Tag Archives: road

Yes it’s time for another MTTS – Mini Takes The States!

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Go Forth. Go West. Go MINI. MINI TAKES THE STATES 2012 Confirmed To Kick Off July 4, 2012

The biggest official MINI road rally is scheduled to take place again this summer. The bi-annual MINI Takes the States (MTTS) rally will kick off on the east coast Wednesday, July 4th and will make the cross-country trek to the Pacific Ocean concluding on Sunday, July 15th.

“MTTS is perhaps the brand’s greatest demonstration of our commitment to the MINI community,” Jim McDowell, VP of MINI USA told Miniology, “During MTTS, MINI USA acts on its promise to deliver a motoring experience unlike any other brand, engaging owners and their families and ensuring they enjoy their MINI to the fullest extent possible.”

As MINI celebrates its 10-year anniversary this year in the US, thousands of MINI owners and enthusiasts will join the cross-country rally, or a leg of it, dotting the horizon with a gleaming caravan of MINIs.

Along the way, MINI USA will provide its loyal owners and enthusiasts with genuine, once-in-a-lifetime motoring experiences.

The 2010 event included a run on the Bonneville Salt Flats and laps on the famous Indianapolis Motor Speedway, in addition to other engaging daily activities.

MTTS 2012 route details and adventures are still being finalized; full details will be provided in the coming weeks.

Some of the stuff you can bet Miniology will be covering:

- Sneak peeks and early test drives of all-new MINI vehicles and technologies.

- Interviews with MINI executives and owners for unique feature stories
Autocross experiences demonstrating MINI’s performance and handling.

- Immersion in the festive, cheeky MINI culture and the lifestyle the brand offers interaction with the charity partner chosen to receive net proceeds from the registration fee.

Participant registration begins in April, but owners and enthusiasts can sign up now to receive updates at www.miniusa.com/mtts.

MINI WRC @ Wales Rally GB. 10th-13th November. 13th of 13 rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship. Day Two.

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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.]

MINI debuts Winter tire program in the UK

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MINI’s Winter Tyre Programme helps motorists cope with the worst that Jack Frost can throw at them. “Avoid dice on the ice!”

With average British winter temperatures dipping below 7°C, this winter MINI is dedicated to helping drivers stay on the roads, regardless of weather, with its Winter Tyre Programme.

 

All MINIs are fitted with summer tyres as standard, providing excellent levels of grip, acceleration, braking, comfort and fuel economy in normal road conditions. Summer tyres operate best at temperatures above 7°C. However, once the Great British Winter sets in and air temperatures drop to near freezing the rubber in summer tyres hardens, detracting from the summer tyres’ performance. And in true wintry conditions of snow and ice summer tyre performance is even worse.

MINI’s winter tyres have been specially engineered to operate much better than summer tyres at temperatures below 7°C. MINI’s winter tyres contain more natural rubber in their compound and a different mix of silica as well as featuring special grooves. This allows them to retain flexibility at much lower temperatures.

Research has shown that the difference in breaking distances at 60mph in wet conditions under 7°C on summer and winter tyres is a whopping 4.8m (so says Continental tires).

Being safe doesn’t mean having to compromise on style; MINI’s winter wheel and tyre packages come in steel or alloy rim designs. A set of winter wheels and tyres is available from £560 RRP per set — a far safer option in the colder months — price includes steel R12 wheels with 175/65R15 84T’s and one set of wheel covers, VAT, but not including the fee for fitting them on. For an extra 30 quid you can store your summer wheels at the dealer until it’s time to swap them out again!

MINI WRC saunters in at fifth and sixth place @ Wales Rally GB. 10th-13th November. 13th of 13 rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship. Day One.

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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.”

MINI WRC takes on 12th of 13 rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship, at Rally Spain 20th – 23rd October, Day One.

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Salou, 21st October, 2011.

The MINI WRC Team’s crews of Dani Sordo (ES) and Carlos del Barrio (ES) and Kris Meeke (GB) and Paul Nagle (IR) were lying fifth and sixth respectively at the end of what turned out to be a controversial first day of action for the Rally RACC – Rally of Spain. On a day when running first on the road was more advantageous than ever, bad dust on two of the six stages turned what could have been a good fight into a lottery as the crews battled with visibility that was often no more than a few feet.

Stage one was the first where this problem occurred, and this was not helped by no wind speed at all. Then on the final stage of the day run in the dark the dust was even worse, and many crews were openly critical of running in such conditions. However, Sordo and Meeke also suffered other problems, with intercom issues on stage five for the Spaniard, while for the Brit and co-driver Nagle it was dust getting inside the car and in their eyes. With the gravel stages of the rally out of the way the team is hoping for better results on the all tarmac stages over the next two days. Tomorrow there will be six stages covering a total of 143.54 kilometres.

Dave Wilcock, Technical Director said, “We started the day with great expectations, but clearly from the first split we could see the stages were going to be an issue due to dust. On the first stage our two drivers had notes called for sixth gear and they were having to drive through in third! It was not a level playing field for everybody. The three minute gaps put in by the organisers to combat this didn’t work, and we took the option to take a ten second penalty for Kris for checking in a minute late for stage one. He probably gained around 25 or 30 seconds on the stage time, so it was a 15 second gain. Also on the first loop Kris was carrying a small problem as he dropped into a small hole and slightly damaged the suspension, but was able to get back to service with no problems. When Dani got into service we found he had a small amount of damage that may have affected his handling on the first three stages. On the afternoon loop we hoped to claw something back, and the first stage was okay. Then on the next one Dani had an intermittent intercom problem and lost some seconds, but it was repairable for the final stage by replacing a lead. Going into the last stage the crews had four minute gaps, expecting dust, but like the first stage it was completely horrendous and was a complete lottery. We finished the day two minutes down on the leader and most of that is due to dust. We are not very happy, but tomorrow we start the tarmac rally and we shall try and recover.”

Dani Sordo (driving the MINI John Cooper Works WRC No 37) added, “Today the first stage, like the last one, was where we lost a lot of time – in fact over 40 seconds. On the second pass of the long stage today, which was 35 kilometres, the intercom to the co-driver was broken at the start of the stage and it kept cutting out. I didn’t hear Carlos very well so it was difficult to know where the corners were, and that was bad. Then the final night stage was really bad as we had all the dust and it was impossible to see. Today was really difficult because there were many problems. I need to try and push hard tomorrow to try to show everybody that the MINI is fast on tarmac, so do the same as I did in France. It is a new rally tomorrow, with just tarmac which is good for our car, so perhaps we can make up some positions. It should be an interesting day.”

In the MINI John Cooper Works WRC No 52, Kris Meeke gave his daily report: “I had a challenging day. However, if I had really pushed myself to the limit risking everything maybe I would have been on a similar time to Dani, but then I know he is going to pull away tomorrow as I don’t have the experience of the roads. I said for once use the wise head and try to relax and go out to learn the rally. Certainly the most challenging part of the rally is over and the last stage was the most difficult stage I have ever driven. Tomorrow is all about tarmac driving, finding the rhythm there and trying to find tenths of seconds as the stage times will be separated by a lot less. Today with the dust and the rocks falling onto the road it made it very, very difficult.”

We wish the MINI WRC great success and look forward to giving our readers continuous coverage here at Miniology.com!

[Source: BMW Group PressClub Sport]

Rally France-Alsace. 29th September – 2nd October. 11th of 13 rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship. Day Two.

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Miniology’s nearly live coverage of MINI WRC continues..

Strasbourg, 1st October, 2011. The MINI WRC Team is still fighting for the lead of Rally France-Alsace after Dani Sordo (ES) and Carlos del Barrio (ES) kept Sébastien Ogier (FR) well within their sights on day two of the event. As the cars came into the overnight halt at Strasbourg the number 37 MINI John Cooper Works WRC was just 9.5secs behind the Citroen. Unfortunately the day didn’t go according to plan for Kris Meeke (GB) and Paul Nagle (IR), as their number 52 MINI John Cooper Works WRC left the road on stage 13 and the resulting accident saw them out of the rally with a badly damaged car.

The battle for the top position started from the first stage of the day. Sordo hung onto his lead by 0.3secs, but then on the next Petter Solberg (NO) managed to get in front by 0.6secs. However, this was short lived as on the third stage of the day Solberg had a puncture, but in the meantime Ogier beat Sordo and went in front by 3.3secs. Stage 12 was 24 kilometres long with 17 of these downhill, and here Sordo came back into his own, set the fastest time and at the end of it was 0.2secs in front. Unfortunately all had not gone so well for Meeke as he lost his fourth place here to Jari-Matti Latvala (FI) who moved half a second in front. All was set for a dramatic second loop after remote service in Colmar. Sadly the first drama was for Meeke, who went off on a right hander in SS13 and ended up about 30 feet down a bank. While the crew was okay, the MINI was badly damaged after hitting a tree stump on the co-driver’s side. The battle for the lead continued, but Ogier managed to take some more time out of Sordo, and was leading into the overnight halt in Strasbourg.

For the third and final day there will be six stages and 40.66 kilometres of competition. The final test is the 4.20 kilometre power stage round Haguenau, but unfortunately the most famous person from this town, Sébastien Loeb (FR), will be missing as he did not re-start after his Citroen retired on day one. The first stage of the day will start at 07.18 and the last one at 13.08.

Dave Wilcock, Technical Director:

“The day started really well with Dani on form. It was obvious from the start Sébastien Ogier was on a big push and Dani was just doing his best to match his pace. Dani did a good job and put in a fastest stage time just before the lunch time regroup to keep in P1. Kris had a little issue on the stage just before regroup, which cost him a bit of time and Jari-Matti Latvala just piped him and dropped him down to fifth, but he was doing some very good splits during that first loop. Then at regroup both drivers were very calm and relaxed, the cars were perfect and required very little work. Unfortunately for Kris a couple of kilometres into the first stage of the second loop he just went a bit wide on a high speed fifth gear corner, got onto some gravel, dropped off the road and did some extensive damage to the car. Both Kris and Paul are okay, but a little bit shaken up and sore. For Dani, he is in a dog fight with Ogier right now, who is pushing very, very hard and just edging away from us, but we are still in single digits. It is more than we could have wished for to be in a battle with one of the best drivers and best cars in the championship. We have a few tricks up our sleeves for tomorrow’s more typical vineyard stages. We shall aim to keep pushing and see what comes of it.”

Dani Sordo:

“I suppose I have to admit I am not happy to be second, but if you stop and think about our performance with the car, after having covered so few kilometres and to be fighting for best stage times, then this is great. I think before the rally if we had been speaking about being second it would have been amazing, now people are asking me why I am not leading. It is really great to be just 9.5 seconds behind Sébastien Ogier. Everything is still possible, but tomorrow is a short day with some difficult gravel sections. If he doesn’t make any mistakes he will be difficult to beat, as today we took some small risks and still didn’t beat him.  However, we will still keep trying for the win, but will still be happy to finish second.”

Kris Meeke:

“This afternoon I just got caught out in one corner. I was a little bit faster than before. I had made a small adjustment to the pace note, tried to go a little bit faster in the corner, and that was too fast, so we simply understeered off the road. It was unfortunate, as I was not going out to try any harder. I was just going out to try and improve on this morning and build up my knowledge, but I got caught out. Yes just too fast, as simple as that. I was just a bit ambitious, and it was completely my mistake. I have to take it on the chin. I am probably my own worst enemy some times, as I want to be here competing with these guys. It is hard to just settle and learn, and I have to do that sometimes, but it ended up a bit soon for me this weekend. We have to pick ourselves up. Spain is going to be another learning event, as well as Rally GB, so we are going to have to settle ourselves for a few events and just get the experience before we can run with the guys at the front. ”

 

 

 

[Source: BMW Group PressClub Sport]

 

MINI Coupe hits UK dealers October 1st for £16,640 OTR

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You’ve seen the pics, you’ve watched the video, now gear up for the full report with more of the same, another Miniology first for the site created for enthusiasts, by enthusiasts. Special thanks to Emma Chalcroft and Sarah Heaney over at MINI UK for giving us this massive report of all things Mini (Coupe!) We have about 40 NEW pictures for you to drool over, at the end of the article (scroll WAY down!)

First, for those who’ve been living in a cave the past 3 months (like our editor Christopher ‘StarLord’ has, hehe, man cave perhaps!) Also, this data comes from the UK. They like to say tires with a y like ‘tyres’ and might pronounce the letter zee as zed, call the hood of a car a bonnet, the trunk of a car a boot, and stuff like that, but you already knew that because you’re a fellow Miniologist. If you didn’t know that, well, now you’re in the know. Therefore, this article is going to have UK prices and measurements and things like OTR that us yanks across the pond may not be familiar with, but who cares? It’s a wicked awesome amount of data so deal with it, hehe. Now here we go..

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New Jersey PD Adds Mini To Patrol Fleet

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We’ve seen plenty of special police cars in the past, including a Lamborghini Gallardo, Porsche 911 and even an impounded Dodge Viper, but the latest is just too cute to ignore. BMW has this week presented the Woodcliff Lake police department in New Jersey with a brand new MINI Cooper.

The car is emblazoned with the message ‘DON’T TXT & DRIVE’, highlighting a local initiative to stop drivers using their mobile phones while behind the wheel.

“This vehicle drives home a critical point,” said Woodcliff Lake police chief Anthony Jannicelli. “A driver taking his eyes off the road for five seconds at 60 mph to just read a text message travels the length of football field essentially with his eyes closed.”

No other major modifications have been made to the car. It will essentially be used to drive home the message, carrying it wherever it goes and acting as a powerful reminder of what is certainly a serious issue.