Titan Desert vehicles to roll on Cooper tyres

Cooper Tire will serve as tyre supplier to the Titan Desert mountain bike marathon. The Titan Desert by Garmin 2014 Marathon, to use its full, sponsor-friendly title, begins on 27 April and will see more than 400 participants traversing a 700 kilometre, six-stage course. Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx tyres will be fitted on 20 support vehicles. This vehicle fleet will cover around 1,000 kilometres of demanding terrain during the mountain bike marathon, from stone tracks and dry river beds to soft sand dunes, in temperatures expected to reach as high as 40°C.

The tyre maker notes that the Discoverer S/T MAXX is no stranger to such challenges, having taken Cooper Tire Europe’s 4×4 ambassador, Xavi Foj, to back-to-back Dakar Rally Production Class titles in 2012 and 2013. Foj will be a guest of honour at the Titan Desert event, arriving in Morocco in the Cooper-shod Toyota Land Cruiser 150 he drove to third place in the Dakar Rally’s T2 Production Class earlier this year. He will accompany the Garmin fleet throughout the event, through to its conclusion on 2 May.

“Our Discoverer S/T MAXX tyres have proven time and again that they can deal with the challenging mixed terrains of courses such as the Dakar and the Titan Desert Marathon,” said Sarah McRoberts, marketing communications manager for Cooper Tire Europe. “While the race is all about the cyclists, it’s extremely important for the Garmin crews to be able to follow the action over the event and, for that, they need tyres that are up to the job. We’re therefore very happy to have been selected for this event and it’s great to see Xavi getting involved as well. We wish the competitors and crew all the best in the challenge.”