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Loeb Wins Monte Carlo Rally

Sébastien Loeb has won his third Monte Carlo Rally. The French driver’s success brings Michelin’s total to 20 wins in the principality since the creation of the World Rally Championship in 1973. In a repeat of last year’s Monte Carlo classification, Citroën and Ford secured first and second places. Sébastien Loeb and the Michelin-shod Citroën Xsara WRC dominated the season’s opening round from start to finish and Michelin’s tyres were competitive from the very first group of stages, which saw Loeb pull out a significant early lead.

This year’s Monte Carlo Rally also marked the introduction a new tyre regulation which, for this event, allowed drivers to use a maximum of 55 tyres from their allocated quota of 80 asphalt tyres and 50 snow tyres (although the latter weren’t actually fitted given the conditions). After consultation with their engineers and Michelin technicians, the drivers had to finalise their choice on the Monday before the event. The 80 asphalt tyres included the three or four compounds they believed would be competitive but the difficulty was determining the ideal quantity of each option for the three-day event. According to Michelin, its one-two finish in Monaco shows that the work put in by its technicians and partner teams and drivers in pre-event testing paid dividends.

24th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Europe’s Evanescent Motorsport Culture

Pierre Dupasquier Looks Forward to New Formula 1 Season

Motorsport isn’t just about speedy overtaking manoeuvres and exciting finishes. Instead a major part of its attraction is owed to the people that live for motorsports and who – if missing – would make the event that bit less interesting. Without doubt one of these people is Pierre Dupasquier. For 30 years the Michelin motorsport director has been generally regarded as the driving force behind the French tyre manufacturer’s involvement. In addition, he is one of the few who, although not a driver himself, is allowed to comment on races on TV. Tyres & Accessories had the opportunity to meet the passionate 67 year old Frenchman and talk about the coming season.

For a long time Pierre Dupasquier has been part of the Formula 1 circus, having worked for his employer Michelin in a number different fields. Be it Formula 1, the World Rally Championship (WRC) or MotoGP, he lives for everything that’s fast and runs on two or more wheels. Although interested in and involved in all sorts of motorsports, Mr Dupasquier’s committed to the premier league of motorsports, namely Formula 1. This season wasn’t as glorious as it might have been for Michelin. Out of the 18 races Bridgestone, its only competitor in the Formula 1, won 15. Michelin’s problem? The domination of Michael Schumacher and his Ferrari with its Bridgestone tyres.

5th January 2005/by Tyrepress Editors

Citroën and Loeb Achieve Aussie Gold

Citroën’s 2004 World Rally Championship winner, Sébastien Loeb achieved a record equalling 6th rally victory, in Australia this weekend, in what was the year’s final event.

The original record, which was established by Loeb’s fellow Frenchman, Didier Auriol, has stood for 10 years. Sébastien took control of the Telstra Rally Australia, on day two of the three day event. With a total of 13 stage wins, more than double any other competitor, Sébastien Loeb and the Citroën team showed their determination to finish the season as they had started – at the top of the podium.

15th November 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Musical Chairs in WRC

French car giant PSA has announced that Peugeot and Citroën will leave the World Rally Championship (WRC) after the 2005 series. So far both brands have used Michelin tyres.

Citroën has been the most successful of the two teams this season and not only won the construction title, but also the drivers championship with Sébastien Loeb.

Next season the series, which had been dominated by Michelin tyres will see an increase in the number of teams using Pirelli as a supplier, but for how long? PSA’s announcement comes with the ink still wet on a contract between Peugeot and Pirelli. The Italian tyre manufacturer announced at the beginning of August that it would begin a new partnership with the Peugeot Team. Therefore, the problems caused by PSA’s departure will not only be felt by Michelin, but also Pirelli. Peugeot’s newly signed contract with Pirelli was originally due to last for the next three years, beginning in the 2005 season.

5th November 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Citroën and Loeb Win World Rally Championship

Sebastién Loeb has become the World Rally Champion following his second place classification in this weekend’s Tour de Course, the French Rally. The win makes him the 10th driver in the sport’s history to take the title on Michelin tyres. The result was also good news for Citroën, which runs Xsara WRC cars for both Loeb and team mate Carlos Sainz, has retained its title as world manufacturer champions.

18th October 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Choice Crucial For Subaru

After winning the last the last three rounds of the 2004 FIA World Rally Championship, the Subaru World Rally Team will travel to Corsica this week looking for their fourth consecutive win. Subaru team boss, David Lapworth, told the Global Motorsports website that tyre choice will have an enormous impact on the race’s outcome.

“At this time of year, weather is likely to play a large factor,” he said. “You can win or lose the event on tyre choice, and I think what won the rally for us last year was reading the weather conditions right and getting the tyres choices right, those things could well be factors again this year.

“The weather is often unpredictable, but even in the dry it’s a tricky rally as the roads are abrasive and rough. The drivers get the stiffest necks because it’s so twisty and bumpy, while the roads generate the highest tyre wear, the highest grip level and the highest temperatures so you have to look after the tyres – being fast over 50km is very different to being fast over the first 5km. If you’re a little bit too hard, it feels like you’re going faster, but actually the tyres are going off and you’re losing speed so it’s important to find the perfect balance between aggression, commitment and technique. Pirelli have also been working hard on the tyres and have made some good progress. However, we won’t really know where we are until we see the times from the first stage in Corsica. The benchmark is moving forward all the time and we don’t know what Michelin and the other teams have been doing.”

13th October 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Petter Solberg’s Rough Road Ahead

Subaru team driver Petter Solberg, has won the Rally of Italy keeping alive his hopes of defending the world rally championship title.

4th October 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Tyre Choice to be Key to GB Rally

World Rally Championship leader Sebastien Loeb has told journalists that he is expecting an eventful Welsh Rally GB this weekend. Although the race, which traditionally runs in November, is likely to be drier, there is still a good chance of rain.

Citreon driver Loeb sees the changeable conditions as a challenge for those making the tyre choice decisions. “Following the date switch, this event is likely to be the most complicated gravel rally of the calendar on the tyre front. Part of the rally will be played out on Monday when we nominate our tyre choices. The conditions stand to vary from dry and hard to cold, damp, muddy or even pouring rain. To be sure of having the ideal tyre for each situation, we could nominate a bit of everything, from ultra-soft rubber to hard compounds. But, in that case, we will only have a limited quantity of each, and we will end up running short if the conditions are consistent. The alternative, riskier solution will be to go without certain products.”

14th September 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Solberg Wins Japan’s Inaugural Rally

Subaru’s Petter Solberg has won the inaugural Rally of Japan. By the end of the second leg, Solberg had built up lead of more than a minute over Citreon’s Sebastien Loeb.

6th September 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Loeb wins German Rally

Sebastien Loeb won the German Rally on Sunday to increase his lead in the World Rally Championship to 29 points. The Frenchman, driving for Citroen, recorded a total time of four hours one minute 57.4 seconds to beat his nearest rival, Ford driver Francois Duval, by 29.1 seconds.

Loeb’s Citroen team-mate, Carlos Sainz, was third with the second Ford of Markko Martin in fourth. After 10 rounds Loeb leads the overall standings on 76 points, with Martin on 47 and Sainz a point further back. World champion Petter Solberg’s hopes of retaining his title were hit when he crashed out on Saturday.

Solberg has slipped from second in the overall standings to fourth and now trails Loeb by 32 points.

23rd August 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Marcus Grönholm is back in WRC

High-speed action on gravel roads was the order of the day, at this weekend’s WRC race in Finland. The double world champion Marcus Grönholm and his new Peugeot 307 CC drove in a league of their own, won, and putting Grönholm back in contention for the title.

Michelin, as one of the race series’ two tyre suppliers, occupied the further places with Ford driver Markko Märtin and Citroën star Carlo Sainz. The victory Champagne must have tasted particularly sweet, since it was the seventh season victory for Michelin. The win also represents the first World Rally Championship triumph for the new Peugeot. Current champion, Petter Solberg and his Subaru (on Pirelli tyres) fell at the first hurdle, having an accident on the first day.

9th August 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Control Tyres for WRC in 2005?

At an extraordinary meeting of the FIA’s World Rally Championship Commission FIA President, Max Mosley, announced plans for developing the WRC. Part of plan for 2005 is to require control tyres, in order to reduce the current high expense of tyre testing. An idea that may hold some merit but one that perhaps will reduce tyre company involvement in sponsorship. In 2006 it is expected that tyre regulation limits will be expanded so that competitors are allowed only one set of tyres per day, another cost saving measure. Also being considered are the use of common components among cars, so that one single nominated supplier develops the same components used by each team.

15th January 2004/by Tyrepress Editors

Rally Win Number 200 For Michelin

When Estonian driver Markko Märtin took top spot on the podium at the 1,000 Lakes Rally in Finland, he recorded Michelin’s 200th win in the World Rally Championship. This proud heritage goes back to the first-ever round of the WRC in 1973 when Jean-Claude Andruet piloted his Michelin-shod Alpine-Renault A110 to victory in Monte Carlo. The list of rally winners since includes 16 different manufacturers and 45 drivers, from 11 different countries.

15th August 2003/by Tyrepress Editors

Ford Rallying Switches To Michelin

Michelin has signed up with Ford to supply tyres for the car manufacturer’s World Rally Championship from 2003. The three-year deal was signed after Ford reached agreement with Pirelli to terminate the existing tyre contract one year early. Ford used Michelin tyres for two seasons following the debut of the Focus WRC in 1999. Said Malcolm Wilson, Team Director of Ford Rallye Sport: “We have enjoyed two successful years with Pirelli and thank them for their support.” He went on: “The World Rally Championship is Ford’s premier global motorsport activity and as such we have exciting plans for the future. We felt it was in the best interests of all parties to utilise this option now and enable us to renew our development links with Michelin.”

16th December 2002/by Tyrepress Editors

Successful Year For Pirelli Rallying

It has been a good year for Pirelli-shod cars involved in rallying. In the recent Rally Great Britain, Petter Solberg notched up his first World Rally Championship win, with Pirelli taking the first six places. Solberg claimed 2nd place in the 2002 Driver’s Championship, ahead of Ford/Pirelli drivers Carlos Sainz and Colin McRae. In the USA, Pirelli-sponsored drivers scored a 1-2-3 in the SCCA ProRally series driver’s championship and a 1-2 in Group N. Success too in the Pirelli British Rally Championship, with a Pirelli 1-2 in Group N and first and third in the overall driver’s championship. Other successes: 2-3 in the Super Driver’s Championship and first places in the Toshiba Irish Tarmac Championship and the New Pig Scottish Championship. In Australia, Pirelli-shod cars were 1-2 in the Kumho ANCRO (Asia-Pacific) Championship.

28th November 2002/by Tyrepress Editors