Kumho battles with the best in the Dakar Rally - the world's most extreme motorsport event

At the time of writing, the highest placed Nemesises were those of the Dutch Dakarsport team - Bob Ten Harkel/Roland Rijpma followed by racing ace Tom Coronel and his twin brother Tim.

The 2009 Dakar Rally comprises 15 days (January 3-18) of flat-out driving in incomparably tough terrain. For the first time in the event's 30-year history it is based in South America - starting and finishing in Buenos Aires, Argentina and passing through Chile.

Kumho has an enviable record in the event, having been used with great success in 1992 and 2000 and been fitted to the winning entry in the Solo Class in 2007 - that of the French SMG team. Last year the rally had to be cancelled at the last minute, due to terrorist threats.

The Kumho tyres fitted to the fearsome Land Rover-based Bowler Nemesis 4x4s have been developed especially for this vehicle. Based on the company's much-vaunted Road Venture MT KL71, they were the world's first such tyres to be offered in the 18in size required by the Nemesis. There are two versions - the KL72 that is primarily designed to operate in desert terrain, and the KL73 that has the deeper grooves required for wet, muddy conditions.

The unique specification of this range of hi-tech covers includes the innovative use of the ultra tough synthetic fibre 'aramid' for optimum strength in the sidewalls. The tyres' development was carried out by Kumho's European Technical Centre (KETC), which is based in Birmingham, UK and for which it recently won a major internal award.

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Credits: JRC