MINI TAKES YOUNGSTERS OUT ON THE TRACK WITH MOTORSPORT VISION’S YOUNGDRIVE

MINI is delighted to team up with MotorSport Vision to supply a fleet of MINI One models for its YoungDrive programme. The scheme offers children as young as 11 years old (and a minimum of 4’ 8” tall) the chance to have their first taste of motoring.

The dual controlled MINI Ones are available at Brands Hatch, Oulton Park and Bedford Autodrome and each car features a DSA-approved instructor who will teach young drivers essential skills in a traffic-free environment to prepare them for hitting the roads for real when they’re old enough.

“The MINI One is the perfect car to give young people their first driving experience and is very popular amongst new drivers; it’s small, nippy and fantastic fun. I’m sure it will leave them counting the days to their 17th birthday!” says Jochen Goller, Director, MINI UK.

Jonathan Palmer, owner of Motorsport Vision says “Our renowned YoungDrive programme is a fun and informative course that’s designed to give a positive first experience for new drivers and its popularity has grown significantly over the past few years. I’m delighted we’ve joined forces with the iconic MINI brand – it really is the perfect car for young people to sample driving for the first time.”

This collaboration further highlights MINI’s dedication to investing in young drivers; the company already supplies a fleet of MINI Ones to the MINI Drivers @ Goodwood programme.

For more information on availability and restrictions contact MSV on 0843 453 1000 or www.motorsportvision.co.uk.

RSR Motorsports will have a lot of familiar faces next year as five drivers return to the team for another season of GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge competition.

Ron Farmer and Jason Hart had a successful first season in the Street Tuner class during 2011. They earned four top-ten finishes, with a best of sixth at Virginia International Raceway. The duo will once again co-drive the No. 196 U.S. LED MINI Cooper S.

Farmer was encouraged by the recent test at Daytona International Raceway, where he and Hart finished seventh last year. “The test was only my second time at Daytona, and I think we can do well there,” says Farmer. “We’re down on horsepower compared to other cars, but we qualified well last year. If we can get that prefect run again—that draft—we can hope for the best again.”

Hart adds, “Our outlook is really bright. Ron and I learned a lot of valuable lessons in our rookie season, and some of those unenjoyable lessons will make for an enjoyable 2012. We made some developments on the shock package, and it was really a positive change for the test at Daytona.”

Hart has stayed busy this off-season, including a class win in his rookie outing at the Baja 1000. “Winning the Baja 1000 was incredible. It’s such an historic race and something I’ve paid attention to since I was a kid. To compete in the biggest off-road race in the world is amazing, to win it is over the top,” Hart says.

Chris Puskar, Mark Congleton and Dicky Riegel are returning to RSR Motorsports to drive the No. 195 MINI Cooper S.

Puskar earned second place in an RSR MINI at New Jersey last year. It was only his second of three races in the series, but he will race every event in 2012. “I’ll be returning as a rookie in the series. I’m very excited about it,” Puskar says. “I was really impressed with Dicky when we drove together at Mid-Ohio last year. He was really competitive. I also saw the lap times that Mark was running; he’s really quick and I was impressed with his abilities, as well.”

Riegel, who earned his own second place at Lime Rock last year, thinks the 2012 driver line-up and the strength of the RSR MINIs is a winning combination. He says, “I’m really looking forward to returning to RSR for my fourth season with the team. It’s been pretty incredible to watch the team develop over the past several years. They have turned into a truly competitive team and a leader in the series. I have to believe that with the strength of the drivers we have this year, we’ll be seeing the RSR cars on the podium a lot more often.”

Congleton, who will be co-driving with Puskar for half of the season, says, “I’m very excited about running with Chris. In the short time he was with RSR last year, he demonstrated an ability to get the car to the front of the pack quickly. My first goal is to get at least one podium and hopefully a win. I want to be instrumental in assisting Chris with getting rookie of the year.”

The drivers returning to RSR Motorsports will have their first chance at a 2012 podium finish during the GRAND-AM 200 at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, January 27.

NAPA VALLEY, Calif. (November 1, 2011) – The National Auto Sport Association (NASA) 25 Hours of Thunderhill has received another quality entry from RSR Motorsports with two of its BMW Mini Coopers. The Minis will compete in the ES class at Thunderhill Raceway Park in Willows, California, December 3-4.

Randall Smalley’s RSR Motosports, with support from Cruise America, US LED, Thor Motor Coach, Casetech, and Carbotech Brake Pads will run their Minis for the first time at the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill. The team, from Orlando, FL, will have Ron Farmer, Jason Hart, B.J. Farmer, Mark Congleton, Dicky Riegel, and Owen Trinkler driving.
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“I have raced in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, but this is the first time for me at the 25 Hour race and the Thunderhill circuit,” Trinkler, RSR driver said. “Jason Hart is the only one on the team that has raced in this event in the past. I have heard good things about the event so we are looking forward to running in the 25 hour this year. We will run in the ES class, we want to use this as a warm-up for the upcoming Grand-Am season so we can make pit stops and fuel the car like we would for those races. I’m for sure that we will not have the raw speed in that class, but if we can keep making laps we might be around at the end of 25 hours.”

“RSR Motorsports has had great success with their Mini Coopers,” Jerry Kunzman, NASA Executive Director, said. “They won the PTC Class at our NASA National Championships presented by Toyo Tires at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in September. They came back to Mid-Ohio two weeks later and were battling for the ST championship in the Grand-Am Series. They field great cars and will definitely be a factor when the sun comes up on Sunday morning.”

“NASA has also arranged for live timing and scoring to stream live, which can be found at the NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill web page once the action starts on December 3.”

The NASA 25 Hours of Thunderhill will see a field of nearly 70 cars racing in six classes (ES, ESR, E0, E1, E2, E3) going twice around the clock plus an hour over the three-mile, 15-turn track located 90-minutes north of Sacramento. For entry and rules information, visit http://www.nasa25hour.com/.
For additional information, please contact NASA Media Director, Kyle Chura at kyle@kcapr.com or (248) 821-0468. More detail on NASA and the Thunderhill 25 Hour can be found at www.nasaproracing.com or www.nasa25hour.com.

Heya MINI fans! Nope, it’s not another stuffy press release from Munich or Oxford. Finally, we got some news local to the USA!

MINI USA and MINI of Charleston to build and sell turn-key MINI race cars

MINI USA has partnered with MINI of Charleston (South Carolina) to announce that the MINI Cooper Hardtop will begin racing in the B-Spec series for the 2012 race season. B-Spec vehicles are production-based cars that are equalized on power and weight to make the racing as competitive as possible and all four of the major racing sanctioning bodies (SCCA, Grand Am, NASA and World Challenge) will host B-Spec races in 2012.

Jim McDowell, Vice President – MINI USA (who was interviewed by Miniology earlier) said, “B-Spec racing is a great fit for MINI because the car is developed with racing heritage in mind and the races are run with vehicles very similar to those already sitting in the driveway…Getting involved with B-Spec racing offers a fun and competitive race environment without requiring MINI drivers to make a large financial investment to make their car a serious competitor.”

Yeah, like we have always said, MINIs (even stock ones!) are track-ready right off the dealership floor. How many brands can say they offer that kind of performance right off the factory line?

MINI of Charleston, a Hendrick Automotive Group company, will build and sell turn-key MINI Hardtop racing vehicles by the start of the 2012 season. It will also offer class-legal conversion kits so the owner of any 2007 – 2012 MINI Cooper Hardtop can easily be ready to race in B-Spec. All safety equipment will meet or exceed requirements set forth by the sanctioning body.

During the LA Auto Show, the first MINI’s B-Spec prototype will be on display. This vehicle will be driven by Brad Davis, Executive General Manager of MINI of Charleston and team driver Robbie Davis.

MINI USA’s existing contingency program for all four racing series will be extended to sanctioned B-Spec race teams, with financial compensation for an eligible podium finish. For more information about MINI USA’s contingency program, please visit http://www.miniusa.com/#/miniRacing

Vinnie Kung, MINI USA Product Manager added, “MINI entering B-Spec racing is full of benefits. Drivers can enter the racing arena for a fairly low investment in a car developed from the ground up with performance and handling at its core. In addition, MINI USA’s contingency program is to compelling, it could even pay off the car itself in about a year.”

Final contingency payout information, as well as detailed pricing for the MINI Hardtop adapted by MINI of Charleston and the conversion kits, will be announced as the start of the 2012 season draws closer.

Now here are the vehicle specs:

2012 MINI Cooper Hardtop B-Spec Racer
HP: 121 @ 6,000, factory rated
TQ: 114 @ 4,250, factory rated
Steering: Electric power-assisted rack and pinion, 14.1:1 ratio
Weight: 2,535 pounds, 60.4%/39.6% F/R, factory rated
Length / Wheelbase / Height: 146.6”/ 97.1” / 55.4”
Suspension: KW V1 Coilover Struts and Shocks/ Vorshlag front camber plates
Brakes: Standard MINI Brake system with Carbotech Brake Pads and Way Motorworks Stainless Steel Braided hoses.
Safety Equipment: Kirk Racing Roll Cage with Kirkey Intermediate Road Racing Seat and Schroth Hybrid III Harnesses, Cage Nets and Window Net.
Wheel / Tire: 15 x 7 Kosei K1 aluminum alloy / Hoosier SM6 205-50-15
Performance-enhancing electronics standard on all MINIs:
• Dynamic Stability Control (DSC)
• Four-wheel disc Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS)
• Cornering Brake Control (CBC)
• Brake Force Distribution (BFD)

[Source: BMW Group PressClub USA - Woodcliff Lake, NJ - November 16, 2011]

The MINI WRC Team’s drivers were fighting to the very end of Wales Rally GB to give the team a great result on the last event of its first year in the World Rally Championship. Kris Meeke (GB) and Paul Nagle (IR) finished the event in fourth, while Dani Sordo (ES) and Carlos del Barrio (ES) set the second fastest time in the final test of the day, the Power Stage at Monument, ending up finishing 20th overall.

That may not sound too impressive, but when you look at the 2011 FIA Drivers’ Championship Standings, we find Sordo in 8th, Meeke in 11th. Co-drivers Carlos del Barrio took 7th and Paul Nagle 15th, not too shabby out of 32 eh?

Let’s not forget Brazil’s entry this year – the Brazil World Rally Team (BWRT) ran 11 events using a Prodrive-developed Super 2000-version of MINI’s Countryman-based World Rally Car, then switching to a MINI WRC on Rally d’Italia Sardegna in May. We don’t know why BMW’s press sites have barely (if any) mention of this or other MINI/Mini rally teams and events, perhaps it was just too much news to cover in one sitting, who knows? Just to be fair, let us recognize MINI Motorsport is still covering the MINI Challenge events along with endurance, Dakar, and some other news, though I didn’t see any info on Brazil’s MINI there, so we had to go direct to the WRC site for that. Yeah okay, they did retire 5 out of the 11 events and finished half of the remaining runs without a top 10 placement, but, I do like to give props that they were driving a beautiful MINI instead of another one of those Citroen eyesores

Back to our report though..

Meeke left Cardiff in the early hours of the morning 45 seconds behind the third placed Ford of Henning Solberg (NO). From the first stage of the day Meeke was determined to do everything he could to snatch a podium on his home event, and by the start of the final stage of the day the gap was down to 1.8 seconds. Unfortunately (sigh!!!!) he hit a rut, did a half spin, and that was that …

Team Principal David Richards remained optimistic for next year, and said, “This event, like so many others, has had its ups and downs. Kris I am sure will reflect on that half spin on the last stage and what might have been, but there have been so many other occasions on the event when we could have also done a little bit better or had a bit better luck. At the end of the day when I look back on this rally and think where we have come in six months – Dani and Kris have achieved five top five positions in only six events – quite honestly the team has come of age and this is only just the beginning for the MINI WRC Team.”

Head of MINI Motorsport Dirk Hollweg was also pleased by this year’s trial runs, stating, “We are overwhelmed by the success of the team, which is much better than expected. We are very happy with the performance of the whole team and the drivers and we have a great spirit. This is of great benefit to the MINI and the John Cooper Works brand. This is exactly what we wanted.”

Technical Director Dave Wilcock summed up day four’s happenings by saying, “It has been a good day. Kris had a big challenge to make up the ground between himself and Henning Solberg , with 45 seconds to find which averaged to just over half a second a kilometre. He was completely on track with that until the Power Stage when he had to find 1.8secs to match Henning’s time and take a podium..”

( yeh, and we know how that went.. but we still love Kris anyway.. )

“..Still we are very happy with fourth and Kris’ performance on the event. Dani’s very uncharacteristic mistake on Friday meant he was in the SupeRally. We wanted to build his confidence for the future in these conditions and did this, as he was setting competitive times and second on the Power Stage is something we are very pleased with. We got both cars to the finish, they are in reasonable shape, and we have learnt an awful lot. For the drivers it was difficult physically, as there were some very long road sections to contend with, but they came through it very well. It was a tough rally for the car and we are very pleased with its general reliability. This has been a testing year for us, it has been a good rally to finish on and overall we are very happy with the result as the team has worked extremely hard. Also important to what has happened this year has been our partnership with Michelin. It is a very good relationship and we work together very well. We share all our information with them in order to maximise the performance of our tyre, and the results have proven that the partnership is working very well.”

Dani Sordo (MINI John Cooper Works WRC No 37) said, “I was pushing a little bit on the Power Stage but Sébastien Ogier was going really fast. I enjoyed the second run through the stages today. However, after the first day it is difficult to push when you have nothing to fight for. Despite what happened on Friday, I am happy and now I have a lot more confidence in the car, in the conditions we have had here in Wales. Although the sun was shining, today many parts on the tarmac with gravel tyres were slippery. The season has been interesting because the car has become better and better. Obviously we now need to develop it more.”

Kris Meeke (MINI John Cooper Works WRC No 52) agreed, saying “All in all we had a pretty good weekend. We had a few issues during the rally, which perhaps cost us about three minutes. Still I am very disappointed with the Power Stage, as when it came to producing the goods we didn’t, made a mistake and paid the price, but that is the way it goes. Hopefully there is a bigger future for us than fighting for third overall, as in a year’s time we want to be able to fight for a win. I feel very positive about the season, as for a new car and a new team, to be in there challenging for podiums is fantastic.”

We couldn’t agree more, and hope you’ve been enjoying Miniology’s continuous coverage of MINI WRC this year.

[Source: BMW Group PressClub Sport, Wales, Wales,13th November 2011.]

The sun came out in Wales, but it still threw challenges at the Wales Rally GB crews. Kris Meeke (GB) and Paul Nagle (IR) finished day three in their MINI John Cooper Works WRC fifth despite having to battle with a broken engine mount for the first three stages. Dani Sordo (ES) and Carlos del Barrio (ES) re-joined the competitors in the SupeRally and had a trouble free run.

Meeke started the day eighth and his aim was to move up rapidly to sixth and then battle for fifth. His goal was helped by the retirements of Petter Solberg (NO) and Kimi Räikkönen (FI), but not by the broken engine mount. Despite suffering from this he still set some decent stage times on the three stages into mid-day service in Builth Wells. His car was soon as good as new and ready to challenge for fourth in the afternoon. Meanwhile Sordo was feeling much more confident in the car on the low grip conditions, and on Sweet Lamb was fourth quickest first time through and third on the second run.

Dave Wilcock, Technical Director described the day thus, “We had a small issue with Kris on the first loop this morning. There was an engine mounting that had come slightly loose and it had pulled one of the exhaust slip joints off, so we had hot exhaust gas leaking into the engine bay, which melted a couple of items but nothing that cost too much performance. Because of this he took it cautiously for the first loop. We repaired that at lunch time, this afternoon things were back to normal, and we saw some good stage times from Kris. He struggled a little bit in that last stage, which was nearly 28 kilometres in Myherin, and we need to have a look at the data as he thought it felt okay. As for Dani, on the SupeRally today there were stages he knows from previous years. He was looking forward to today and his times have been improving all day long. He is now much more confident in these low grip conditions, and we could clearly see that in his stage times.

For Kris he has 45 seconds to make up to get fourth and we are now looking for a little over half a second a kilometre to leap frog Henning Solberg. It is a tall order, but there are 84 kilometres to go so we shall see how we get on on the first stage. If he is on target at that point then he will continue to push. If not then we shall just consolidate fifth position.”

Dani Sordo (MINI John Cooper Works WRC No 37) shared, “Today was quite good. I like the stages a lot, but at the same time they were very slippery. I particularly liked the Sweet Lamb stage, and this showed in my time. Tomorrow will be quite tricky as we have some parts on tarmac and some new stages. It was good that it did not rain today, but here in Wales even when it is dry the roads are muddy as it has been raining for a long time.”

Our BMW folks covering the events forgot to mention which position Dani Sordo took at the end of the day, so I guess we’ll find out more tomorrow!

Kris Meeke (MINI John Cooper Works WRC No 52) chimed in, “We sorted the engine problem from the morning at lunch time, which was good as every time I changed gear the engine was moving. We just had to drive through and try to get it back here. The second pass today was tricky and very slippery like the surface had been polished. The car is working well on the smooth stuff, but on the ruts we lose a bit of time. We shall see tomorrow what happens, as it will be interesting to see if we can catch Henning. I have done tomorrow’s stages in the other direction, so maybe I should try reversing through them!”

Whether they run dry, wet, muddy, or somewhere in between, we are pleased to see team MINI WRC on the rally circuit, and look forward to tomorrow’s competition as well the full season next year.

Here’s a few more dirty pictures for you to enjoy .. dirty MINIs that is!

[Source: BMW Group PressClub Sport, Wales, Nov 12 2011]

Miniology’s nearly live WRC coverage continues in Wales, which returned to typical November weather for day two of its World Rally Championship event.

Rain meant the crews were greeted with wet and slippery stages as they left Llandudno this morning. While the MINI John Cooper Works WRC of Kris Meeke (GB) and Paul Nagle (IR) will start day three of Wales Rally GB eighth overall, the sister car of Dani Sordo (ES) and Carlos del Barrio (ES) will be in the SupeRally after crashing out on the second stage of the day.

It wasn’t an easy day for either of the MINI WRC Team crews. On the second stage of the day the Spaniards went off the road after braking too late. Even though they could not get back on the road, the damage was not bad and they will be re-starting from Cardiff tomorrow morning. For Meeke it was a spin that resulted in him losing an alternator belt on stage seven and dropping two and a half minutes. Luckily a spare was carried in the car, so the repairs were carried out by the crew. Even though this dropped Meeke down from sixth to 11th overall, he was soon back in his stride setting the second fastest time on stage eight and the fastest on stage nine. This is the first fastest stage time set on this event by a British driver since 2005.

Today was the longest of the rally in terms of stage distance, with 141.43 kilometres. Tomorrow there are another six stages and 128.06 kilometres of competition. The cars have travelled back to Cardiff tonight from the service park in Builth Wells, and will leave the Welsh capital tomorrow from 06.00 to arrive back at service just before 08.00.

Dave Wilcock, Technical Director reported in saying, “All in all a day of highs and lows. Unfortunately for Dani he went off on the second stage this morning, just missed his braking point and, with the low grip conditions, just dropped the car off the road and into a ditch. Luckily there was not much damage so we shall get that car back and into SupeRally tomorrow. As for Kris, he had a small spin and an alternator belt problem on stage seven, which dropped him back. Then on the final stage he was hampered a bit running in the dark. He set some competitive times this morning, and then this afternoon really started to feel his feet with a stage win and a second fastest. He is still very competitive in eighth, and he looks likely to jump comfortably into sixth after the first couple of stages in the morning. It will be a bit more difficult for him tomorrow as they are stages he has not competed on for many, many years, so the guys who competed here last year have already driven these. Like the early part of the year, he will be on new notes so that will hold him back a little bit. We are pleased with the way he is going at the moment, and he just needs to keep that momentum going.”

Dani Sordo (MINI John Cooper Works WRC No 37) said, “I am disappointed about this. I just braked really late and it was my mistake. The conditions were really slippery, I saw the lines of the first cars and I was a little bit confused, as I thought this was the braking point. As soon as I braked I knew from the first second it was too late. I have to admit that from the beginning of the rally I haven’t felt confident in the stages in these conditions. The car wasn’t badly damaged so I am looking forward to getting back into action tomorrow.”

Kris Meeke (MINI John Cooper Works WRC No 52) summed it up by saying, “It felt simple and easy and I am delighted to have my first fastest time on tarmac in Spain and now here on gravel, so things are heading in the right direction. The car is working really, really well. This afternoon was very good, but I am just a bit frustrated with the problem we had on the first loop. We spun and about a kilometre or a kilometre and a half after that the warning light came on. The alternator belt that controls the water pump had come off, and when the water is not circulating in the engine the temperature goes up. We lost over two minutes in the stage, which was unfortunate, but that is the way it is. It is nice to be able to fight back and now we are only a few seconds off sixth place. My target is fifth, but it is a long, long way to go. We were able to learn a lot about the car on that loop, and the most important thing this weekend is to learn about it on gravel. On this rally all the little things have to work and they are doing that perfectly, which you need in these conditions.”

We wish them better success, even though this year was just a trial run and all, it would be sweet if they ended up with a top placement now wouldn’t it?

We have a selection of similarly sweet photos for your viewing pleasure, here they are:

[Source: BMW Group PressClub Sport, Wales, 11th November 2011.]

Nearly live from Wales, 10th November 2011:
Day One of Wales Rally GB may only have been made up of three stages and 25.25 kilometres of competition, but it proved tough for some drivers. However, the MINI WRC Team drivers, Kris Meeke (GB) and Paul Nagle (IR) and Dani Sordo (ES) and Carlos del Barrio (ES), took it steadily and at the overnight halt in Llandudno, in the north of Wales, were fifth and sixth respectively.

Right from the word go on the first two stages over Llandudno’s Great Orme tarmac roads Sordo and Meeke were extremely cautious. Even though the weather was bright and sunny, the stage was slippery and caught out Sébastien Ogier (FR) who ripped off a wheel 1.6 kilometres into the stage. On this first stage Sordo was the quicker of the two MINIs by 0.8secs, and then on stage two it was Meeke by 0.9secs. Therefore as they left the tarmac and headed to the first forest stage in Clocaenog Meeke was fifth and Sordo sixth overall with 0.1secs separating them. Then on stage three, run over 15.77 kilometres of gravel, it was Meeke who was quickest, and at the end of the day was 8.6secs ahead of his team-mate.

The two MINI John Cooper Works WRCs were displaying the logos of ‘Paint it Orange’, a campaign being run by the Richard Burns Foundation with all the proceeds benefiting the charity’s work in brain injury and illness. This event marks the tenth anniversary of Richard Burns’ World title.

Dave Wilcock, Technical Director:

“The first part of the rally is over almost before it has begun. I don’t know what was going on at the front on the Great Orme, but there was all sorts of activity and Sébastien Ogier took himself out almost immediately. Our drivers kept it clean and tidy, and put themselves in good positions after those first two stages. Unfortunately, due to the timing of the event, we ran into the darkness, and our road positions really didn’t help us at all. This was not helped by the fact the visibility was getting worse all the time, and the road surface was also getting a lot more slippery with every car. We were a little bit handicapped. Dani was struggling with the foggy patches and general visibility more than Kris. Kris had a blinding run through Clocaenog for his road position, so we were extremely pleased with that. Let’s see how we get on tomorrow when the rally really starts.”

Dani Sordo (MINI John Cooper Works WRC No 37):

“The last stage was quite tricky, but really beautiful. The problem was the visibility was bad with a lot of fog in the middle of the stage. Also it was not completely dark so we could not see very well. We were driving with the lights on as it was getting dark, but it was probably better without them on. After the tarmac stage the Michelin tyres were okay, despite doing two passes of the stage. I am happy with the car as it is getting better and better after each rally we do.”

Kris Meeke (MINI John Cooper Works WRC No 52):

“I am not so bad. The tarmac stages were quite tricky, and when it got a little bit humid then it was quite slippery. We were sitting on the start line and got the information about Sébastien Ogier, so we had to be calm. We had a very good run in the forest stage, but I am not happy that some people were running in the daylight and some in the darkness. I feel the organisers have to think seriously about this. To be fifth is possibly where we expected to be, so I am happy.”

Wales Rally GB. 10th-13th November. 13th of 13 rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship. Preview.

The MINI WRC Team is now heading home for Wales Rally GB and the final round of the FIA World Rally Championship. The UK’s forest stages are famous worldwide and an event including them has been part of the WRC since its inception in 1973. Not only is the team based in the UK, but this is also a home event for Kris Meeke (GB) and Paul Nagle (IR) in their MINI John Cooper Works WRC. Meanwhile for their team-mates, Dani Sordo (ES) and Carlos del Barrio (ES), Wales has proved a happy hunting ground in the past.

Meeke made his WRC debut in Wales back in 2005 and then his last visit to the event was in 2006. Sordo has considerably more experience here, as he has competed on the event every year since 2006 and in 2008 and 2009 was on the podium. Even though this is only the sixth WRC event for the team, the results have exceeded expectations with two podiums and several fastest stage times. This week both drivers have been testing at Walters Arena in South Wales in preparation for the event.

At Rally GB, Bosch is partnering the team as it celebrates its 125th anniversary. The MINI John Cooper Works WRC features several key Bosch components, including the engine’s high pressure direct injection fuelling system; the throttle body; and numerous pressure and temperature sensors around the car. Both the sophisticated high pressure fuel pump and throttle are standard road car parts.

David Richards, Team Principal said, “We have already enjoyed a far better year than anyone could ever have expected but as our focus over the last few months has been on tarmac development, another podium result would be a surprise finish to a year that has far exceeded everyone’s expectation. Yet, I’m certain that both drivers are looking forward to a strong performance on the MINI WRC Team’s British debut in front of our home fans.”

Dani Sordo (MINI John Cooper Works WRC No 37) said, “I like the rally a lot even though it is really difficult. It is usually wet and so the roads are very muddy. Even though I do remember some good weather, there is still the mud. There are a lot of new stages for me so it will be difficult to get the pace notes right, but this is something I shall work on with Carlos. The car should be okay there. We have done some testing which has been good, so I am happy going into the event.”

Kris Meeke (MINI John Cooper Works WRC No 52) said, “Without a rally in Ireland, this is as near to a home event as it gets for me. I did my first ever rally in Wales and grew up doing British championships, so feel very much at home there as it is terrain I felt quite comfortable on. We have to keep our expectations in check, even though I am sure we will have a lot of local support. The good thing is we have a level playing field in Wales, as there are lots of new stages this year and they are even new for the championship regulars. The conditions should be consistent for everyone and this will allow us to assess our car on the event. I would certainly like to finish the season on a high.”

Robert Bosch UK President Peter Fouquet said, “Bosch Original Equipment, Bosch Motorsport and Bosch Engineering are delighted to be celebrating the Bosch 125th anniversary with its BMW/MINI customer at Rally GB. The company has been a long time supplier of technology, components and systems to BMW at its Hams Hall engine plant and the MINI production facility in Oxford. The rally will provide Bosch engineers with an opportunity to gain direct customer feedback on components driven under such testing conditions.”

History and Background:

While the names Clocaenog, Gartheiniog, Dyfi and Myherin may not be the easiest to pronounce for anyone who is not Welsh, they are names that are synonymous with rallying in Wales and therefore well known. However, while some of the famous stages are included in the route of this year’s rally, there are many new ones.

It was in 2000 that this event, previously known as the RAC Rally which visited England, Scotland and Wales, was confined to just the Welsh stages. The one thing that is predictable about the event is that the weather in Wales in November is far from predictable. The competitors could face conditions that range from warm autumnal sunshine to snow and ice, or anything in between.

The rally goes the length and breadth of the country, as the Rally HQ is in Cardiff right down south, the permanent service park is in the Royal Welsh Showground in Builth Wells in mid-Wales, and the start and first stage around the Great Orme are in Llandudno in the north.

The start on Thursday in Llandudno is at 14.30. The crews then complete three stages over 25.25 kilometres before returning to this seaside town for an overnight halt, with the first car due in parc fermé at 18.55. On Friday the first car out of parc fermé is at 05.30. The crews will then complete four stages before arriving for service in Builth Wells at 12.00. In the afternoon there are another four stages before another service halt and then the journey to Cardiff, where the first car is due at 20.47 after 142.87 kilometres of stages. Day three starts from Cardiff at 06.00. The cars then head to Builth Wells for service, and during the day complete another six stages and 128.06 kilometres of stages before arriving back at Cardiff at 19.16. For the final day the first car leaves Cardiff at 04.55 and there are another six stages and 84.04 kilometres of competition, including Monument which is the 4.36 kilometre Power Stage at 12.11. After the final service in Builth Wells the first car is due back in Cardiff at 14.52. In total there are 354.97 kilometres of stages in a total distance of 1860.60 kilometres.

[Source: BMW Group PressClub Sport, Munich, 4th November, 2011.]