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March 31, 2006 BFGoodrich® Makes Successful World Rally Championship Debut Greenville, SC In 2006, BFGoodrich made its debut in World Rally Championship (WRC) racing to further demonstrate the brand's dominance on one of the toughest testing grounds known to man. During the year-long series, BFGoodrich tires will go head-to head with ice, snow, gravel, desert sands and every kind of weather Mother Nature serves up. Even at this early stage of the WRC season, BFGoodrich has enjoyed tremendous success on the circuit. And with each win the BFGoodrich team of performance tire experts confirms a successful transition into the WRC, building on experiences gained from a long history of off-road racing victories, including four-straight Dakar wins and 20-consecutive Baja 1000 titles. BFGoodrich looks to benefit from each of its new teams' expertise in the World Rally Championship, while continuing to add innovation to its products. BFGoodrichTires played important roles for winning teams at WRC first three events of 2006 in Monte Carlo, Sweden and brand's home continent of North America. The first BFGoodrich win of the season came at the Monte Carlo Rally when, after years of chasing his first asphalt win, two-time world champion Marcus Grönholm finally succeeded in achieving victory at the legendary race. Grönholm finished clear of the three-time Monte Carlo winner Sébastien Loeb (Citroën /BFGoodrich) and fellow Finnish driver Toni Gardemeister (Peugeot/BFGoodrich) who was once again a strong contender in the Alps of southern France. The 2006 Monte Carlo Rally was marked by extremely taxing conditions, which constantly switched from dry to wet, and frequent patches of ice, with some snowy portions. After the race, Grönholm felt good about his car and his tires helping him overcome very tough conditions. "This has been the toughest Monte Carlo Rally I have done, but I don't think we were ever wide of the mark when it came to tire choice," Grönholm said. "I am very happy for the Ford team and for BFGoodrich who gave me a very competitive package for this rally." When the WRC headed for Sweden two weeks later, BFGoodrich tires were put through their paces on ice and snow once again. It was a battle for the ages as Marcus Grönholm and Sébastien Loeb both had chances to win in the final stages of the 2006 Swedish Rally. On the final morning, Grönholm's Ford Focus was slowed by hydraulics trouble, which enabled Loeb to close to within 14 seconds of the frontrunner. But once repairs were completed, Grönholm was able to push hard through the rally's final loop of three stages to beat the Xsara driver by 30.9 seconds and claim his 20th WRC win. After the race Grönholm said, "That was a great fight with Seb. I was very pleased with the performance of my BFGoodrich tires throughout the rally. It's nice to win here in Sweden again." Despite finishing second, Loeb threw several different tire combinations together in an attempt to catch the hard-charging Grönholm. His Citroën with BFGoodrich tires could not make up any ground. "To finish second and score eight points is not so bad after my poor tire choices on Saturday," said Loeb. BFGoodrich Rallies Program Manager Aimé Chatard was thrilled that the tires performed so well in the race. "It's been a great Swedish Rally with icy stages for the first two days and a covering of fresh snow on Sunday morning. These perfect conditions brought out the very best in the drivers, cars and tires," Chatard continued. The third win of the season came on BFGoodrich's home continent at the Rally Mexico as Sébastien Loeb finally claimed his first win of the 2006 season. The duel between Loeb and Subaru's Petter Solberg kept spectators on their toes until power steering troubles slowed the Norwegian down at the end of Leg 2. For the second pass, which took place over much cleaner tracks, Loeb chose hard compound (9+) BFGoodrich® g-Force™ Gravels that enabled him to close the 10-second gap with provisional leader Solberg. "I would like to thank everybody at Kronos and BFGoodrich,." Loeb said after the race. "My tires were very strong all weekend, especially for the second passes, and that enabled me to make up for the time I lost early on as a result of my position on the road." For Frédéric Henry-Biabaud, Michelin Group's Competition Director, the win had an additional thrill of coming on home turf. "Winning here in North America, the brand's home continent, has a special taste for BFGoodrich," he said. "The rally was decided in the second passes through the stages which saw BFGoodrich's tires reveal their resistance to wear, consistency and performance potential." Success on the street begins with winning on the track and BFGoodrich Tires is involved in every type of racing, including oval, sports car, drag, desert, rally (Dakar and WRC) and extreme rock-crawling. With 20 consecutive Baja 1000 wins, the most wins in rock-crawling history, and an unmatched record on pavement, BFGoodrich Tires has proven the only records it breaks are its own. |
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