The 2006 World Rally Championship will not be a battle between Pirelli and Michelin, but BFGoodrich and Pirelli. The French manufacturer has decided to substitute Michelin name for the brand that uses to compete in the Rally Raid World Cup.
Mitsubishi driver, Stephane Peterhansel, has won the Dakar rally for the second consecutive year. The Frenchman finished in an overall time of 52 hours, 31 minutes and 39 seconds – 27 minutes and 14 seconds ahead of compatriot Luc Alphand. Third place was taken by Vokswagen’s Jutta Kleinschmidt, with Giniel de Villiers of Nissan and Volkwagen’s Bruno Saby taking fourth and fifth places.
At the finish, Stephane Peterhansel told BBC news it was a huge relief just to have finally finished. “We were very stressed this morning and everything went well so it’s really a big, big relief,” he said.
This year BF Goodrich supplied all of the main manufacturers’ and some private teams. The teams tackled the notoriously difficult desert terrain with the company’s Baja T/A Rock tyres in 235/85 R16.
Whilst the fight for victory between the car drivers was exciting right into the final stage of the Paris Dakar rally (the winner was Hiroshi Masuoka, second place went to Jutta Kleinschmidt). The tyre supplier to Mitsubishi was not to be beaten – the first eight vehicles were fitted with BF Goodrich tyres.
Regarding tyre related brand names the team of Jutta Kleinschmidt/Tina Thörner taking part in this race shows a remarkable performance: Their Mitsubishi Pajero is supplied with Michelin tyres (18/80-16) while the tyre service is managed by Euromaster and on the drivers‘ caps you can read the name Vergölst.
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