Tag Archives: event

imm2012

IMM 2012: world’s largest gathering of classic Mini enthusiasts is about to kick off

It was in 1959 that the Mini broke out onto the scene as a classless car, quickly took the world by storm and soon became a motoring icon admired by one generation after the next. Nowhere is the close bond between the classic Mini and its followers more apparent than at the International Mini Meeting (IMM).

The 36th edition of this traditional event is about to get under way, and still the classic Mini continues to transcend boundaries: this year marks the first time that the IMM is being held in Hungary. From 24 – 28 May 2012, fans of this compact British classic will descend on the resort of Balatonfüred on the northern shore of Lake Balaton.

The event’s hosts from MINI Club Hungary have put together a wide-ranging programme packed with thoughtful details, all organised with help and support from various quarters, including the MINI Clubs International Office. Two floating pedal-powered MINIs will be launched out onto Lake Balaton, for instance, while MINI wicker beach chairs will invite visitors to soak up the sun, and professionally restored classic Minis from the BMW Group Classic collection will be on show on the lakeshore alongside the brand’s current models.

Fans and drivers of today’s MINI have been equally welcome at the IMM events for years now.

The inaugural IMM took place in 1978 and has since evolved into the world’s largest gathering of classic Mini owners and friends. Some 4,000 of the brand’s fans, including representatives from over 200 MINI Clubs in countless countries, have registered for the IMM 2012. Enthusiasts from Portugal, Finland and Ireland are planning to drive there in their own Mini, and registrations have even been received from as far afield as Seattle in the US. For the day when everyone arrives, MINI Club Hungary has prepared a highly entertaining rally where the objective is not to be the fastest but to master the final stage before the journey’s end along a particularly picturesque stretch of road.

Bungalows and caravans provide accommodation for anyone attending the IMM, while the extensive campsite in Balatonfüred offers enough room for visitors to park their classic Mini and pitch their tent right next to it. The campsite grounds, furthermore, are the venue for numerous spectacular activities revolving around the classic Mini where the name of the game is sporting competition and having fun together. Plans include setting up a parts and accessories market, staging slalom races in the classic Mini, as well as a competition for the most stunning specimens from all model series, the classic Mini that is truest to the original, the oldest driver and the oldest car. Wedding bells will also be ringing amid the ranks of MINI enthusiasts when two members of the host MINI Club take their vows at the event arena before starting their new life together in true style at the wheel of a classic Mini – followed by a celebratory convoy of some 200 further examples of this British classic, whose drivers have registered in advance for the occasion.

PS Minis Invites You To The Tulip Rallye

The MG Car Club NW Centre (MGCCNWC) in the Puget Sound area puts on this fun gimmick drive every year in the beautiful Skagit Valley. They get hundreds of participants ever year. I’ve seen as many as 80 MINIs/Minis at one point. It seems to vary each year with the price of fuel and the flower production. Still, the drive is super fun!

For the last 30 years, the MG Car Club Northwest Centre has hosted the Tulip Rallye, an automobile tour of the Skagit Valley region of Western Washington State. This year on April 21st, 2012, the rallye starts in the Mount Vernon area, but you never know where it may take you from there. Through colorful tulip fields, windy country roads or scenic shoreline drives, it’s everything you need for a beautiful daytime tour of the region.

We have designed this event so that each car club, with a minimum of five cars entered, will be eligible for a first place prize to be awarded to the top performer within their club. Individuals not associated with a particular car club will compete in the “open” category.

The Tulip Rallye is intended to be a fun event. It’s not a time/speed/distance event, but a light hearted gimmick rallye with trivia questions written into the tour guide. It’s fun for the whole family. Some clubs now make this rallye their April driving event.

There are restaurants along the tour route, but they are often very crowded, so we recommend that you pack a picnic lunch to eat along the way.

We look forward to your club’s participation in the 31st Annual Tulip Rallye.

Here is the REGISTRATION FORM.

Thank you and please feel free to contact me with any questions.

David Ellis
Event Coordinator
MG Car Club NorthWest Centre
1521 Eagle Ridge Drive S., Renton, WA 98055
425-277-1086
tuliprallye@aol.com

Miniology TV: Mini Thunder III

Miniology TV reports from Stormin’ Norman’s Mini Thunder III track event which took place this weekend at ThunderHill Speedway in Willows, Ca.

This episode is sponsored by your MoM! Mini of Marin! Enjoy!

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MINI Roadster debuts at Detroit North American International Auto Show 2012

The annual North American International Auto Show is one of the world’s most important car shows. As the traditional curtain-raiser to the year, it will point the way for the entire automotive industry once again in 2012. Over 150 exhibitors from every corner of the earth will come together in Detroit’s Cobo Center to present new models and other product innovations. The organizers are expecting more than 5,000 media representatives from around the world to attend the event, along with some 750,000 members of the public.

The NAIAS 2012 is the venue for the world premiere of the MINI Roadster. The first open-top two-seater in the MINI model range provides a spontaneous, unadulterated recipe for urban driving fun. A contemporary take on the compact, open-top sports car concept, the MINI Roadster boasts advanced drive and chassis technology, and a classical, manually operated soft-top roof which can be opened and closed quickly and easily.

Of course, you knew that already, dedicated Miniologist that you are..

The design and technology of the MINI Roadster are geared squarely to laying on open-top driving fun for two. With its inspiring agility and cutting-edge efficiency, expressive design and remarkable practicality, the youngest MINI representative gives the brand’s traditional qualities a fresh new twist. All of which will see the MINI Roadster unveiled at the NAIAS on January 14 – 22, 2012 welcomed not only as an attractive addition to the current model range, but also as the world’s first premium model of its kind in the small car segment.

We’ll spare you the rest of the marketing fluff, but hey, anyone who already has their hands on a roadster or is going to NAIAS, feel free to send us pics and vids and what not. We’ll be sitting here in on the west coast recovering from the holiday festivities, and keeping ourselves toasty warm in the California sun.. In fact, that’s the perfect place for a MINI roadster, somewhere you can drive topless (we mean a convertible, er, that’s our story anyway) .. Cheers!

[Source: Highly edited from BMW's press release, Woodcliff Lake, NJ – December 15, 2011]

RSR Motorsports to Field Two BMW Mini Coopers in NASA 25 Hour at Thunderhill

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.

X-raid team sends four All4 (Racing) Countryman MINIs to Portugal

Guerlian Chicherit (FRA) und Co-Driver Michel Perin (FRA) im MINI Dakar, Test in Le Creusot/ FRA, 13.12.2010. Baja Portalegre 500 marks final round of FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies
. Leonid Novitskiy set to use MINI All4 Racing in FIA World Cup title defense

TREBUR (Germany): The 2011 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies reaches a conclusion with this weekend’s Baja Portalegre 500 in Portugal. The X-raid team tackles the event with four MINI All4 Racing. Leonid Novitskiy (RUS) and Andy Schulz (GER) will defend the Monster Energy X-raid Team world’s title against Frenchman Jean-Louis Schlesser.

He will receive support from the Portuguese duo of Ricardo Leal dos Santos and Paulo Fiuza in a second Monster Energy MINI All4 Racing. Also at the start will be the two Portuguese pairings of Filipe Campos and Jaime Baptista and Bernardo Moniz da Maia and Joana Sotto-Mayor in MINI All4 Racings.

Novitskiy leads the overall standings by 14 points from Schlesser. At the Baja Portalegre 500, 30 points will be awarded to the winner.

The 25th Baja Portalegre 500 starts on Friday October, 28th, with an approximately 5.5-kilometre super special. On Saturday, this will be followed by two stages with a total length of 426.54 kilometers.

“Our goal is come away with Leonid defending his FIA World Cup title,” said X-raid team manager Sven Quandt. “Actually everything is decided in one day and that’s why everything has to fit right on Saturday, The problems of the rally in Morocco are fixed and the vehicles are ready for use again.”

For more information and updates, check back here at Miniology.com or New Dimension X-Raid websites.

[Source: X-raid GmbH]