Hankook Tire to Sponsor the USTCC

WAYNE, NJ (February 22, 2005) - Hankook Tire America Corp., in conjunction with the United States Touring Car Championship, has announced the signing of a three-year agreement that installs Hankook Tire as the official Title Sponsor of USTCC Series races through 2008. The agreement was announced by Mr. J. W. Choi, President and CEO of Hankook Tire America Corp. at Hankook's Wayne, New Jersey U.S. headquarters.

With this far-reaching agreement and as Title Sponsor, Hankook will provide its Ventus line of High Performance Tires as spec tires to drivers racing in a variety of venues in USTCC competition. Created in 2000, the USTCC features racing among popular sport compact sedans, with close to 100 makes and models of sport compact sedans eligible to participate in USTCC competition.

Hankook will provide its popular Ventus RSS R-Compound Racing Tire for 2005 series events. The Hankook logo will be prominent at each racing venue, and on competitors' vehicles. "The USTCC is another great opportunity for more and more National Auto Sport Association (NASA) competitors to experience the quality and performance of Hankook racing tires" says Doug Reed, Hankook Motorsports Programs Manager. "It’s our first major investment with a NASA sanctioned series and we’re happy to be on board.

Participating cars all use 4-cylinder and 6-cylinder engines putting out about 170-250 horsepower. The cars use mostly stock engines with bolt-on parts such as headers, throttle bodies, computers, air intakes, etc. Suspension modifications allow replacement of shocks, springs and sway bars while maintaining factory suspension mounting points. Bigger brakes are permitted.

The 2005 USTCC racing season gets under way March 12-13 at California Speedway in Fontana, CA. The series consists of 13 racing events at some of the finest road racing facilities in America and wraps up at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, CA October 29-30.

"I am delighted to announce this agreement between Hankook Tire and the USTCC," Mr. Choi says. "Hankook is dedicated to expanding our motorsports activities both as a demonstration of our technology, as well as our brand building marketing campaign. We look forward to a productive relationship with the USTCC - and to excellent competition over the next three years."

The new spec tire is a new tire to the US that in testing has proven to be faster than the previous tires and is also priced much lower. "This is indeed wonderful news for all USTCC teams. We were looking for more than just a tire provider. We were looking for a partner and we have a great supporter in Hankook Tire America." Said Ali Arsham, Series Coordinator of the USTCC. "We are always looking for ways to lower the cost of racing for our teams. Racing is never cheap but anything we can do as the administration to help lower costs is always a good thing. The Ventus RSS211 costs less, is faster and seems to last as long as what we were using before." Added Arsham.

Hankook Tire is a technology-focused, market-driven company with manufacturing facilities around the world and research and development on three continents. Hankook Tire manufactures and markets a full range of Passenger, High Performance, Ultra-High Performance, Light and Medium Truck, Winter Radial, Original Equipment, and Truck and Bus Radial Tires.

For more information, contact: Bill Bainbridge Marketing Director Hankook Tire America Corp. 1-800-HANKOOK ext. 125 Email: wbainbridge@hankooktireusa.com