Subscription

Car Racing

Motorcycle Racing

Racing in Oz

Shop

2005 WRC: RALLY GERMANY

• Rally 11 of 16: Aug 26-28, 2005, Rally of Germany
• GERMAN World Rally started in 2002
• SURFACE: all asphalt
• LOCATION: Trier region, near Luxembourg and Franch border; route includes Mosel Valley vineyards
• TRACK: varied terrain; fast, narrow and wide, bumpy to smooth
• 2004 winner: Sébastien Loeb, Citroën Xsara
• 2003 winner: Sébastien Loeb, Citroën Xsara
• 2002 winner: Sébastien Loeb, Citroën Xsara *** his maiden WRC win ***

• Colin McRae to drive in Rally of GB: Colin McRae will return to world rallying in a one-off drive for Skoda. The 37 year old former world champion will drive in his home rally (Rally of Great Britain) with co-driver Nicky Grist.
  McRAE: "Rally GB is obviously very special to me, and I am looking forward to giving the fans something to cheer ... Although I haven't competed in a world rally car since 2003, the team have put together an extensive testing programme which will give me the opportunity to evaluate the Fabia and have it set up to my liking ... It will also allow myself and Nicky to get ourselves up to speed before the event itself."
  SKODA (Joan Sureda): "I'm very happy that we have the chance to bring Colin back to the WRC on this event because we know he was keen to return to the championship. He has a lot of experience on this rally which we will find very useful for our future development. I'm sure the fans will be as excited about Colin's appearance as we are."

RALLY RESULT

Sebastien Loeb (Citroen) scored his eighth victory of the season and his fourth consecutive German success, cruising through the final day to beat team-mate Francois Duval by 37.4sec. The Frenchman extended his championship lead to 32 points and the 1-2 result lifted the French team back into the lead of the manufacturers' series. Team-mates Marcus Gronholm and Markko Martin (both Peugeot) were similarly untroubled en route to third and fourth. Behind the Galli and Kresta battle, Petter Solberg (Subaru) climbed back into the points following yesterday's gear selection troubles by finishing seventh. His cause was helped when team-mate Stephane Sarrazin drove the final three stages with a broken front right driveshaft. However, the Frenchman claimed the final drivers' and manufacturers' point in eighth. Jan Kopecky (Skoda) was the only major retirement today when he crashed out of ninth and ripped the rear left wheel from his car on the third stage this morning.

FINAL RESULT AFTER LEG 3, SUN, AUG 28, 2005

• 1. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen
  "Everyone knows that I consider the Deutschland Rally to be my home event. This is the rally my childhood friends come to watch and I really wanted to win it again; it's great to have succeeded. Like Francois, we pushed hard on Day 1, and then it was a case of controlling from in front. That's less fun, but that was amply outweighed by the pleasure we derived from scoring such a superb result for the team. It's looking promising for the rest of the season."
• 2. François Duval (Belgium) Citroen +37.4s
  "It's been a tremendous weekend for us and for Citroen. Sven and I had the potential to win but the way the event unfolded meant that we had to make sure of finishing first and second. It was a little stressful because we couldn't afford to make any mistakes. To have shown that I am capable of matching Seb's speed is very important for me, for my confidence and for my future."
• 3. Marcus Gronholm (Finland) Peugeot +2m 4s
  "I have to be pleased with third, as it was the best we could achieve here. Nobody could compete with the Citroens: they were in a class of their own here. Looking on the positive side, the car was totally reliable and we were faster than anybody else. Now I'm looking forward to getting back onto gravel. I think we have a better chance of winning there!"
• 4. M Märtin/M Park Peugeot 307 +4m 9
  "This was quite a straightforward rally for me. I lost time on the first day when a tyre came off the rim, but by the end of it I was back to fourth again and from then on it was just a question of holding that position. I had a bit of excitement today when the Ford of Daniel Sola held me up in the morning and I had to overtake him, but apart from that we had no dramas. It was a good, solid performance from ourselves and the team."
• 5 G Galli/G D'Amore Mitsubishi Lancer
  "I can't really believe it because our goal was to do well but not push hard and go off the road. Everyone in the team worked really well and at lunchtime I felt great support and that gave me real confidence this afternoon. Today, we made no mistakes at all and that makes a difference. It was a very tricky rally and we have made another step forward with the team and also our career. I am really surprised to have done that on this rally!"
• 6 R Kresta/J Tománek Ford Focus RS
  "I could have driven faster but that would have meant taking risks, and I didn't want to do that," said Kresta. "It's better to finish sixth than not at all. I really wanted the points and this is a good result for me and the BP-Ford team. The battle with Gigi was good for the spectators to watch but not so easy for me! I held fourth on the first day and I think that if I had not made any mistakes I could have finished there. The Focus has been perfect for all three days and the only things that have gone wrong were my fault. I had a good test before the rally and that helped me a lot"
• 7 P. Solberg , Subaru
  "Today Stephane (team mate Sarrazin) and I agreed not to fight for this position, as he had deserved this place. It was very unfortunate that his driveshaft problem then cost him the place giving me the extra point. On the whole, today was better for me as the stages were narrow and twistier and suited the car and me. We kept pushing, always trying a few things and kept learning more. We now have lots of work to do before Rally GB, as we want to be able to push for a fourth win there!"
• 8 S. Sarrazin , Subaru
  "I am very happy with my pace all weekend, although the result itself was not so great. Today it was a big shame to lose the driveshaft and with it another position. I now know that I can fight with the top guys and being in the same car as Petter am pleased that I have swapped and sometimes bettered his times. When I push I know I can be very fast. I am pleased with the car and it is so easy to drive which gives me the extra confidence to push and drive fast. I'm now looking forward to Corsica and Spain when we should be able to get a good result."
• 9 X. Pons , Citroen
• 10 H. Rovanpera , Mitsubishi
  "I am happy our car ran without problems and we reached the finish. We've stalled a couple of times today due to a problem with the handbrake and that's why we lost position, but okay, we have learned a lot and the next two asphalt rallies will be better I think".
11 Atkinson 12 Sola 13 Sordo 14 Meeke 15 Wilks

LEG 2, SAT, AUG 27, 2005

Team-mates Sebastien Loeb and Francois Duval (both Citroen) continued their dominance at the top of the leaderboard. They won all seven stages, Loeb taking five victories to end the leg 27.9sec ahead of Duval, who won two tests. Neither escaped a tough day unharmed though. Loeb survived a high speed spin on the first stage and Duval went off briefly on the same test. Marcus Gronholm (Peugeot) was under no pressure either in front or from behind and drove cautiously to retain third ahead of team-mate Markko Martin, who went off the road on the opening stage and struggled for grip this morning. Gigi Galli (Mitsubishi) survived two spins this afternoon and is just 2.4sec behind Kresta in sixth. Petter Solberg (Subaru) dropped almost 3min 30sec when a gear selection problem meant he drove all of stage eight in third gear. He is ninth. The only major retirement was Armin Schwarz (Skoda) who broke his car's radiator after crashing on stage eight.

• 1. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen
  "I upped my pace through the cleaner portions," explained Seb, "but took things more carefully wherever there was gravel on the road. A day like today is obviously less fun than when you've got a good fight on your hands. But knowing how to control from in front is part of a rally driver's job. Given the gaps, there wasn't much else to do."
• 2. François Duval (Belgium) Citroen +27.9s
  "We tried to be just quick enough without giving too much away. Just enough for the car to still be comfortable to drive and to stay concentrated. It would have been risky for me to try to win at all costs. Sebastien wouldn't have simply stood back and let me pass. To have fought each other wouldn't have made sense. I am really pleased this evening. I feel comfortable with the car and my confidence is back."
• 3. Marcus Gronholm (Finland) Peugeot
  "Nothing has changed much since yesterday: to be honest it has been a little bit boring. There is no way that I am going to catch either of the Citroens in front and I am quite safe from behind as well. The car has worked well but I have not really been pushing it today. I think we will end up third tomorrow, but we still have six stages to drive so it is far from over yet."
• 4. M Märtin/M Park Peugeot 307
  "The only thing we can do is keep fourth now, so I have to be happy with that. We made up some places today, but this is where we stop. The only way that we could improve things is to have one or two less Citroens in front -- but I doubt that is going to happen! I'm quite glad that it didn't rain today, otherwise the stages would have been incredibly risky."
• 5. R Kresta/J Tománek Ford Focus RS
  "I was struggling for grip at the front and on a fast left corner I spun and went off the road. The car went down a bank and it took quite a long time to get back on the road. I don't know why I lost grip but it was disappointing to drop time when other drivers also had problems, because we could have moved up the order. Instead we lost a place. Once we made changes to the geometry this afternoon, the car felt much better and the grip improved. I had a puncture on both stages 11 and 12 and had to drive the final test with a rear left puncture but Michelin's ATS mousse system worked perfectly to keep the tyre inflated and I had no problems. Tomorrow will be a big battle with Galli. I'm looking forward to it and there will be nothing less than maximum attack"
• 6. G Galli/G D'Amore Mitsubishi Lancer
• 7 S. Sarrazin , Subaru
• 8 D. Sola , Ford
• 9 P. Solberg , Subaru
• 10 H. Rovanpera , Mitsubishi
• 11 Kopecky 12 Pons 13 Atkinson 14 Sordo 15 Meeke 16 Wilks
• SUBARU REPORT:
  At the end of the second Leg of competition on Rallye Deutschland, Stephane Sarrazin heads the Subaru charge, holding seventh place overnight with six more stages remaining tomorrow. On his first ever asphalt rally in the Subaru Impreza WRC2005, Sarrazin set three top- five stage times and became one of the few drivers to challenge the dominance of the lead Citroens by setting the second fastest time on SS7. A gear selection problem robbed Petter Solberg of his fourth place and dropped him to 12th overall, but after a spirited recovery he was back up to 9th at the end of the day. Chris Atkinson's asphalt rally debut continued to run without a hitch and with his confidence increasing the Australian ended the day in 13th position.

LEG 1, FRI, AUG 26, 2005

Team-mates Sebastien Loeb and François Duval (both Citroen) dominated the day, recording the fastest two times on all six stages. Loeb led initially but quickest time for Duval on the third test edged him in front by 3.2sec. However, Loeb was fastest on all three afternoon stages to lead by 11.7sec. Marcus Grönholm (Peugeot) lies a lonely third, 1min 11.5sec behind Loeb and more than a minute clear of Petter Solberg (Subaru), who spun on the opening stage. Markko Märtin (Peugeot) held fourth but dropped down the order after clipping a wall on the third stage and ending the test with the right rear wheel down to the rim. Stephane Sarrazin (Subaru) lost sixth when he was hindered by a faulty handbrake on stage three and the Frenchman dropped two minutes on the penultimate test after spinning into a ditch. Team-mate Chris Atkinson lost time all morning with a lack of turbo boost. Alex Bengue (Skoda) retired on the third stage after crashing.

• 1. Sebastien Loeb (France) Citroen
  "It's practically been a perfect day. It's been a good fight and there are two Citroëns in front. I am not surprised by the times of François. He was my biggest challenger here last year and, if he hadn't had a clutch problem on SS4, it would have been an even closer run thing between the two of us. On the other hand, I'm pleasantly surprised by the gap we have pulled out, even over Marcus who is always quick here. I want to thank our technical team and our partner Michelin. I really have an excellent feeling with the car. We will simply adapt the set-up for tomorrow's stages which are run over a different sort of terrain."
• 2. François Duval (Belgium) Citroen
  "I have found my natural pace. I'm very happy. It's been a good day, although the clutch tended to engage a little sharply and I stalled at the start of SS4, then again in a hairpin on the same stage. That probably cost me about 8 seconds. Seb and I were in front here last year, and we are again this time round. But it's not by any means over. Tomorrow's stages over the military ranges are very different. To ward off a possible come-back by our rivals, we will need to continue at the same pace, without losing sight of the fact that the main thing is to score as many points as possible for Citroën"
• 3. Marcus Gronholm (Finland) Peugeot
  "We are doing what we can – the Citroens are in a class of their own. The best we can hope for is to finish third under normal conditions, although you never know what can happen. For the time being I do not have answer to their pace: the rally may as well be over now! But of course I will carry on and see what I can do. For the time being, we are just best of the rest."
• 4. P Solberg/P Mills Subaru Impreza
  "There have been no major problems today and I've had a good, smooth drive. The car has been good and I think we made the right tyre choices. We're not planning on making many big changes for tomorrow as the balance feels about right. It's a little frustrating that we cannot be further ahead, but I'm really trying."
• 5. T Gardemeister/J Honkanen Ford Focus RS
  "I was about 20km into the first stage when I slid into a vineyard at a left bend just over a crest. I went a long way off and all I could see were grapes smashing into the windscreen. When I stopped I had to put the wipers on to clear the mess. I couldn't see where the road was for all the tall vines but somehow I found it and got back on. I punctured the front left and rear right tyres on some wires that were on the ground. I think I own the vineyard now - I know the grapes were white because there were plenty in the car! It also happened right in front of my manager."
• 6. R Kresta/J Tománek Ford Focus RS
• 7. M Märtin/M Park Peugeot 307
• 8. G Galli/G D'Amore Mitsubishi Lancer
• 9. A Schwarz/K Wicha Skoda Fabia
• 10 D Solà/X Amigo Ford Focus RS

2005 GERMAN RALLY ROUTE:

• Thursday 25 August: Start
• Ceremonial Start, Porta Nigra, Trier 20.00
• Friday 26 August: Leg 1 Bostalsee - Trier
• Start Bostalsee 09.00
  SS1 Ruwertal / Fell 26.60km 09.53
  SS2 Dhrontal 12.61km 10.51
  SS3 Schönes Moselland 20.48km 11.49
  Serv A Bostalsee (30 mins) 13.29
  SS4 Ruwertal / Fell 26.60km 14.57
  SS5 Dhrontal 12.61km 15.55
  SS6 Schönes Moselland 20.48km 16.53
  Serv B Bostalsee (45 mins) 18.16
  Finish Trier 20.11
• Saturday 27 August: Leg 2 Trier - Trier
• Start Trier 07.00
  Serv C Bostalsee (10 mins) 07.55
  SS7 Bosenburg 22.06km 08.36
  SS8 Panzerplatte 29.57km 09.44
  Serv D Bostalsee (30 mins) 10.59
  SS9 Erzweiler 18.22km 12.19
  SS10 Panzerplatte 29.57km 12.57
  Serv E Bostalsee (30 mins) 14.12
  SS11 Erzweiler 18.22km 15.32
  SS12 Bosenberg 22.06km 16.35
  SS13 SS St. Wendel 6.24km 17.23
  Serv F Bostalsee (45 mins) 18.06
  Finish Trier 20.01
• Sunday 28 August: Leg 3 Trier - Bostalsee
• Start Trier 06.50
  Serv G Bostalsee (10 mins) 07.45
  SS14 St. Wendeler Land 16.37km 08.18
  SS15 Freisen / Westrich 18.71km 08.51
  SS16 Birkenfelder Land 13.68km 09.34
  Serv H Bostalsee (30 mins) 10.29
  SS17 St. Wendeler Land 16.37km 11.22
  SS18 Freisen / Westrich 18.71km 11.55
  SS19 Birkenfelder Land 13.68km 12.50
  Serv I Bostalsee (20 mins) 13.33
  Finish Bostalsee 14.03
  Podium Porta Nigra, Trier 16.30

• Petter Solberg: "Last year's rally was a very frightening one for Phil and I, and I hope that the changes that have been made to the stages will improve things for all the competitors this time. The team has worked very hard on the tarmac specification car; there are lots of little improvements all around, and I'm looking forward to getting out on the roads next week. Pirelli too have worked hard and have come up with some additional tyre options for us. At this stage in the season things are tough, and there's a lot of pressure on us but I'm remaining positive. My aim for the rally is to get on the podium, but of course I'll push for better if that looks possible. We'll have to wait and see how the whole package works on Friday."
• Chris Atkinson: "This will be my first attempt at a proper WRC tarmac rally and I'm expecting it to be a steep learning curve. This year's all about learning and gaining experience, but this rally is going to be a bigger challenge than normal. On this occasion, my stage times are not the primary consideration, instead I'm aiming to achieve a good understanding of the car and set-up and complete the route. The roads are notoriously difficult, with constantly changing surfaces and I'll be trying my best not to get caught out. I've done only one small tarmac rally before, that was in China in a Group N Subaru, but that's the limit of my experience. I think the most difficult thing will be predicting the grip levels on the different surfaces. But I've been studying the video footage from previous years and am keen to get out there. I'm looking forward to the open, flowing roads of Leg three the most, from what I've seen they look closer to the conditions on the other tarmac events of the season."
• Stephane Sarrazin: "Rally Germany will be interesting as it's the first WRC rally that I will start for a second time. I enjoyed my first attempt last year and the stage times were pretty good, so I'm keen to see what I can do this year with the full backing of a manufacturer team. I tested the WRC2005 Impreza on tarmac at the end of June and again this week and it feels very good. Of course we won't know how quick we are compared to the others until Friday morning, but I'm feeling very positive and ready to give my best effort. I still have a lot to learn about the car, but next week I hope to be able to score some points for the team - that's my objective."

• LOEB, CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER: "They say I'm favourite, but I still prefer to be very cautious! None of my previous wins here were easy. Every year I have had a fight on my hands all the way to the finish. And the weather has occasionally complicated things. 'Bosenberg' was very wet last year and it was a case of doing all you could just to keep the car on the road to complete the stage without damage. You risked going off every time you turned the steering wheel. I think they were the most difficult conditions I have ever come across I therefore feel confident, but I'm also very wary!"
• DUVAL: "I would really like to finish on the podium. I did last year and that's a very nice recollection. Given the Xsara's potential, I think a podium is possible. A dry weekend would simplify things. When we did our Deutschland Rally testing, everything went very well but I didn't come across any rain. I therefore have very little experience of the car on wet asphalt. So if it does rain, I won't be as quick. I'm hoping for dry conditions and a podium."

Out to defend a crown

• Victory with Philippe Bugalski and Jean-Paul Chiaroni on the 2001 Deutschland Rally, the year before the event's inclusion in the World Championship, began a sequence of wins for the Citroën Xsara in Germany which has continued with three consecutive successes for Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena in 2002, 2003 and 2004.
• This year, the current Drivers' championship leaders will naturally be looking to extend this run on an event which gave them their maiden WRC victory three years ago. The second Citroën Sport-entered Xsara will be driven by François Duval, 2nd in Germany twelve months ago, and his co-driver Sven Smeets.
• Although it has only counted towards the World Championship on three occasions, the Deutschland Rally has rapidly carved out a solid reputation. Based to the east of Trier and situated within striking distance of six European countries, it stands out as the most European of all the current world class rallies and visitors from Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Switzerland and France, as well as local fans and those from even farther afield help make this an extremely popular event with the spectators.
• The German round also features a unique format of three distinct stage types, with tests that twist from one tight turn to the next up and down the steep vineyards that overlook the Mosel Valley, the smooth, fast Saarland stages and tank tracks lined by awesome 'hinkelstein' stones in the Baumholder military ranges, which themselves offer a patchwork of concrete, dirt and grass which has contributed to the event's reputation as the least asphalt of all asphalt rallies.
• Last but not least, the Trier region is described by weather experts as 'dynamic'. The summer heat generates frequent storms, while the presence of highlands to the north (Eifel) and to the south-east (Hunsrück) forms a corridor along which the Mosel River flows and which tends to channel and speed up weather systems. Two years ago, one such passage was clocked at 90 kph! Rain can effectively move in with very little notice, drenching the stages in storms or randomly dampening portions of the route which then dry out very quickly once the clouds pass. Always delicate, tyre choices -- which in some cases are made up to three hours before the start of the final stage of a loop -- are particularly tough in these situations, making the Deutschland Rally a sort of summertime version of January's Monte Carlo.
• Citroën has prepared for this encounter with its customary care which included four days of on-site testing in July during the week which followed Rally Argentina. Sébastien Loeb and François Duval took turns at the wheel for a programme of set-up fine-tuning and evaluation of the tyre solutions proposed by Michelin.
• Thanks to this work, the Versailles-Satory based squad is ready to assume the role of favourite with which it has been tagged. Although everyone is aware that this is a challenging, indecisive event, their sights are firmly set on extending Citroën's winning run on German soil.

MITSUBISHI

• ROVANPERA: "This is only my second asphalt event with Pirelli, but I feel quite comfortable with the situation. The biggest downside is that this is like a new rally for me. I have completely new pace notes and while I don't feel it's a big disadvantage, I obviously have very limited memory of the stages. All in all it's going to be a difficult weekend but we'll be trying as hard as ever."
• GALLI: "The most difficult thing about this rally is the weather and every where you turn there are different situations - narrow roads, mud, cuts, junctions; something different all the time. I plan to have a smooth rally and see if we can do something
  good for the team. This is only my second event on Tarmac with Mitsubishi (last event being Monte-Carlo 2004) and now it is a completely different car. It won't be easy for us".

SKODA

• PAASONEN:
• SCHWARTZ:

MICHELIN

• Michelin, asphalt masters since 1998
• The Deutschland Rally, the eleventh round of the sixteen-round 2005 WRC calendar, sees the series return to asphalt, a type of surface that hasn't been used since last January'sMonte Carlo Rally. For Michelin, it marks the return to the limelight of its FP range of tyres, a generation of asphalt products first employed in the 1998 Sanremo Rally and which has won every asphalt WRC round since except one. Provisional leaders of the 2005 Drivers' championship standings with a total score of seven wins, Citroen- Michelin's Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena will be looking for a fourth consecutive win on this somewhat atypical event. The Citroen- Michelin team itself has not been beaten in Germany for the past four years and its objective this time round will be to regain its lead in the Manufacturers' standings .
• The launch of Michelin's FP -generation asphalt range (FP for Fort Potentiel) in 1998 marked a major turning point in world class rallying. The grip and strength of these tyres were such that teams' engineers had to up -rate the rigidity of their chassis by between 15 and 20%. For the first time, it was necessary to adapt the car to the tyre and no longer the other way round. Over the past seven years, Michelin tyres are practically unbeaten on asphalt and have won in all types of conditions, both wet and dry.
• "The Michelin TA wet weather tyre won all the 2004 Deutschland Rally stages that took place in the wet. The same tyre has also won in atrocious rain, such as the conditions encountered in the 2003 Rally d'Espana," recalls Aime Chatard, Manager of Michelin Competition's Rally Programme. On the dry, the Michelin N has gone unbeaten since 1998, its most recent win being this year's Monte CarloRally with Sebastien Loeb. We have a competitive solution for all conditions. That said, tyre choice promises to be decisive this weekend in Germany and decisions will have to be taken at the service park for stages that are scheduled to start up to three hours later. That's a big gap for an asphalt event."
• Michelin tyres: competitive in both the wet and dry
• The Deutschland Rally first counted toward the World Rally Championship in 2002 and stands out as an extremely atypical asphalt event. First of all, it is atypical through the wide variety of stages it features, from the narrow lanes that twist up and down the Mosel Valley vineyards, to the wide, fast roads of the Saarland forests and the cut-up concrete tracks of the Baumholder army ranges. "The combination of asphalt, concrete and stone is very aggressive on the tyres and calls for a tyre that provides strong resistance to puncturing. The roads are cut-up by the continuous passage of military vehicles, while the risk of damage to rims is increased by the presence of cement blocks situated either side of the road. This event is a big challenge for tyres."
• This event is atypical too through its traditional changeable weather and the late-summer storms that frequently break out over the Saarland and Hunsruck regions. The weather is so fickle that tyre choice can be a big problem, a nightmare even. A low temperature tyre for the damp will degrade very quickly on dry roads, while a dry weather tyre is a big handicap in the wet or damp. "Deutschland Rally competitors are can be likened to single-handed yachtsman who rely on information supplied by their land-based weather routers who monitor wind changes to calculate the ideal itinerary. This weekend, victory will be a driver's victory influenced by the judiciousness of the choices made from the six or seven available options when nominating their individual lists before the event, and also by the best choices made in the service park by the driver, his engineer and Michelin technician. It's very much teamwork," emphasises Aime Chatard. "But then we might have bright summer sunshine and clear blue skies to 'simplify' things."
• The 2005 World Rally Championship enters its final phase with three gravel events and three asphalt rounds still to come. The stakes have changed with rumour and talk of driver transfers for next season rife. As in 2004, Loeb enjoys a healthy lead of close to 30 points in the Drivers' championship, while other drivers will undoubtedly be eager to profit from the event to showcase their skills. This is notably the case of asphalt specialists like Alexandre Bengue (Skoda -Michelin) and Roman Kresta (Ford-Michelin) who have been chafing at the bit for the past six months. On the Manufacturers' front, Citroen -Michelin - which has never lost in Germany since 2001 - will be looking to pull back ahead of its French rival.
• With numerous national manufacturers and importers, the German tyre market is highly competitive and very important for Michelin which has had a presence in this country since 1906. Today, Michelin employs a staff of 8,300 in Germany, including 220 at its factory in Trier, the Deutschland Rally'shost town.

TOP OF PAGE

Advertising Enquiry