Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is an Italian multinational company based in Milan, Italy, listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, with a temporary privatization period by the consortium led by the Chinese state-owned enterprise ChemChina. The company is the 5th largest tire manufacturer behind Bridgestone, Michelin, Goodyear and Continental, and is focused on the consumer business. It is present in Europe, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America, North America and ex-USSR, operating commercially in over 160 countries. It has 19 manufacturing sites in 13 countries and a network of around 14,600 distributors and retailers.
Michelin is a French multinational tyre manufacturer based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes région of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world after Bridgestone and larger than both Goodyear and Continental. In addition to the Michelin brand, it also owns the Kléber tyres company, Uniroyal-Goodrich Tire Company, SASCAR, Bookatable and Camso brands. Michelin is also notable for its Red and Green travel guides, its roadmaps, the Michelin stars that the Red Guide awards to restaurants for their cooking, and for its company mascot Bibendum, colloquially known as the Michelin Man.
The England national rugby union team represents England in men's international rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. England have won the championship on a total of 28 occasions – winning the Grand Slam 13 times and the Triple Crown 26 times – making them the most successful outright winners in the tournament's history. As of 18 November 2019, England are ranked third in the world by the International Rugby Board. They are currently the only team from the Northern Hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup, having won the tournament in 2003, and have been runners-up on three other occasions.
Marcus Ulf Johan Grönholm is a Finnish former rally and rallycross driver, being part of a family of the Swedish-speaking population of Finland lineage. His son, Niclas Grönholm, is an upcoming FIA World Rallycross Championship driver. Grönholm's nicknames are either "Bosse" or "Magic Marcus". Driving for Peugeot, he won the World Rally Championship in 2000 and 2002. After Peugeot withdrew from the World Rally Championship, Grönholm moved to Ford for the 2006 season and placed second in the drivers' world championship, losing the title to Sébastien Loeb by one point. The next year he again placed second, four points behind Loeb. He and his co-driver Timo Rautiainen retired from rallying after the 2007 season but returned to the championship in 2009 driving a private Subaru for a short period of time, and in the 2019 World Rally Championship where he competed in a Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT-maintained Toyota Yaris under the GRX Team banner.
Warren David Gatland, OBE is a New Zealand rugby union coach, formerly the head coach of Wales. Since he became coach in 2007, Wales have won four Six Nations titles, including three Grand Slams, and reached the semi-final of the 2019 and 2011 World Cup. Gatland was also head coach of the British and Irish Lions on their 2013 tour of Australia, where they won the Test series 2-1, and 2017 tour of New Zealand, when the series was drawn.
Formula One tyres play a significant role in the performance of a Formula One car. The tyres have undergone major changes throughout the history of Formula One, with different manufacturers and specifications used in the sport.
The Subaru World Rally Team (SWRT) was Subaru's World Rally Championship (WRC) team. It used a distinctive blue with yellow color scheme that is a throwback to the sponsorship deal with State Express 555, a BAT cigarette brand popular in Asia. 555 logos were found on Subaru cars from 1993 to 2003, although less prevalent since 1999 due to BAT's participation in Formula One with British American Racing. Subaru's WRC efforts date back to 1980, however, the team, in its current form, has existed since 1989, when the British firm Prodrive took over its operations, and its base moved from Japan to Banbury, England.
The 2008 World Rally Championship was the 36th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 15 rallies and began on 24 January, with the 2008 Monte Carlo Rally. Frenchman Sébastien Loeb successfully retained the Drivers' World Championship, his and co-driver Daniel Elena's record-breaking fifth consecutive title, all of them attained driving Citroëns. In addition, Citroën secured their fourth Manufacturers' title, and their first since 2005, from 2006 and 2007 victors, Ford.
Elfyn Rhys Evans is a Welsh rally driver. He is currently teamed with Scott Martin and is competing for Toyota Gazoo Racing in the World Rally Championship.
The 2010 World Rally Championship was the 38th season of the FIA World Rally Championship. The season consisted of 13 rallies, beginning with Rally Sweden on 11 February and ended with Wales Rally GB on 14 November.
Kris Meeke is a Northern Irish professional rally driver, best known for competing in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). He was the 2009 Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion. His co-driver is United Kingdoms Seb Marshall. He began his career as a Computer Aided Designer with M-Sport, at the headquarters of the Ford World Rally Team, before moving on to competing in the Peugeot Super 106 Cup in 2001.
The 2011 World Rally Championship was the 39th season of the FIA World Rally Championship in automobile racing. The season consisted of 13 rallies, beginning with Rally Sweden on 10 February and ended with Wales Rally GB on 13 November.
Molly Anne Taylor is an Australian rally car driver from Sydney, NSW and is the 2016 Australian Rally Champion. She is the first woman to win the Australian Rally Championship, as well as the youngest to do so. She currently drives for the Subaru do Motorsport team in a Les Walkden Rallying prepared production WRX STI with co-driver Malcolm Read.
The 2014 World Rally Championship was the 42nd season of the World Rally Championship, an auto racing championship recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and drivers contested thirteen rallies across four continents, competing for the FIA World Rally Championships for Drivers and Manufacturers. The WRC-2, WRC-3 and Junior WRC championships will all be run in support of the premier championship.
The 2003 British Rally Championship season was the 45th season of the British Rally Championship. The season consisted of seven rounds — the Rally of Wales, scheduled for 22–23 March, was cancelled — and began on 25 April, with the Pirelli International Rally in the north east of England. The season ended on 26 October, at the Tempest South of England Rally. The series was organised by the Royal Scottish Automobile Club.
The 2004 British Rally Championship season was the 46th season of the British Rally Championship. The season consisted of eight rounds and began on 23 April, with the Pirelli International Rally in the north east of England. The season ended on 6 November, at the Tempest South of England Rally.
The 2004 Wales Rally GB was a rallying autosports race held over four days between 16 and 19 September 2004 and operated out of Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom. It was the twelfth round of the 2004 World Rally Championship (WRC) and the 60th running of the event. Contested over 19 stages, the rally was won by Subaru World Rally Team driver Petter Solberg. Sébastien Loeb finished second for the Citroën World Rally Team and Ford driver Markko Märtin came in third.
The 2018 English cricket season ran between 1 April and 27 September 2018 and was the 119th in which the County Championship has been an official competition. It featured first-class, one-day and Twenty20 cricket competitions throughout England and Wales.
The 2020 FIA World Rally Championship is the forty-eighth season of the World Rally Championship, an auto racing competition recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and crews are due to compete in fourteen rallies for the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers. Crews are free to compete in cars complying with World Rally Car and Group R regulations; however, only manufacturers competing with World Rally Cars homologated under regulations introduced in 2017 are eligible to score points in the Manufacturers' championship. The championship is due to begin in January 2020 with the Rallye Monte Carlo and conclude in November 2020 with Rally Japan. The series will be supported by the World Rally Championship-2, World Rally Championship-3 and Junior World Rally Championship categories at selected events.
The 2021 FIA World Rally Championship will be the forty-ninth season of the World Rally Championship, an auto racing competition recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) as the highest class of international rallying. Teams and crews are due to compete for the World Rally Championships for Drivers, Co-drivers and Manufacturers. Crews are free to compete in cars complying with World Rally Car and Group R regulations; however, only manufacturers competing with World Rally Cars homologated under regulations introduced in 2017 are eligible to score points in the Manufacturers' championship.
