MONACO (Jan. 25, 2006) — Group Michelin's BFGoodrich competition unit claimed two major victories to start 2006, including the brand's first-ever World Rally Championship (WRC) win on its debut in that international off-road racing series.
Two-time World Rally Champion Marcus Gronholm, driving a Ford Focus, secured BFG's first WRC victory in the Monte Carlo Rally that ran Jan. 19-21 in the hills surrounding the principality of Monaco. Michelin last year decided to make BFG its brand of choice for all off-road racing, including WRC.
A week earlier, Frenchman Luc Alphand, driving a Mitsubishi Pajero, won the 2006 Dakar Rally, finishing nearly 18 minutes ahead of the second-place finisher after 16 days and 5,000 miles of competition across northern Africa. Drivers piloting five different BFG-equipped vehicle makes swept the top 11 finishing spots.