As vice president, finance for The Goodyear Tyre & Rubber Company, North America, Ms Thompson leads the company’s largest business unit with annual sales of almost US$10 billion.

Ms Thompson is also the executive in charge of developing Goodyear’s new headquarters in Akron, Ohio and previously held the role of vice president of business development.

“Laura is an influential leader and a valuable member of our finance organisation with a natural ability to inspire teamwork and motivate others,” said Darren R. Wells, executive vice president and chief financial officer.

“She is very deserving of this honour.”

Joining Goodyear in 1983, Ms Thompson has served in various financial and accounting roles including director of investor relations and has completed a Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 1986 and a Master of Business Administration in Finance in 1991, both from The University of Akron.

A member of the University’s Advancement Council for the College of Business Administration, Ms Thompson received the 2011 Dr Frank L. Simonetti Award, presented to distinguished alumni in recognition of their outstanding achievements in business and significant contributions to their communities.

The Treasury & Risk list of “30 Outstanding Women in Finance” is compiled annually and includes women in corporate finance who have made a significant difference to their companies and industries.

For more information and to view the full list visit:
http://www.treasuryandrisk.com/2012/05/01/30-outstanding-women-in-finance

Barcelona, May 13, 2012

Maldonado qualified on pole, but was passed by Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, who made his first pit stop on lap 11. The biggest winner from the first stint was McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who went from last to fourth before switching to the hard tyres on lap 14.

With cooler conditions of 23 degrees centigrade ambient and 32 degrees track temperature, the working range of the P Zero Silver hard tyre came into its own, making it the favoured option for most teams to race on. The other nominated tyre, the P Zero Yellow soft, offered a significant performance advantage, and was used mainly for qualifying and the beginning of the race, with every driver starting on the soft tyre.

The key to Maldonado’s victory was when he made his second stop two laps sooner than Alonso for the hard tyre, which enabled him to put in some quick laps and get past the Ferrari which pitted for the second time on lap 26. From then on, he was able to control his advantage with a three-stop strategy, which was also adopted by Alonso. After his final stop, Maldonado ran the P Zero Silver tyre for 25 laps to take victory by 3.1 seconds as he and Alonso raced to the finish on the hard tyre. Both drivers started on the soft tyre, and then used three sets of the hard tyre.

Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen, who finished third, also made good use of the hard tyre during his final 18-lap stint to close up on the leaders over the last 10 laps, having made three stops. By the end of the race, he was less than a second behind Alonso. Raikkonen used a different strategy to the two drivers in front of him, using the soft tyre twice at the beginning of the race and then completing two stints on the hard tyre.

By contrast, Hamilton was the only person to use a two-stop strategy to finish eighth – a result that was decided on the final lap – from 24th and last on the grid, after his original pole position time was cancelled for a rules infringement.

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel finished sixth after four pit stops, including one drive-through penalty, and retains the championship lead jointly with Alonso. This is the closest start to a season since 1983 – which was also the last time a Venezuelan scored world championship points, thanks to Johnny Cecotto. Maldonado now becomes Venezuela’s first grand prix winner.

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery commented: “With Pastor Maldonado starting from the front and Lewis Hamilton starting from the back, this was always going to be a fascinating race, and thanks to the tyre strategy as well, it certainly delivered. Maldonado and Williams were quick right from free practice on Friday, having consistently got the most out of both tyre compounds all weekend. The final 10 laps were a fantastic duel between him and Alonso, with less than a second separating them, on similar strategies. Both drivers showed their tyre management skills perfectly, managing to avoid falling off ‘the cliff’ despite pushing hard for the race win. The tyres contributed to an extremely entertaining and tense race, but as official supplier we will always follow the wishes of the teams and the promoter and our future development direction will be dictated by what they want. For the sport, we believe that it’s fantastic to have five races, five winners and five cars – especially when it is as well deserved as the victory that we saw from Pastor and Williams today.”

PIT STOP SUMMARY – 2012 SPANISH GRAND PRIX

The first column denotes the tyres the driver started the race on.
S = Soft compound
H = Hard compound
N = New compound
U = Used compound
NC = Not classified
DT = Drive Through
The last column gives the total amount of pit stops.

Barcelona, May 11, 2012

Jenson Button set the fastest time during the second session this afternoon, with a time of 1m23.399 on the soft tyre. As expected, temperatures remained dry and warm for both the hour and a half sessions, allowing the drivers to experience the sort of conditions that they are likely to encounter during qualifying on Saturday. For the race, a risk of rain showers has been initially forecast.

With Barcelona being one of the circuits that places heavy demands on the tyres, the teams used the two free practice sessions to assess wear and degradation rates on different fuel loads, and also to establish a base set-up that will suit their likely strategies. With many teams having introduced upgrades at the recent Mugello test, free practice in Barcelona was also another opportunity to see how these worked in conjunction with the 2012-specification Pirelli tyres.

For the first time, there is an entire step in between the two compounds that have been nominated by Pirelli for the race. With a lap time difference of just over a second between the two compounds, strategy will be even more important during the race, putting an emphasis on the data collected by the teams during free practice today.

In the morning session, the teams concentrated exclusively on the P Zero Silver hard before moving onto the P Zero Yellow soft tyre in the afternoon with some further use of the hard compound. The fastest time in free practice one was set by Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso with a benchmark of 1m24.754s.

Pirelli’s motorsport director Paul Hembery said: “It was a very important session today for all the teams, as they aimed to gather as much information as possible in order to prepare their race strategies, which are going to have a big influence on the final outcome of the race. Barcelona is well known for a notable degree of tyre wear thanks to long and fast corners such as turn three, and although we still have plenty of data to analyse, it seems that the frontrunners will be likely to adopt a three-stop strategy. However, with a wider gap between the two nominated tyres than usual – both in terms of compound and performance – we could see some quite different strategies that are capable of springing a surprise. And of course if the rain showers that some people are predicting for Sunday materialise, then the race will take on an entirely new and unexpected complexion. With many of the teams introducing new developments in Spain, it almost feels like we are starting the season from scratch again.”

Tomorrow (Saturday) Paul Hembery will be taking part in a live online chat from the Spanish Grand Prix at 6.00pm local time (+1 hour CET), together with Pirelli test driver Jaime Alguersuari, who has been recently testing Pirelli’s latest development tyres at Jerez in the south of Spain. To join in and stream on your own website please visit: http://streamingf1.pirelli.com/share/
To watch, please visit: https://www.facebook.com/Pirelli/app_234658916574732

PIRELLI NUMBERS OF THE DAY:

Sets used overall:

Hard 53
Soft 25
Intermediates 0
Wet 0

Highest number of laps per compound:

Hard 17
Soft 18
Intermediate 0
Wet 0

PIRELLI FACT OF THE DAY:

Last year, a four-stop strategy proved the key to success for Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel: the only race other than Turkey (which also contains high-speed, high-energy corners) where this was the case. Pirelli nominated the hard and soft tyres last year in Barcelona as well, but this year’s compounds are softer across the board: the 2012 hard compound is similar in character to last year’s medium. However, the teams have plenty of experience of running the 2012 Pirelli tyres in Barcelona through pre-season testing. The final test held in March was dominated by Lotus, which went quickest on three out of the four days, using the P Zero Yellow soft tyre.

The magazine labels the Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 as more balanced than its competitors and safe and secure in dry and wet conditions with a great all round performance.

Michelle Fisher, Goodyear UK brand manager said: “Our Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 tyre continues to prove its worth as an increasing number of independent experts discover its strengths, on both wet and dry road surfaces.

“It is a clear recognition that the Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 is being seen as one of the best tyres on the market today, and being named as the ‘Best Tyre’ by such an influential automotive magazine really adds credibility to our message.”

With over a decade of testing experience, the Auto Express tyre test goes beyond the mandatory categories of performance labels that will become compulsory in Europe later this year.

Besides testing noise, economy and wet grip, Auto Express also tests handling and braking in wet and dry conditions, aquaplaning, cabin noise and all-round ability.

Also commended and completing the top three in the ‘Best Summer Tyre’ category were the Michelin Pilot Sport 3 with its wet grip performance and the Pirelli P Zero, winning the handling and braking disciplines.

The Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2’s win of the 2012 Product Awards follows its first place in the 2011 Auto Express Tyre Test.

For more information visit:
http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/products/product_awards/283069/the_best_summer_tyre.html

Milan, May 7, 2012

Throughout 2012, Pirelli will supply over 10,000 tyres to the GP3 Series, including all the official test sessions. As was the case in 2011, three types of dry weather compound (hard, medium and soft) and one type of wet weather compound will be produced, with just one slick compound nominated for each race. At races, three sets of slicks will be allocated to each car per weekend, along with two sets of wet tyres if necessary. There is deliberately quite a big step between the compounds in GP3, so that the drivers are well-equipped to deal with all the different characteristics of the circuits they race on.

In Barcelona the hard compound will be available to the GP3 drivers. This is one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar, particularly for the front-left tyre, which has to absorb significant amounts of lateral energy. The teams have previously tested at Barcelona with this tyre in March, so they have some idea of what to expect, even though ambient temperatures were lower than they are expected to be this weekend. The weather is another factor that increases the demands placed on the P Zero rubber in Barcelona, along with the abrasive track surface.

The GP2 drivers, by contrast, have a choice of compounds: the hard and the soft tyre, just as is the case for Formula One at Barcelona this weekend. However, as usual they will have three sets of the harder compound and only one set of the soft compound available to them – so the drivers will need to consider when to use them very carefully. Only the first GP2 race of the weekend – Saturday’s feature race – contains a mandatory pit stop (during which at least two wheels must be changed) while drivers are obliged to use a new set of the harder compound during the sprint race on Sunday morning, where they race from start to finish on the same tyre. The soft tyre is expected to come into its own during qualifying, and as a key element of the race strategy on Saturday.

Both GP3 races take place without any pit stops, but the drivers still have to know all about tyre management. Pirelli’s P Zero GP3 compounds – which come in 13-inch size, just like Formula One – are designed to deliberately degrade with a specific window of peak performance. This is so that the drivers can learn how to get the best out of them and how to formulate a race strategy.

The GP3 drivers will take to the track for the first time on Friday 11 May, with free practice at 0830 for 45 minutes. They then have qualifying for half an hour on Saturday morning at 0945, followed by race one on Saturday afternoon at 1720. Race two takes place on Sunday morning at 0925. Both races last for 16 laps, with the grid for race two formed of the top eight finishers in race one reversed. There are 10 three-car teams in GP3, all using identical Renault-powered two-litre turbo Dallaras.

The GP2 weekend gets underway with the half-hour practice session on Friday 11 May from 1200-1230. The drivers then qualify from 1600-1630. Race one takes place at 1540 on Saturday, lasting for 37 laps. Race two takes place on Sunday morning before the Spanish Grand Prix, lasting for 26 laps. A total of 13 two-car teams compete in GP2, using a Dallara chassis matched to a normally-aspirated V8 Mecachrome engine, which results in lap times that are close to those of Formula One.

Pirelli’s racing manager Mario Isola commented: “It’s going to be a busy weekend for us in Barcelona, as we have Formula One, GP2 and GP3 racing together for the first time this year. However, this is also a great opportunity for everybody to see how the three championships complement each other, and this was very much the philosophy that we had when designing the tyres for each series, as part of a ladder of talent that can take drivers all the way up to Formula One. The characteristics of the tyres in GP3 are intended to prepare drivers for what they will face in GP2, while the tyres and the regulations in GP2 have some aspects in common with Formula One. The winner of GP2 race one in Barcelona last year was Charles Pic, who is competing in Formula One this year, so that is a good example of the theory working in practice. Barcelona is certainly one of the most demanding tracks of the year that the drivers will face when it comes to managing their tyres, due to the high levels of wear and degradation that we can expect. Both in GP2 and GP3, an intelligent approach to the race will pay dividends.”

What’s the story?

Milan, May 7, 2012 – For the first time this year, Pirelli has nominated the combination of P Zero Silver hard tyres and P Zero Yellow soft tyres, at the Circuit de Catalunya that will host the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend.

Barcelona is a circuit that is very well known to all the teams and Pirelli, as it is a popular testing venue. This is not only due its convenient location, but also because the circuit contains several medium to high speed corners that tests every aspect of a tyre’s performance and lead to a notable degree of both wear and degradation.

The 4.655-kilometre track contains 16 corners, mostly right-handers, putting the emphasis on the front-left tyre in particular, which does most of the work.

However, the rear tyres also have to withstand plenty of stress in order to provide the combined traction that is needed coming out of the slower corners in the final sector of the lap.

The asphalt in Barcelona is also quite abrasive. Coupled with the high ambient temperatures expected over the race weekend, this only adds to the amount of tyre wear.

Turn three is the most demanding corner of the entire lap, with a lateral force of 3.9G going through the tyres for a prolonged period of time. In the braking area for turn 10, the tyres also have to cope with a deceleration of 5.09G.

Pirelli’s motorsport director says:

Paul Hembery: “The Spanish Grand Prix weekend should present something of a contrast to the last pre-season test in Barcelona, where low ambient temperatures meant that it was difficult to get heat into the tyres! This time we’re expecting warmer weather, which only adds to the many challenges that the tyres will face here. We’ve nominated the soft and hard tyre in order to highlight performance differences that will create a different challenge for the teams, showcasing both the speed and durability of our products. There is a whole step in between our two nominations for the first time this year and this should allow the teams to come up with a number of different tyre strategies that could make a big difference to the final outcome. With many teams having expanded their knowledge of our tyre range and tested new components at Mugello, we’re expecting a closely-fought Spanish Grand Prix – and maybe even the fifth different winner in five races…”

Pirelli’s test driver says:

Jaime Alguersuari: “First of all, it is always a huge pleasure to be at my home circuit, and the fans there are really something special: this is something that all the Spanish drivers and spectators feel. Barcelona is a track that is very stressful for the tyres but that’s what makes it a great experience, where you really have to think about what you are doing. The choice of the hard and the soft compound is going to make things very exciting as degradation is likely to be high and there is a lot you can do with the strategy. Turn three is the place that takes the most out of the tyres in terms of wear. It is a very, very long right-hander that is almost flat – depending on which car you have – and it feels like it is going on forever when you drive it as you can never see the exit. I have always liked quite a stiff set-up for Barcelona, with the car as low to the ground as possible, so you get the best response from the tyres. You need reasonably high downforce but in the end it always has to be a compromise because the lap is so varied. That’s really the challenge of Barcelona: to get the most out of the car and the tyres at every point of the lap.”

Technical tyre notes:

• The key to a quick lap time in Barcelona is finding the right compromise between aerodynamic grip and mechanical grip. Most teams run a stiff set-up at the front, to help turn-in, but go softer at the back to gain traction.
• Changing wind direction is a factor that has an important impact on car set-up, especially during the first corner. Nine out of the last 10 races at the track have been won from pole position – with the exception being last year, Pirelli’s first season in Formula One.
• Just under 60 per cent of the lap is spent at full throttle, with the cars at their top speed of more than 305kph for around 16 seconds on the straight. The set-up calls for a medium to high level of downforce.

The tyre choices so far:

Pirelli in Spain:

• Pirelli has an extremely active presence in Spain, which dates back to 1924. Pirelli bought its first factory in Manresa, close to Barcelona, which went on to become one of the most modern logistics hubs in Europe. Currently the facility is recognised as the number one logistics service among the tyre companies in Spain, covering 27,000 square metres.
• Pirelli has grown to become the second most prominent tyre company in Spain in terms of sales and brand recognition. Pirelli is the sales leader in Spain when it comes to motorbike tyres.
• Spain is one of the world leaders in motorsport, hosting two Formula One grands prix, four international motorbike races and one world championship rally per year.

Other news from Pirelli:

• Pirelli has just completed a three-day official test at Mugello: the first time that there has been a full in-season test since 2008. The teams tried out all the tyres (including the intermediates and wets) with Lotus driver Romain Grosjean going quickest on the P Zero Silver hard tyres.
• As well as the group test at Mugello, Pirelli will also complete a private test at Jerez in the south of Spain before the Spanish Grand Prix, aimed at developing the 2013 tyres. This will mark the debut of Jaime Alguersuari as Pirelli’s tester, at the wheel of the 2010 Renault R30. Lucas di Grassi will share the driving duties with him.
• The GP3 season – which has been supplied by Pirelli since 2010 – gets underway in Barcelona, as well alongside the latest round of the GP2 Series, which returns to Europe after the first race in Malaysia and two rounds in Bahrain. Italian driver Davide Valsecchi currently leads the GP2 standings.
• Pirelli celebrated 21 continuous years of sponsorship of the Pirelli International Rally in Cumbria, England, last weekend. The event was won by two-time British Rally Champion (and former Pirelli Star Driver) Keith Cronin in a Pirelli-equipped Citroen DS3.

Fitted with Goodyear tyres, the Mean Green broke the standing kilometre and flying kilometre international speed records on April 27, 2012.

In order to withstand such forces it was essential to have good tyres and Goodyear worked closely with Volvo to develop tyres especially for the Mean Green.

Based on 495/45R22.5 Marathon Long Haul Drive truck carcasses, the tyres were hand-built in order to cope with the enormous torque and speeds of the Mean Green.

The Mean Green compels 2,100 horsepower (1,566kW) and almost 5,000lb-ft (6,770Nm) torque. 200 horsepower (149kW) and 885lb-ft. (1,198Nm) of torque come from the electric motor.

The team also had to take into consideration aerodynamics as well as the altitude of 1,280 metres (4,200 feet) above sea level which impacts the cooling of the engine.

For the stand still record, the truck starts from zero along a 1,000 metre track in one direction and then back in the other direction. The average speed from both runs is recorded as the official figure.

The Green Mean reached 153.252km/h (95.245mph), thumping the record it previously held of 152.253km/h (94.605mph).

For the flying kilometre record, the truck was given a short distance to build up speed before a 1,000 metre span of track in each direction as with the stand still.

It averaged 236.577km/h (147.002mph), breaking the previous record of 218.780km/h (135.943mph).

The records have to be recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) in order to be official, this will happen in approximately 60-90 days.

For more information visit:
http://www.volvotrucks.com/trucks/na/en-us/news_and_events/_layouts/CWP.Internet.VolvoCom/NewsItem.aspx?News.ItemId=122954&News.Language=en-gb

Recognising Michelin’s commitment to road safety, His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent and Royal Patron of The Commission for Global Road Safety said: “Michelin is a global leader in road safety innovation not only through its product development but also in the field of care for its own employees.”

“But its wider corporate commitment to community safety and international programs is an outstanding example to all businesses.”

Michelin says that its strategic focus on performance would be meaningless without an ongoing commitment to make roads around the world safer and that the focus on road safety is part of its corporate social responsibility.

This reflects one of Michelin’s core values ‘respect for people’ by supporting safer driving programs, providing safer driving training to employees and promoting road safety to the general public.

Michelin became one of the first companies to sign the Global Road Safety Commitment to support the United Nations’ Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, investing six million euro in 2012 to support global road safety initiatives worldwide.

The UN Decade of Action for Road Safety is supported by the Road Safety Fund.

The Fund supports the UN program by raising financial funding from corporations in order to invest in road injury prevention programmes in developing countries and facilitates global advocacy for the UN program, exchange of knowledge and creates new partnerships.

For more information:
http://www.roadsafetyfund.org/Pages/default.aspx

Overall, 79,097 vehicles were sold in April, an increase of 6.6 per cent (or 4,833 vehicles) compared to the same month in 2011. On a year-to-date basis, this is a 5.1 per cent increase (16,541 vehicles) on sales for the first four months in 2011.

“Yet again, SUVs dominate the Australian vehicle market, with sales increasing for all sizes of SUVs in the private, business and retail sectors,” FCAI Chief Executive Ian Chalmers said.

“This month however we can also see an interesting emergence of customer preference for diesel powered SUVs.”

Private sales for diesel SUVs increased by 56.6 per cent (or 1,530 vehicles) compared to the same month in 2011, and 47.9 per cent (5,485) for the same four-month period last year.

Similarly, non-private sales for diesel SUVs increased by 47.5 per cent (1,507) compared with April 2011 and 39.3 per cent (5,588) for the same period in 2011. Overall, SUV sales increased by 24.4 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Meanwhile sales are down for large passenger vehicles, but medium passenger car sales continue to be strong, up 14.6 per cent (3,428) compared with the same period last year. Sales of sports cars show a healthy resurgence with an increase of 36.1 per cent (1,680) compared with the same period.

Sales of locally manufactured vehicles are up 17.1 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The popular Mazda3 was pipped at the post in April by the Toyota HiLux with 3,565 sales.

Toyota was the best performing brand in April selling 16,568 vehicles, followed by Mazda with 7,681, and then Holden with 7,589.

Source: FCAI

Continental, one of the world’s leading tyre suppliers, has launched a new product line specifically designed for consumers in the Asia Pacific, including Australia, and delivering maximum comfort and performance – the ContiMaxContactTM MC5.

Featuring the leading German technology Continental is renowned for, the ContiMaxContactTM MC5 offers drivers extreme handling thanks to the new Activated Silica Compound, which contributes to the optimisation of the grip and steering performance on both dry and wet roads.

The ContiMaxContactTM MC5 also features another innovative design in the Continental Noise Breaker, which considerably reduces noise and gives excellent comfort to both drivers and passengers.

The development of the ContiMaxContactTM MC5 has created a significant breakthrough in tyre technology by resolving the conflict between handling and comfort.

“The designed-for-Asia MC5 is developed with full consideration of all the influential factors to Asian consumer’s driving expectation. The R&D approach has not only considered the consumer requirement but also climate, vehicle replacement frequency, driving habits, etc,” said Dr. Erhard Barho, R&D Director of Continental Business Unit Replacement Passenger and Light Truck Tyres Asia Pacific.

“We believe this new innovative MC5 will bring super driving pleasure to our consumers with outstanding performance plus comfort.”

The launch of ContiMaxContactTM MC5 also brings the possibility of further expansion of the existing tyre marketplace in Asia Pacific by introducing a new ‘Comfort and Performance’ tyre line.

“The launch of ContiMaxContactTM MC5 is an important regional product line we have introduced all over Asia. APAC region is a vibrant marketplace and high on our agenda. We will continue our investment in Asia Pacific and demonstrate the strength of German technology to our consumers and partners in Asia with the best possible products,” said Antonio Lopes de Seabra, Executive Vice President of Continental Business Unit Replacement Asia Pacific, Passenger and Light Truck Tyres.

The best tyre choice for all situations, the ContiMaxContactTM MC5 is suited for a wide range of vehicles in Australia.

The ContiMaxContactTM MC5 offers tyres ranging from 40 to 55 aspect ratio series in 16, 17 and 18 inches with a maximum speed of 270 km per hour.

About Continental:
With sales of €30.5 billion in 2011, Continental is among the leading automotive suppliers worldwide. As a supplier of brake systems, systems and components for powertrains and chassis, instrumentation, infotainment solutions, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers, Continental contributes to enhanced driving safety and global climate protection. Continental is also an expert partner in networked automobile communication. Continental currently has approximately 164,000 employees in 46 countries.

Continental is the European market leader for passenger and light truck tyres. More than 30 percent of all new European cars leave the factory fitted with Continental tyres. Continental’s tyre divisions are an official sponsor of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.