FFF Commits to Nürburgring Campaign with Hankook

Former Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS title-winning squad FFF Racing Team has confirmed that it will contest the NLS and Nürburgring 24 this year.

The Chinese-owned team, which operates its program out of Italy, will run a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo on the Nordschleife in partnership with tire company Hankook.

The entry will be known as Hankook FFF Racing Team, while a driver lineup has yet to be announced.

FFF made its NLS debut last year running a Lamborghini on Hankooks in a single race, while team principal and driver Andrea Caldarelli told Sportscar365 of evaluations for a future Nürburgring program following that toe-in-the-water effort.

Two Lamborghini teams are now set to contest next season’s NLS, with Konrad Motorsport having already declared its intentions to return with a single Huracan GT3 Evo.

Konrad was the only team to run a Lamborghini full-time in 2020.

“The Nürburgring is a home venue for Hankook,” said Manfred Sandbichler, Hankook’s European Motorsport director.

“We have completed countless test kilometers and entered many races at this circuit, in all kinds of weather.

“With our years of experience at the circuit in the Eifel Mountains, together with FFF Racing Team, which is very successful in GT3 racing, we are really looking forward to the 49th edition of the ADAC Total 24-hour race – particularly as the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo is more than capable of winning.

“I am delighted with this new partnership and I am sure that it will prove successful at the Nürburgring, in one of the most prestigious and difficult endurance races in the world.”

FFF’s announcement of its Nürburgring venture included mentions of the team returning to the Total 24 Hours of Spa and the Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli, which starts at the Belgian enduro at the end of July.

It is currently unclear what the team’s plans are for GTWC Europe, which it has contested since 2019 when it won a landmark championship triple across the overall, Endurance Cup and Sprint Cup competitions.

“I’m really happy to start the 2021 season with a new important partnership,” said FFF Racing Team owner Fu Songyang.

“Having Hankook with us is of great motivation to the whole team in its quest for excellence.

“I have personally always been fascinated by the atmosphere of endurance racing, and the Nordschleife has a very special and strong reputation.

“Approaching this journey with a partner such as Hankook gives us a great sense of confidence ahead of what will be also the first time that a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo will be present in the series with a high-level full campaign.”