2005 FIA Formula One World Championship Round 10: French Grand Prix, Magny Cours,
July 1-3
25 June: F1 RETURNS TO EUROPE
The 2005 Formula One world championship enters
its second phase this weekend, when the 10th of the season's 19 races takes place at Magny-Cours, France. This is the closest F1
circuit to Michelin's Clermont-Ferrand base - the two lie about 160 kilometres (100 miles) apart - but, paradoxically, the company
has relatively little F1 experience at its "home" track because teams rarely test here.
France featured on the inaugural
world championship calendar in 1950 and has hosted a grand prix in all but one of the intervening seasons. Magny-Cours first staged
the race in 1991 and this year's event will be its 15th, which makes it the most prolific host in French GP history. The race has
also taken place at Reims, Rouen, Clermont-Ferrand, Le Mans Bugatti, Paul Ricard (Le Castellet) and Dijon-Prenois.
Ralf Schumacher
(BMW WilliamsF1 Team) scored Michelin's most recent French GP success, in 2003. Jean-Pierre Jabouille (Renault, 1979), Alain Prost
(Renault, 1981 and 1983), René Arnoux (Renault, 1982) and Niki Lauda (McLaren, 1984) have also scored French GP victories on
Michelin tyres.
In last season's corresponding fixture, current world championship leader Fernando Alonso was Michelin's leading
finisher - he took second place after qualifying his Renault on pole position.
Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin motorsport
director "The track surface at Magny-Cours tends to be more abrasive than many on which we race during the course of the
season. The layout might be fairly conventional, but the ultra- quick right-hander at Estoril and the Adelaide hairpin provide a
couple of significant talking points. “For a tyre manufacturer, the biggest challenge is to produce a compound capable of
coping with the high loads generated through Estoril. It might only account for five per cent of the lap, but it dictates our range
of options for the weekend. If it wasn't there, we would be able to run softer tyres."
Team perspective: Geoffrey
Willis, technical director, B·A·R-Honda "Magny-Cours is quite interesting in technical terms. The layout might not
look all that unusual, but it tends to highlight any grip problems quite quickly. The track surface is very smooth and good
aerodynamic stability is important. We'll also need to keep a careful eye on the weather, which can vary quite dramatically at this
time of the year. Hopefully we will have our latest aero and engine upgrades available, which will give us a little extra
performance. “I know teams and suppliers take the same approach to every race, irrespective of location, but I'm sure it will
give Michelin a little added impetus if it can extend this season's impressive victory tally in its home race. We'll be doing
everything we can to play a part in that."
Bibendum history: The living tyre First created in 1898 by the
imagination of the Michelin brothers and the paintbrush of the talented poster artist O'Galop, alias Marius Rossillon, Bibendum was
immediately a great success. Depending on the period and current tyre innovations, he evolves to remain always in phase with his
time.
Inspiration: An evocative pile of tyres At the Lyon Universal Exhibition in 1894, the Michelin brothers noticed an
evocatively- shaped pile of tyres on their stand. Edward said to André: Look, with arms, it would make a man". André Michelin
would remember this moment a few years later.
Shaped by the brush It was when looking in 1898 at an advertising sketch
for a brasserie drawn by O'Galop that André Michelin had an idea: why not replace the bearded giant raising his beer mug with a man
made of a pile of tyres and holding a cup filled with nails and broken glass. The Latin quotation from Horace, Nunc est Bibendum
("Now it is time to drink"), declaimed by the character was also reused by Michelin: Cheers, the Michelin tyre drinks up
obstacles!". This slogan had been launched by André Michelin a few years previously to convince engineers of the benefits of
tyres.
Metamorphoses A plump, jovial character Michelin used a large number of artists who each brought their
own interpretation to this character overflowing with humour and vitality. His shape was guided by the narrow silhouette of the
tyres, while his appearance and attitudes reflected the customer of the time, smoking a cigar and wearing spectacles, here in 1914.
Pneumatic
evolution From the 1930s onwards, Michelin made increasingly less use of outside artists. As a result, the images of Bibendum
became more standardised, although there were country- specific variants. Adapting to the evolution of tyres, his rings became
thicker and the character dropped his wealthy image to move closer to a broader customer base.
Bibendum in 3D The 1980s
saw Bibendum return in force to advertising. The sportsmanship of Bibendum was clear to see with the famous Running Michelin Man.
A
young, dynamic silhouette In 1998, his centenary was an opportunity for the company to give him a new look: he appeared
slimmer and more dynamic in the company's brand block.
