Michelin have begun the process of refunding the 120,000
fans who were treated to a six-car United States Grand Prix farce
at Indianapolis last month.
The French company's tyres were not safe to compete at
Indianapolis, forcing seven teams to pull out of the race on the
warm-up lap and provoking outrage among fans.
As part of their bid to restore the tainted reputation of Michelin
and Formula One in the US, they promised to refund all ticket
holders and buy another 20,000 tickets for next year's race to be
handed out free of charge.
That process has begun today with Michelin hoping they have done
enough to end the American backlash against them, which saw share
prices plummet in the aftermath of the race.
"By working with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, we've created a
thorough and quick process to reach out to all those fans present
at the United States Grand Prix and offer them the face value
refund of their race day ticket," said Jim Micali, chairman and
president of Michelin North America.
"In addition to the ticket refund, we will provide 20,000 tickets
to the 2006 US Grand Prix at Indianapolis to dedicated fans who
purchased tickets to this year's race. We hope through these
gestures to encourage the further development of Formula One in the
United States."
Track president Joie Chitwood, who delivered stinging criticism of
the fiasco in an angry press conference just hours after the race,
has applauded Michelin's actions.
He said: "Although many different parties had an influence on the
race run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on June 19, Michelin
has made a tremendous commitment to the fans of the United States
Grand Prix.
"We've been working closely with Michelin to work out the details
of the ticket refund process and we commend them on their
commitment to a speedy and full response to the fans."
Friday's move follows the previous day's decision by world
governing body the FIA to absolve the seven teams of blame
following new evidence which proved they were legally unable to
race after advice from Michelin. - PlanetF1.com