Dubai: Cooper Tire race report

Cooper Tire Paves the Way to A1 Grand Prix Victory in Dubai

Nicolas Lapierre claims A1 Team France's fifth feature race victory of the season

FINDLAY, OHIO, December 15, 2005 COOPER TIRE & RUBBER COMPANY's (NYSE: CTB) Cooper-A1 Grand Prix racing radials helped lead the way to victory Sunday at the A1 Grand Prix's latest stop of the season at the Dubai Autodrome in Dubai, UAE.

Lapierre of A1 Team France took first with a time of 56.17.068, followed by Robbie Kerr of Team A1 Great Britain with a time of 56.20.782, and Stephen Simpson of Team A1 South Africa with a time of 56.23.758.

Team A1 France's 106 total points puts them in a commanding lead over second-place Switzerland (75) and third-place Brazil (60) in the overall series championship.

The series experienced a homecoming of sorts in Dubai as the race was viewed by Dubai Crown Prince His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, founder, president and chairman of the A1 Grand Prix.

Drivers from 24 teams in the series, dubbed the World Cup of Motorsport, competed on 370/660R13 Cooper-A1 tires fitted to 16-inch wide racing rims.

"At the halfway point of the season we are very pleased with the performance of our Cooper-A1 tires," said Thomas A. Dattilo chairman, president and chief executive officer of Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. "We congratulate Lapierre and Team A1 France on their exciting victory and look forward to watching all the teams compete on January 15 at Sentul Circuit in Indonesia."

Designed to run at very high temperatures, the Cooper-A1 tire's distinctive blend of compounds create a soft and tacky tire to provide an incredible level of grip by literally sticking the car to the track. Cooper Tire has also designed a grooved wet weather tire to handle even the most severe weather conditions but with a construction that provides enough resilience to endure a full race distance.