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Michelin Showcases World Championship Vehicles and Ultra-High Performance Street Cars at SEMA

LAS VEGAS--Nov. 1, 2005--Whether dominating the race track with 11 World Championships in 2005 or providing the ultra-high performance Michelin(R) Pilot(R) Sport PS2(TM) tires for the world's fastest production vehicles, Michelin brings the best of both worlds together this week for display at the Specialty Equipment Market Association Show (SEMA) Nov. 1, 2005 to 4, 2005.

"At Michelin, we've taken decades of success at the racetrack to help create street tires that deliver new benchmarks in high-performance driving," said Parmeet Grover, Michelin brand director. "That's why the world's most successful motorsports teams -- as well as top car companies like Porsche, Mercedes, BMW and Audi -- choose Michelin tires for their race cars and production cars. At the Michelin booth at SEMA, show attendees will see this intersection where the racetrack meets the highway."

With 11 World Championship titles under wraps in 2005, Michelin-partner teams have dominated Formula One, MotoGP, World Rally Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the American LeMans Series and are on their way to winning 50 major international races.

To celebrate these victories, Michelin will host a field of storied vehicles at SEMA, from Fernando Alonso's Formula 1 Championship Renault to the record-setting Porsche Carrera GT piloted by David Donohue and Jay Leno earlier this year, all on an elevated race track booth layout.

Additional street vehicles on display include the new BMW M6, a specially prepared Porsche 997 by Shoreline Motoring, the awesome Hennessey Venom 1000 Twin Turbo Viper, a fully loaded Volkswagen Touareg and the SLR McLaren super car. Rounding out the motorsports vehicle display line up includes Le Mans-winning Team ADT Champion Racing Audi R8 Prototype from the American Le Mans Series and the Repsol Honda RC211V MotoGP motorcycle of Nicky Hayden, winner of the United States Grand Prix.

Tour SEMA With Bibendum, the Michelin Man(TM)

Additionally, consumers can join the Michelin Man for a virtual tour of SEMA through the Michelin SEMA Photo Gallery, located at www.michelinman.com. This first-of-its-kind photo collection, designed to bring car fanatics an inside peek of the trade-only SEMA show, will feature some of the more than 50 Michelin-equipped performance vehicles on display at SEMA from top tuning companies including Claus Ettensberger Corporation (CEC), DUB, Shoreline Motoring and more.

Travis Pastrana Goes Extreme

SEMA attendees will have the opportunity to meet extreme sports legend Travis Pastrana for an autograph session in the Michelin Booth, South Hall, Lower Level, booths 42912 and 42913 on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2005, from 2 to 3 p.m. Pastrana's X Games Suzuki motorcycle will also be on display.

About Michelin

The world's largest tire maker, Michelin (www.michelinman.com) manufactures and sells tires for every type of vehicle, including airplanes, automobiles, bicycles, earthmovers, farm equipment, heavy-duty trucks, motorcycles and the space shuttle. The company also publishes travel guides, maps and atlases covering Europe, Asia, Africa and North America. Headquartered in Greenville, S.C., Michelin North America employs over 23,000 and operates 20 plants in 16 locations. Michelin team championships in 2005


Formula One Team                Renault F1 Team
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Formula One Driver              Fernando Alonso
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MotoGP Rider                    Valentino Rossi 
                                (Gaulioses Yamaha Team)
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WRC Driver                      Sebastien Loeb (Citroen)
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Le Mans                         Team ADT Champion (Audi)
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American Le Mans Series         Audi (Team ADT Champion)
LMP1 Class Manufacturer
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ALMS LMP1 Class Drivers         Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro 
                                (Team ADT Champion)
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ALMS GT1 Class Manufacturer     Chevrolet (Corvette Racing)
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ALMS GT1 Class Drivers          Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta 
                                (Corvette Racing)
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ALMS GT2 Class Manufacturer     Porsche (Petersen Motorsports/
                                White Lightning Racing)
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ALMS GT2 Class Drivers          Patrick Long and Jorg Bergmeister 
                                (Petersen Motorsports/White 
                                Lightning Racing)