Michelin 2006 F1 British GP - preview

Clermont-Ferrand, - June 6th, 2006

2006 FIA Formula One World Championship
Round 8: British Grand Prix (Silverstone), June 9-11
Preview


BACK WHERE IT ALL STARTED...

Silverstone, home of the British Grand Prix, is one of the most historically significant venues
on the calendar. It was here on May 13 1950 that the very first round of the Formula One
world championship took place... and here on July 16 1977 that Michelin started its maiden
grand prix. Michelin's entrance marked the first      appearance in F1 of the radial technology
that remains at the sport's cutting edge today.

A former wartime airfield, Silverstone opened its doors to motorsport in 1948 and has been in
use ever since. Its profile might have changed over the years, but its challenging, high-speed
character remains intact.

This year's race marks the 57th British GP- and the 40th to take place at Silverstone (Brands
Hatch has staged the event 12 times, Aintree five).

Carlos Reutemann (Ferrari) scored Michelin's first British GP win, at Brands Hatch in 1978. It
has since won the race on another five occasions, with John Watson (McLaren, Silverstone
1981), Niki Lauda (McLaren, Brands Hatch 1982 and Brands Hatch 1984), Alain Prost
(Renault, Silverstone 1983) and Juan Pablo Montoya (McLaren, Silverstone 2005).

This weekend, the company is targeting its sixth win of the 2006 season and the 99th in its
illustrious F1 world championship history.

Michelin's view

Nick Shorrock, Formula One director, Michelin

"Silverstone's  demanding  sweeps  place  considerable  loads  on  both  cars  and  tyres.  The
track requires a medium aero set-up and a Formula One chassis needs to be very reactive,
to  cope  with  high-speed  directional  changes,  yet  also  stable  enough  to  handle  the  slower
segments of the track. The latter part of the lap demands good traction, too.

"The track surface is relatively porous and, therefore, abrasive on tyres, so we tend to favour
some of the hardest compounds we use all season. The cars reach very high speeds and
are subjected to significant vertical and lateral loads, so a well balanced tyre is essential.

"To prepare tyres for this race, we have done a lot of work with our partners during recent
test sessions at both Silverstone and Barcelona. Several new products have been tested in
order  to  find  the  best  compromise  between  first-lap  pace  and  consistency  over  a  full  race
stint.

"As ever at Silverstone, there are always doubts about the weather and we might well have
the opportunity to demonstrate the performance of our latest wet-weather compounds."


Driver perspective: Juan Pablo Montoya, Team McLaren Mercedes

"The Silverstone circuit is completely different from the streets of Monaco, where we raced
two weeks ago. It is all about super-fast corners that demand you push the car right to the
limit to get a quick lap time. The quick sweeps make Silverstone quite hard on tyres,
particularly those fitted to the car's left-hand side.

"At the test in April we worked through our tyre selection process with Michelin and
consequently have a good bank of information. At the test, we found that lap times were
faster than they were last year. This is due to improved tyre performance and sleeker
aerodynamics, which have contributed to increased mid-corner speeds. Copse is now one of
the biggest corners of the season - it requires massive commitment, plus absolute belief in
the chassis and tyres. The start of the lap is awesome, with Copse, Maggotts and the
Becketts complex... I love to race at Silverstone and hope we can repeat last year's result,
when I scored my first victory for Team McLaren Mercedes."

Michelin in the United Kingdom

Michelin is the largest employer in the British tyre industry, and last year celebrated its 100th UK
anniversary.

-    Manchester is home to Michelin Services Limited, with 250 employees of 24 different
nationalities. It is responsible for the accounts of 15 countries, including France, Germany
and the UK. It receives more than 850 000 invoices a year. Manchester is also home to the
Michelin Consumer Contact Centre, with 25 employees. It provides sales customer
services to consumers of car tyres from France, Austria, Switzerland and Germany.

-    Dundee (980 employees) produces each year over seven million car tyres under a variety
of brand names including BFGoodrich, Kleber, Kormoran, Michelin, Norauto and Riken.

-    Ballymena, 1100 employees. Each year, this factory makes more than 1.5 million Michelin
and BFGoodrich tyres for buses and trucks. More than half the tyres produced here are
manufactured for the North American market.

-    Watford, 23 employees work in the Sales and Editorial teams of the travel publications for
the UK. The first edition of the Michelin Guide to the British Isles appeared in 1911.

-   Stoke-on-Trent opened in 1927 and was only the second Michelin factory to be established
outside France.

o    Manufacturing: each year 400 people manufacture 400 000 truck tyres at the site
o    Logistics: Stoke provides warehouse storage for UK productions - more than 250
000 deliveries are carried out each year from Stoke.
o    Group Services: more than 200 people provide support service to the UK,
including Communications, IT, Finance, Legal, and so on.
o    Commerce: 200 people look after UK sales and marketing of a wide variety of
products including agriculture, aircraft, car, earthmover, truck and two-wheel
tyres.
o    MTIC: the Michelin Training and Technical Centre provides training for the UK,
Europe and the Group. Each year, 235 courses are offered.
o    Michelin lifestyle Ltd is dedicated to developing ranges of Michelin Lifestyle
Products - which include automotive accessories and a range of collectibles.