Stéphane Peterhansel in his ALL 4 Racing Mini completed victory in the Dakar rally, aided by American tyre brand, BFGoodrich, recording its twelfth Dakar win – its tenth in a row. The rally finished in Lima, Peru on Sunday, with Peterhansel taking his personal score on the event to 10 wins. BFGoodrich’s maiden Dakar success was in 1999, and the American tyre brand, which belongs to the Michelin group, hasn’t been beaten on the off-road rally since 2002.
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Cooper Tire Europe says it has expanded its involvement in endurance rallying, with its 4×4 products victorious in two high-profile events this month. In the Dakar, Spaniard Xavier Foj won the T2 production class in his Discoverer S/T MAXX-shod Toyota Land Cruiser 150. Meanwhile, ex-Formula 1 driver and endurance rally veteran, Jean-Louis Schlesser, won his fourth consecutive Africa Eco Race, using Cooper’s Discoverer STT tyre for the first time.
Michelin’s bike tyres were fitted to the Dakar Rally motorcycle winner’s bike for the 29th time this weekend; rally winner, Cyril Despres’ KTM was equipped with the latest Michelin Desert Race tyres was the winner, while another Michelin-equipped KTM, ridden by Spaniard Marc Coma claimed second place, completing a one-two finish for Red Bull/KTM. Portugal’s Helder Rodrigues’s Yamaha, also equipped with Michelin Desert front tyres with the French manufacturer’s Bib-Mousse inserts, came third.
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Toyo will exhibit its new Proxes T1 Sport and the Proxes T1 Sport SUV at its stand at the Brussels Motor Show later this month. The tyre manufacturer’s stand will be situated on the patio, and it says visitors will “gain an insight into the main precepts of the Toyo Tires strategy”, through the breadth of products on show. Toyo says it will “aim to confirm the company’s commitment to meeting the needs of today’s drivers: good value for money and a great driving experience.” The 90th Brussels Motor Show opens on 12 January 2012.
Cooper has launched its new 4×4 tyre for extreme conditions, the Discoverer S/T MAXX. The tyre’s compound and tread succeed the popular Discoverer STT. Cooper stated that the tyre will have its first serious test during the 2012 Dakar Rally, in which it will be fitted to Xavier Foj’s Toyota Land Cruiser 150; the third consecutive time the legendary Spanish driver will run on Cooper rubber. The tyre will be launched fully into Europe in February. It is M+S rated and available in sizes ranging from 16 to 18 inch.
Toyo Tires will fit its Open Country M/T-R tyres to Robby Gordon’s Team SPEED in the 2012 Dakar. Two of Robby Gordon’s specially built Hummer H3 racers will compete for the overall win; defending 2011 Dakar winner, Nasser Al-Attiyah joins the team in the #300 Qatar/Toyo Tires Hummer H3 while Gordon will drive his bright orange #303 SPEED Energy/Toyo Tires entry. Past off-road racing champions Gordon and Toyo Tires first competed in the Dakar in 2006. “Toyo Tires and I have worked hard over the years to develop a tyre combination that is right for the HUMMER,” said Gordon.
Michelin has reported the success of the maiden competitive appearance of the Michelin Desert Race tyre on the 2011 Dakar. Last Saturday in Buenos Aires, Argentina Spanish rider Marc Coma and his MRW Rally Factory Team-run KTM and Frenchman Cyril Despres with Team Red Bull KTM finished first and second respectively, both having run on the new Michelin tyre. The tough 9,500km event included 5,000km of against-the-clock action over some of Argentina and Chile's most difficult tracks and trails.
Xavier Foj is one of the most experienced Dakar racers with this year marking is twentieth time, as he and co-driver Pablo Jaton steered their Cooper Tires-shod Toyota Land Cruiser safely through what Foj called “almost unbearable” conditions. The Toyota Cooper Tires team’s lead vehicle claimed 19th position overall in this year’s gruelling Dakar race.
Cooper Tire has developed an online game to celebrate its expanded involvement in the Dakar Rally 2011. Cooper Tire has doubled its backing of the Toyota Cooper Tire squad for the 2011 running of the event, with the Land Cruiser KXR of Xavier Foj and Pablo Jaton joined by a Hi-Lux, piloted by Jesus Calleja and Ignacio Santamaria. Last year, the single car of Foj/Jaton finished second in the T2 Production class.
Cooper Tire will back an expanded team in the 2011 Dakar Rally as it aims to go one better than its debut attempt in the 2010 event. The Toyota Cooper Tire outfit finished second in the T2 Diesel class and 16th overall this January, but veteran Dakar pilot, Xavier Foj, is aiming to take the class victory in 2011. Spaniard Foj and his co-driver, Pablo Jaton, will once again compete for the team in a Toyota Land Cruiser KXR and they will be joined by a second duo – Spanish TV personality Jesus Calleja and co-driver, Ignacio Santamaria.
Yokohama Rubber has pledged its support for the Asia Cross Country Rally 2010, which will be held in Thailand between August 7 and 11. This is the tenth time the tyre maker has been involved with the FIA certified cross country rally, the largest in Asia, and Yokohama will provide its Geolandar tyres to all entrants in the newly established sports class category and award prizes to the winners in all categories. It will also support many drivers, including Takuma Aoki, who will participate in the T2-D class (non-converted commercial diesel) and Tadamitsu Niihori, the race’s overall winner on two previous occasions.
Cooper is looking forward to another season as title-sponsor and tyre-supplier to the British Formula Three Series. The company says that British F3 is one of the world’s most successful championships for aspiring Formula One drivers; with stars including Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton all racing in the series on their way to F1, it isn’t difficult to back up that claim. Most recently the last two champions have leapt straight to F1 – 2008 title winner Jaime Alguersuari now races with the Toro Rosso team while last year’s champion, Daniel Ricciardo, has been appointed official reserve driver for both Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso in 2010.
All Terrain Tours, an off-road tour company (as the name suggests) has chosen Cooper’s Discoverer STT tyres for use in the Northern English countryside. Started earlier this year by Tony Newton and Mark Langley, All Terrain Tours allows owners of off-road vehicles to use them away from asphalt roads on legally accessible “green lanes”, with prices starting at around £45. Langley’s Land Rover Defender and Newton’s Land Rover Discovery will have the Cooper tyres fitted as they lead tours across some of England’s most remote and beautiful countryside. The company promotes safe and responsible use of four-wheel drive vehicles in the countryside, with routes available for most 4x4s.
Robby Gordon has won stage four of the 2010 Dakar with a time of one hour, forty minutes and twenty one seconds, just a second ahead of the factory BMW of Peterhansel. Racing on Toyo Open Country MT-Rs tyres, fis first stage victory of the 2010 race brings to three the number of Dakar stages the US racer has now won outright. As predicted before the race commenced, the privately entered Team Hummer have “humbled the mighty factory teams with their giant killing performance,” according to the company.
The Toyota Cooper Tire team claimed second place in the T2 production car class at this year’s Dakar Rally. Dakar veteran driver Xavier Foj and co-driver Pablo Jaton overcame a faulty ECU unit; a day spent digging themselves out of the sand dunes; and an encounter with a massive rock in a river, which almost destroyed their car’s rear differential, to finish on the podium at the rally’s conclusion.
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