MEDIA INFORMATION

2015 FIA

Michelin and Citroën’s ‘pasodoble’ in Argentina

The 35th Rally Argentina was won by , and their Citroën DS3 WRC after a surefooted performance from start to finish. It is the British driver’s maiden victory at world level. Second in Villa Carlos Paz were team-mates Mads Ostberg and Jonas Andersson who made it a resounding one-two success for Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRT. The French team has traditionally performed well on the South American round, with only last year’s win escaping it since 2005 on those editions to count towards the WRC.

Before today, the last world class win for a British driver was the 2002 when Colin McRae/ came first in their RS WRC.

This week’s Rally Argentina produced a happy ending, too, for Britons and his co-driver (Ford Fiesta RS WRC, M-Sport WRT) who scored their first podium result at world championship level.

Volkswagen Motorsport’s three crews all suffered technical problems but Sébastien Ogier/ left South America with the three bonus points.

The rally took place in more demanding conditions than those normally encountered in Argentina, the result of the torrential rain that fell over the region shortly before the start. On top of that, the weather was far hotter than in previous years given that the round appeared a month earlier on the FIA calendar this time round.

“The MICHELIN LTX Force tyres stood up very well to the challenge they faced here,” underlines Jacques Morelli, the manager of Michelin Motorsport’s World Rally Championship programme. “Friday’s stages were littered with stones and sharp rocks which had been unearthed by the recent rain. That put the durability of our tyres to a tough test, especially on the two attempts at the long Agua de Oro/Ascochiga test (51.99km).”

For the first time in recent Rally Argentina history, competitors made use of hard-compound rubber. “All the WRC crews ran at least two hard-compound MICHELIN LTX Force H4s for Friday’s tough leg,” notes Jacques Morelli.

Saturday’s action featured a variety of surface types, from the abrasive ground of ‘Capilla del Monte/San Marcos’ (SS7/9, 23.1km) - where Sébastien Ogier and Julien chose the hard MICHELIN LTX Force H4 for the front wheels of their VW Polo R WRC - to the sandier ‘San Marcos/Characato’ (42.5km) for which competitors fitted the soft compound.

The rally concluded on Sunday morning when crews opted for soft Michelin tyres for ‘El Condor/Copina’ in the majestic mountains southwest of Villa Carlos Paz (SS11 and SS12/Power Stage).

The next round of the 2015 FIA WRC will be the Vodafone which will take place in the north of the country on May 21-24.

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MEDIA INFORMATION

The MICHELIN LTX Force (S4 and H4 versions)

Size: 205/65R15 (equivalent to 17/65-15) Width: 205mm Sidewall height: 133 mm Interior diameter: 15 inches Type of pattern: directional and asymmetric (a left-hand and a right-hand tyre) Weight: 16.4 kg Surface types: dirt and non-sealed roads

‘H4’ version (hard compound): aggressive, hard-wearing dirt / dry conditions / temperature >15°C ‘S4’ version (soft compound): wet or damp dirt / temperature <15°C

‘H4’ events: Mexico, Portugal, Italy, Australia and Spain ‘S4’ events: Argentina, Poland, and GB

The MICHELIN LTX Force S4 and H4 tyres for Rally Argentina

Total number of tyres shipped to Rally Argentina: 800 Number of tyres each driver can use: 24 Total stage length: 315.96 kilometres (12 stages) Total route length (including road sections): 1,419.60 kilometres Tyre quota per World Rally Car driver: - 24 x MICHELIN LTX Force S4s - 16 x MICHELIN LTX Force H4s

Michelin’s staff in Argentina:

Michelin’s partners will be able to count on a staff of 11 in Villa Carlos Paz: - 1 manager - 4 Michelin technical team advisers - 1 coordinator - 5 fitters

The 800 MICHELIN LTX Force H4 and S4 tyres and Michelin’s equipment were shipped to Argentina in containers. Tyres were stored in a marquee that also housed MICHELIN’s workshop facilities in the service park.

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