Tire, the WRC promoter and the Rally US organizing committee attended the signing.

Under the agreement, Hankook Tire secured naming rights to the event, which will be held under the official title "Hankook Rally US." The company said this marks its first title sponsorship of a WRC round.

The US Rally will be the first WRC round held in the United States in 39 years, since the Olympus Rally in Washington state in 1988. Scheduled for Aug. 25 to 29, 2027, the event will be contested on gravel roads across Tennessee and Kentucky. Knoxville, Tennessee, will serve as the operational hub, while the ceremonial start is planned for Nashville, where Hankook Tire's North American headquarters is located.

Hankook Tire plans to display its brand logo on competitive stages, fan zones and podium backdrops to expand its reach among North American motorsport fans. The company also intends to use the event as an opportunity to strengthen communication and cooperation with key customers and partners.

Meanwhile, Hankook Tire has been the exclusive tire supplier for all WRC classes since the 2025 season. The company continues to supply tires exclusively and sponsor competing teams across more than 70 motorsport events worldwide, using performance data gathered at races to support its research and development efforts.


eyre@heraldcorp.com