Dunlop tires steering the course for round-the-world drive in a Mini Cooper

As Oscar Revelli makes his way around the globe in a Mini Cooper GP, it is certain that road conditions being experienced are much different in North America, Russia and Europe. However, one constant throughout the journey are the Dunlop tires on which he is traveling.

Revelli is the primary driver and organizer of the current “Mini GP World Challenge,” an adventure that began Aug. 15 in Miami, Fla. and is scheduled to end two months later in Turin, Italy. A customized Mini GP was prepared for the journey, first driving on the original equipment Dunlop tires – SP Sport 01 DSSTs, then switching to Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D DSSTs for the rough roads of Russia and Asia.

Currently driving in Europe, the venerable Mini recently progressed across Russia, and Revelli describes the driving experience in his blog report at www.miniworldchallenge2008.com.

“Our first time on Russian land, and what a land. We got a taste of it 30 minutes after we left the port, and I wished I had switched the tires and rims when I was in Korea. The stock rims and tires did well, but my bottom was not really happy. A first taste of gravel, and we mount the all-terrain tires provided by Dunlop and we are in business,” he wrote.

According to Matthew Neidert, brand manager for Dunlop performance tires, the newly mounted run-flat 195/55R16 Dunlop SP Winter Sport 3D DSST tires feature the cutting-edge Active Traction Sipe System, which helps maintain optimum performance as driving conditions change.

Three unique types of sipes positioned throughout the treadface pull, grip and enhance traction to help provide high-performance cornering and handling in icy, snowy, wet and dry driving conditions. It also features a tread compound built to remain “sticky” in winter temperatures and help promote even tread wear. The SP Winter Sport 3D DSST was chosen for the Mini GP World Challenge due to its excellent traction and the likelihood of varied driving surfaces on the journey.

Revelli and his co-driver, Salvatore Carobene, drove across the U.S., had the Mini air-shipped from Seattle, Wash. to Seoul, South Korea, then began their Asian driving segment.

They completed the crossing of Russia earlier than expected, and are traveling through the Scandanavian countries before heading south through Europe.

In addition to Dunlop’s support of the Mini GP World Challenge, Revelli is being sponsored by motorsports accessories company Sparco USA and MC2, a magazine for Mini owners.

Dunlop is a global tire brand with an excellent reputation among performance car enthusiasts. Well known for its prestigious original-equipment fitments and sports car racing heritage, Dunlop is also a key supplier to sport compact enthusiasts featuring “tuner” tire sizes and race series sponsorships.

For more information, visit www.dunloptires.com.