European Championship: Continental equips team buses with premium tires backed by proven safety

Hanover (pps) Host Switzerland is letting the ball roll for the first time Saturday. On Sunday, host Austria will pass the ball, and the team of national trainer Joachim Löw will combine both.

The German national team would then achieve what Continental AG, the official sponsor of the UEFA EURO 2008, has already managed to do. The exclusive tire partner of the European Championship equipped all axles of all 16 team buses with one of their premium bus tires, like it did for all 32 teams during the 2006 World Cup in Germany: HSR stands for Heavy Load Steering Axle Regional Traffic and was designed especially for service in regional and charter traffic. It is characterized by very good handling for maximum safety, excellent mileage performance with reduced fuel consumption as well as enhanced ride comfort thanks to quiet, vibration-free rolling.

The reference to “all axles” is important. After all, the tire load is different on the steering axle than on the drive axle. And the HSR 1 is the only tire from Continental that satisfies these different requirements on buses ideally.

Since the teams are traditionally on the road a lot with the team bus during a tournament, the safety reserves of the tire play a key role. “In this way, Continental makes a major contribution to the safety of the top European football players, as the tires are the only link to the road, with a contact patch just the size of a postcard," says press spokesman Alexander Lührs.

In addition to the buses, more than 60 official UEFA vehicles were equipped with nearly the entire Continental summer tire family, including the ContiCrossContact UHP and Conti4x4Contact for off-road vehicles as well as the VancoContact 2 for vans.

Furthermore, all Continental minibuses are equipped with the special edition SHL 1 brought out already for the 2006 FIFA World Cup – with stylized soccer balls and a colorful Continental logo on the sidewall – and feature the Continental design on a large scale. “We also want to use the UEFA EURO 2008 to demonstrate the merits of our products in use,” reports Lührs.

The buses were fit with the new premium tires in recent weeks by special tire dealers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. It took the fitters about 10 minutes to change each tire. And now Continental wishes all players, teams, volunteers and fans safe and comfortable trips for the European Championship.

Direct inquiries to:

Alexander Lührs

Head of PR, Passenger/Light Truck Tires

Continental AG

Büttnerstraße 25 , 30165 Hanover, Germany

Phone: +49 (0) 511 938 2615

Fax: +49 (0) 511 938 2455

E-mail: alexander.luehrs@conti.de

Internet: www.conti-online.com

Image database at www.mediacenter.continental-corporation.com