Kumho Tire announced Thursday it has successfully sponsored the opening race of the Touring Car Racing World Tour, a renowned motorsport competition promoted by WSC Group that took place April 29-30 at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal.

Signing a three-year title sponsorship deal with WSC last February, Kumho sponsored all the racing tires in the drivers’ cars for the competition, leading to dynamic races.

Prestigious carmakers such as Audi, Honda and Hyundai Motor have shown their presence in the Portuguese competition in some of the best touring cars -- the Audi RS 3 LMS TCR, the Honda Civic Type R and the Hyundai Elantra N TCR -- that vied for the winning trophy. Showing high-quality matches, the opening races served as a testament to Kumho’s world-class technological prowess and competitiveness.

All the cars participating in the competition are mounted with Kumho’s Ecsta S700, a racing tire that delivers excellent traction and stable driving at high speeds, and the Ecsta W701, a racing tire designed to enable high-speed driving on wet roads.

Portugal’s Algarve International Circuit created exhilarating races due to its acute angles in the corners and rollercoaster-like undulations. Norbert Michelisz of the BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse team claimed first place in the first round of the Tour.

“The challenging setting at the Algarve International Circuit in Portugal gave us an opportunity to prove the outstanding performance of our tires,” Kumho Tire’s Senior Vice President of Global Marketing Yoon Jang-hyuk said.

“We will keep supporting drivers participating in the next races of the Kumho TCR World Tour in other continents, and will continue strengthening our reputation as a manufacturer of high-performance tires.”

With the opening races kicking off in Portugal, the Tour will take place in seven regions on four continents: Belgium, Italy, Hungary, Uruguay, Argentina, Australia and Macau. In particular, the Spa Circuit in Belgium is known as one of the best F1 tracks, boasting the world’s longest high-speed circuit with well-placed corners.

Kumho Tire has been sponsoring key national and regional TCR events in Europe since last year. Adding more regional races and national events to its list of sponsored competitions, the company plans to reinforce its motorsports marketing activities to further enhance its image as a high-performance tire brand.