By Denna Bowman

As football fans across England brace themselves for the vital World Cup match against Slovenia, Michelin tyres joins the businesses taking a flexible approach to allowing staff to watch the game.

The French tyres manufacturer, which operates a plant in Stoke employing about 1,000 people, will have televisions showing the game at various locations around its plant.

Peter Snelling, head of communications at the Campbell Road firm, said: “We can’t have everyone disappearing to watch the match, especially in places like the factory and the customer contact centre.

“But we are being as understanding as possible.

“It’s at the discretion of line managers, but we are trying to be flexible.”

Businesses around the country are realising that making the match accessible to staff could avoid employees phoning in sick.

The match, which kicks off at 3pm, could mark the end of England’s World Cup dreams - or kick start their campaign which has definitely stalled during the past two games.

Other employees are letting employees leave early and make up the hours at another time or work through breaks to accrue enough time to watch the full 90 minutes.

Calling all women who are fed up with the World Cup - take a few moments to enter the Continental tyres contest and you could a gorgeous diamond!

In its role as an official sponsor of the World Cup, the tyres manufacturer has being running competitions for football fans for months.

Now it’s the turn of the bored WAGS of the nation’s footie enthusiasts.

The ‘Diamond Directory’ wants to hear their recommendations for football-free activities to help avoid the World Cup.

Conti says: “Just as you would recommend your favourite hairdresser or shop to your friends we’d like you to share your ‘diamond’ recommendations to the world.

“As thanks for sharing your favourite stylist, spa, shop, restaurant (the list of possibilities is endless!) you will be entered into the ‘Diamond Exchange’ draw to win a stunning 1.01 carat ethical and environmentally sourced diamond worth a whopping £8,575.”

Recommendations can be entered on the website at www.discoveradiamond.co.uk.

The website offers the complete girls’ antidote to football offering advice on everything from shoes to tyres, and also has a weekly prize draw for three bottles of wine.

There are also two stylish Radley Grosvenor handbags up for grabs as second and third prize respectively.

These bags are crafted from the most beautiful textured leather, with antique brass fittings, a sculpted flapover top and leather strap detail.

By Alex Kapadia

Bridgestone is introducing a radical change to its tyres strategy for the German Grand Prix by implementing a three-step gap.

The Japanese tyres manufacturer has responded to the excitement created at the Canadian Grand Prix when the tyres played a key role in the most thrilling race of the season so far.

Variations in tyre performance of the tyres Bridgestone took to Montreal forced teams to choose different and diverse pit strategies, drivers’ pace constantly fluctuated due to tyres and tactics, all of which led to plenty of over-taking.

The exciting result convinced Bridgestone to be more radical with its Hockenheim tyre choice, where teams must use both the super softs and the hard tyres during the grand prix.

Hirohide Hamashima, director of motorsport tyre development for Bridgestone, said: “The major interest of this allocation announcement is that we are bringing the hard and super soft compounds to Germany.

“The characteristics of the Hockenheim circuit allow us to bring the compounds from the extremes of our softness range.

“This will give us very good data for evaluation and will be interesting for those who have called for a bigger difference between the allocated tyres.”

At present Hockenheim is the only other track where such a big variation in tyre performance is likely. Hamashima said that the characteristics of other tracks made it neither safe nor practical to force drivers to use what would be inappropriate tyres.

Honest John, the Daily Telegraph’s motoring agony aunt, shares the view that low-profile tyres on a 4×4 are madness and completely go against the purpose of four-wheel drive.

The motoring columnist was responding to a missive from PR in York, who wrote: “As some manufacturers fit ever bigger wheels as standard, so ride quality deteriorates. We live in a flood-prone part of the country and have a 4×4 for its wading ability.

“The current Range Rover was originally fitted with 17-inch wheels, but they have since grown to 19 inches and ruin the ride. I recently tried a Discovery with its new diesel engine - and high-spec models also come with 19-inch rims.

“Although ride comfort is better than the Range Rover, it would benefit from smaller wheels with deeper tyres. I asked Land Rover customer services whether I could specify them, but they could not tell me.

“The more mature motoring journalists are starting to question bling wheels and the effect they have on ride quality.

“One of the problems, I gather, is the trend towards fitting big brakes and calipers, but these are unnecessary on anything other than supercars.”

Honest John had this to say: “You’re right. Since nobody with a brain is going to race a Discovery 4, the last thing they need is big brakes, huge wheels and 40-profile tyres, especially in the snow.

“Do yourself a favour: save a lot of unnecessary expense and take a look at the 2010 Hyundai Santa Fe.”

Oliver Hall, Operations Team

The latest update on the race to supply Formula One teams with tyres from next season is that Pirelli is trying to get hold of a racing car to use for testing.

Apparently, the Italian tyres manufacturer is believed to be in advanced-stage negotiations that would allow it to use a Toyota car for tyre development.

Pirelli is the front-runner in the race to take over from Bridgetone, who will stop supplying the tyres when their contract runs out at the end of the season, having edged ahead of rivals Michelin.

The whole saga has been dragging on for a couple of months, with the teams waiting to see which company succeeds Bridgestone and negotiations within Formula One’s upper echelons have continued for far longer than expected.

Pirelli’s attempts to acquire the Toyota car will be seen as a sign of its confidence that it can deal with Formula One’s two governing bodies – the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile and Formula One Administration Limited.

The rules on tyre usage in Formula One were changed several years ago so all racing teams began using identical tyres. The aim was to reduce the time and money spent on development by individual teams.

Pirelli has a strong Formula One pedigree as a tyre supplier from the first championship race in 1950 and 44 grand prix-winning cars have been kitted out with Pirelli tyres since then.

However, there have been no Pirelli tyres used in Formula One since the early 1990s.

By Denna Bowman

Pirelli has been extending its brand beyond tyres and into fashion for around eight years and it has just launched a range of ultra-cool trainers.

The Italian tyres manufacturer aims to extend its PZero clothing and footwear label, which denotes high-tech style with modern materials, into a full fashion line.

For the sprig-summer 2011 season, Pirelli has released a sailing shoe, the Pirelli PZero Water, and a jacket, the PZero Air, working with seven designers and three licensees.

The PZero range for spring 2011 also includes a range of trainers called the Rubber Racer, which feature soles mirroring the design of Pirelli tyres.

The I Cut Tube jacket is waterproof and customizable by the wearer to fit his size. Pirelli claims that customers themselves can “self-tailor”, cutting the lengths of its I Cut trousers and the sleeves of the jacket through a layer of rubber film which prevents fraying. They are sold with a pair of scissors.

The company’s licensors expect other products to emerge under the PZero name, including bags and various limited-edition items.

By Oliver Hall

A 2010 World Cup survey carried out by Continental tyres claims that almost two thirds of Irish football fans will be hoping France does badly in this summers tournament.

And apparently one in ten signaled their support for the England team, according to the tyres company survey.

Commenting on the World Cup study, Paddy Murphy of Continental said: “It’s just a bit of fun really, but some of the results are certainly interesting!

“Who’d have thought that almost 13% of us will be supporting England outright this summer? Or that if the final was England v France, 57% of us would be up for England?

“When all the predictions are said and done, I think most people are just looking forward to a memorable tournament with lots of attacking football and loads of goals.

“And let’s hope, as our survey suggests, that in four years time we’re in Brazil getting ready to play our part.”

The results certainly indicate that the French have overtake the English as the ‘old enemy’ of Irish sport, with Spain as the team most want to win the 2010 World Cup.

Sunday Times readers have continued their attack on space-saver spare tyres on the letters page of the ingear motoring section.

Following on from Jeffrey Snowden’s letter complaining about the tyres last week, Bob Lockett jumped on the bandwagon and emailed in to add his message to fellow motorists.

He wrote: “Space-saver wheels are useless. Some time agao I wanted to buy a big 4×4. I looked at and rejected Volvo, BMW and Mercedes-Benz models because they had space-savers. I decided against Land Rover and Toyota for other reasons. Finally I bought a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

“On my long trips to the south of Spain and elsewhere I had the comfort of knowing that should I suffer a puncture, my trip would not be curtailed. In no circumstances would I buy a car with a space-saver wheel. I think that motorists should send a clear message to manufacturers that we want full-sized spare wheels.”

Denna Bowman, Head Office

Jason Manford had a very lucky escape last week when two tyres on the hire car he was being driven in blew out while they were doing 70mph on the motorway.

The new host of BBC’s primetime hit The One Show lived to tell the tale after his shocking tyres incident - or more precisely tweet the tale to his Twitter followers - but not everyone is as lucky.

That’s why TyreSafe, the UK’s leading tyre safety organisation, urges motorists to check the tyre pressure regularly to avoid suffering a blow out.

Here’s their guide to making sure your tyres are properly inflated:

Check your tyre pressures at least once a month or before a long journey.

Tyre pressure should be checked against the vehicle manufacturer’s recommended level. This can be found in the vehicle handbook and on a plate which is often located inside the fuel filler flap or on the driver’s door sill.

Check the pressure when tyres are cold (i.e. when you have travelled less than two miles).

If you are carrying a full load of passengers or luggage or will be towing a trailer or caravan, tyre pressures should be increased in line with the vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations. Details can be found in the handbook.

Ensure a reliable and accurate pressure gauge is used.

Check the pressure in all four tyres not forgetting to check the spare tyre as well.

While checking pressures, give the rest of the tyre a visual inspection. Remove any stones and other objects embedded in the tread. Look out for any bulges, lumps or cuts.

If you are unsure on any aspect of tyre pressure or tyre condition take your vehicle to an approved fitting centre and speak to the experts.

Denna Bowman, Head Office

By Denna Bowman

Formula One fans will have the chance to meet some of the sport’s biggest names - thanks to Bridgestone tyres.

The tyres manufacturer has revealed that it’s taking Ross Brawn, Patrick Head and Nico Hulkenberg - plus more names to be announced - to the Bridgestone Eco-Rally 2010 this summer.

Now in its fourth year, the event is set to be bigger than ever as stars from the world of F1 lend their support courtesy of Bridgestone, the sole tyre supplier to F1, who will be adding some track-side glamour to the day.

The Bridgestone Eco-Rally takes place on Wednesday 7th July and will showcase all the latest in low and zero emission vehicle technology in a convoy from Brighton’s seafront to London’s Hyde Park.

At the finish line, it will join the UK’s largest sustainable transport exhibition, free to attend, at the Royal Albert Memorial.

The annual event attracts support from many high-profile celebrities, as well as some of the most important names in the motoring industry entering their revolutionary vehicles into the Eco-Rally and exhibition.

TV motoring journalist, Quentin Willson, who has driven in the last three Eco-Rallies, said: “Having Bridgestone and F1 drivers on board this year proves that sustainable motoring really has hit the mainstream. The cars we drive and how they’re powered will never be the same again.

“For motorists who want cheaper fuel and energy choices this is only event i

“I’m proud to be celebrating how the massive technological ingenuity of F1 and the global motor industry has made cars the cleanest and most efficient they’ve ever been.”