News Release: Cooper Tire and A1 Grand Prix Race Into Second Season
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 29, 2006 COMPANY CONTACT: Michelle Zeisloft 419-424-4251 mrzeisloft@coopertire.com Cooper Tire and A1 Grand Prix Race Into Second Season FINDLAY, OHIO, September 29, 2006 - COOPER TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY is set to start its second season as the official tire supplier to the A1 Grand Prix this Sunday in the Netherlands. Cooper Tire produces slick tires and treaded rain tires fitted to 16-inch wide racing rims for all 23 of the countries participating in the World Cup of Motorsports. Because the cars and engines are the same for each team, strategic use of the Cooper-A1 tires can decide a race. Designed to run at very high temperatures, the Cooper-A1 tire's distinctive blend of compounds create a soft and tacky tire to provide an incredible level of grip by literally sticking the car to the track. Cooper Tire has also designed a grooved wet weather tire to handle even the most severe weather conditions but with a construction that provides enough resilience to endure a full race distance. Cooper Tire will continue to support and supply tires to the series through its Avon Tyres Racing operation based in Melksham, Wiltshire, UK. "We were confident entering last year that our Cooper-A1 racing radials would meet and exceed driver and team expectations," said Julian Baldwin, vice president of European operations and managing director for Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Europe Ltd. "We fully expect to continue that high level of performance this year while also gathering data that is crucial to technology developments for our consumer tires." The 2006-2007 A1 Grand Prix championship schedule is: LOCATION CIRCUIT DATE Netherlands Circuit Park Zandvoort October 1, 2006 Czech Republic Auto Motodrom Brno October 8, 2006 China Beijing November 12, 2006 Malaysia Sepang International Circuit November 26, 2006 Indonesia Sentul December 10, 2006 New Zealand Taupo January 21, 2007 Australia Eastern Creek February 4, 2007 South Africa Durban (street race) February 25, 2007 Brazil TBD March 18, 2007 Mexico Mexico City March 25, 2007 China Shanghai International Circuit April 15, 2007 Great Britain Brands Hatch April 29, 2007 A1 Team France was the overall winner of the inaugural season with A1 Team Switzerland taking second and A1 Team Great Britain finishing third. About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is a global company that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sales of passenger car, light truck, medium truck tires and subsidiaries that specialize in motorcycle and racing tires, as well as tread rubber and related equipment for the retread industry. With headquarters in Findlay, Ohio, Cooper Tire has 59 manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design facilities within its family of companies located around the world. For more information, visit Cooper Tire's Web site at coopertire.com <http://www.coopertire.com/flash/index.aspx> . - 30 -