At the Dakar and Monte Carlo Rally
After winning the World Rally Championship in 2005, the 2006 season has got off to the best possible start for Stilo with Luc Alphand`s victory on the Dakar Rally and second place for Sebastien Loeb on the Monte Carlo Rally.

Dakar
For the third year on the trot, Stilo has been the technical partner of the winners of the legendary Dakar Rally. Luc Alphand and Gilles Picard`s victory, together with third place for ‘Nani` Roma/Henri Magne and fourth for Stephane Peterhansel/Jean-Paul Cottret underlines the winning partnership between Stilo and Mitsubishi.

Stilo supplied the Japanese team not only with helmets (specifically the WRC carbon model, which is lightweight and designed for prolonged use), but also with intercom and radio equipment (ST30 model) to allow radio and telephone communications between the competing crews and the rest of the team.

For the last three Dakar Rallies, the Mitsubishi drivers have been delighted by the comfort of their helmets and the sound quality of the intercom system. The team has equally appreciated the total reliability of Stilo`s equipment in all conditions.

The Dakar Rally is a gruelling challenge for Stilo`s electronic systems, run in extreme conditions over a distance of 15,000 kilometres through choking dust and sand. Stilo`s winning ways have proved the performance and reliability of its cutting-edge technology, with all Stilo products proving 100% reliable to date. For the last three years Stilo has supplied the entire Mitsubishi team (with four or five cars per event) without a single failure.

Along with Mitsubishi, several other drivers and teams were using Stilo equipment on the 2006 Dakar Rally. Amongst them:

Carlos Sainz : VW Touareg (11th)

Hubert Auriol : Isuzu D-Max (Retired)

Ellen Lohr : Mercedes ML 350 (Retired)

BMW X-Raid team

Monte-Carlo
On the first round of the FIA World Rally Championship, reigning World Champions Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena took second place after a thrilling fightback, following an off-road excursion that cost them five minutes at the end of leg one. Both Loeb and Elena are long-time partners of Stilo.

All three Citroen Xsara crews from the Kronos Team (Loeb/Elena, Pons/Del Barrio and Sordo/Marti) used Stilo helmets, and will continue to do so throughout the year. Gilles and Herve Panizzi (Red Bull - Škoda Team), Francois Duval/Patrick Pivato (Škoda - First Motorsport) and ‘Gigi` Galli/Giovanni Bernacchini (Mitsubishi Ralliart Italy) were also supplied by Stilo.

Results of the Stilo crews:

Loeb/Elena 2nd
Sordo/Marti 8th
Pons/Del Barrio 9th
Panizzi/Panizzi 10th
Duval/Pivato Retired
Galli/Bernacchini Retired

Tags: rally,