Michelin on the Silk Road

Michelin will supply the tires for the eight Renault Trucks vehicles taking part in the Silk Road 2005 expedition between 2nd April and 9th June. The teams will travel 20 000 km across Europe, Turkey, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrghyztan and the Inner Mongolian region of China, following the path of the legendary Silk Road. Michelin will fit the trucks with specially designed all-terrain tyres, sized 395/85 R20 XZL. The tyres were designed to cover the whole length of the expedition – and more – and to improve vehicle performance in extreme motoring conditions. The tyres will have to cope with a great variety of surfaces, from European motorway to the Lut, Karakum, Taklamakan and Gobi deserts, by way of the rocky ground in the mountains of Turkey.

During the European leg of the journey, the teams in the trucks will have access to the Michelin Euro Assist service, just like any other drivers on Michelin truck tyres sold in Europe. This round-the-clock service operates 7 days a week in over 30 European countries: if you have a problem with your tyre, one phone call is all you need to arrange breakdown assistance. From the Turkish border onwards, Michelin professionals will be able to check that the tyres are in a good state of repair.

Michelin has also produced a special-edition map which traces out the route of the adventure and shows all the various stages of the Silk Road 2005.