MEDIA INFORMATION

2016 FIA

Wales Rally GB

A 50th FIA WRC world title for Michelin as Motorsport clinches 2016 Manufacturers’ crown

Just two weeks after celebrating its 300th world class rally victory, which was notched up in brilliant fashion in Spain by Sébastien Ogier and ( R WRC), Michelin today clocked up its 50th WRC title after the same pair made sure of the 2016 Manufacturers’ crown for with victory in . Since the creation of the World Rally Championship in 1973, Michelin has secured 26 Manufacturers’ and 24 Drivers’ titles. Its score in the two competitions began in 1973 and 1982 with Alpine-Renault and Walter Röhrl respectively.

The 2016 Wales Rally GB featured a total distance of 1,295.74 kilometres, including 332.87km divided into 22 special stages. The event’s schedule was particularly draining for the crews who twice had to wake up at four in the morning, while none of the three legs incorporated a midday service halt. Although Friday’s programme allowed for a mid-leg tyre change, Saturday’s menu forced them to cover more than 100 competitive kilometres – plus 330km in road sections – with a maximum of six tyres for the day.

For the 2016 Wales Rally GB, Michelin’s WRC partners were able to choose between the soft (S4) and hard (H4) versions of the MICHELIN LTX Force, while the options for their WRC2 counterparts were the MICHELIN Latitude Cross S80 and MICHELIN Latitude Cross H90. As it turned out, the soft version of these tyres was used throughout due to the prevailing low temperatures, fog, damp ground and shifting weather, although the conditions were much drier than in 2015.

“First of all, I would like to congratulate Volkswagen Motorsport on its unbeaten sequence of titles since its first full year in the championship,” says Jacques Morelli, manager of Michelin’s FIA WRC programme. “This year’s Wales Rally GB proved particularly challenging but we ended up scoring our 50th WRC crown to provide a further illustration of the supremacy of our tyres. For all our partners, our tyres were a match for the shifting conditions and weather we saw these past three days. There has been strong competition this season, but we have succeeded in showcasing the superiority of our tyres each time out. They have delivered competitive, strong and safe performance in conditions ranging from the extremely hot and aggressive stages of Sardinia, to the mud, sharp slate and much colder temperatures crews faced this week in Wales. This spectrum shows how consistent they have been over the season, whereas others have tended more to target specific rounds.”

Didier Laurent – [email protected] – Phone: +33.6.75.60.50.62

Alessandro Barlozzi – [email protected] – Phone : +33.6.42.23.55.93

Overall victory in Wales went to Sébastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia (Volkswagen Polo R WRC). They were followed in the order by Ott Tanak/Raigo Molder (Ford Fiesta WRC) and / whose Hyundai i20 WRC was also equipped with Michelin tyres. In WRC2, where the competition between tyre firms is just as strong, Michelin runners monopolised the podium with Skoda Fabia R5 crews /, / and /Jonas Andersson.

The last round of the 2016 FIA World Rally Championship will take crews to Australia on November 17-20 for the final event before new technical regulations kick in from 2017. Next year’s Rallye Monte-Carlo will effectively see the debut of new-generation, more powerful and more spectacular World Rally Cars. Meanwhile, Michelin has extended its commitment to the FIA WRC for three more years.

Technical information – MICHELIN LTX Force S4/H4 and MICHELIN Latitude Cross S80/H90

Size: 205/65R15 (17/65-15) Width: 205 mm Side wall height:133 mm Interior diameter: 15 inches Type of tread pattern: asymmetric and directional (a left- and a right-hand tyre) Surface: non-sealed Conditions for the H4/H90: aggressive, hard-wearing ground – dry weather – temperature more than 15° C Conditions for the S4/S80: damp or wet dirt – temperature less than 15° C Rallies where the H4/H90 are nominated as the main choice: Mexico, Portugal, Italy, Australia, Spain (gravel stages) Rallies where the S4/S80 are nominated as the main choice: Argentina, Poland, , Wales

Michelin’s staff for Wales Rally GB

- 1 manager - 4 team advisors - 2 coordinators - 8 fitters - 1 press officer

Michelin had 1,370 tyres for Wales Rally GB (WRC: 580 / WRC2: 560 / Junior WRC: 230).

Didier Laurent – [email protected] – Phone: +33.6.75.60.50.62

Alessandro Barlozzi – [email protected] – Phone : +33.6.42.23.55.93