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

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 confirms appearance at the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show, Dec. 3 to 11, 2011.

MINI is using the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show to present the latest additions to its product range and, at the same time, open a window into the longer-term future of the brand — taking centre stage is the Asian premiere of the MINI Coupé, touted as packing all of MINI’s fun features into a concentrated form, sorta like those shots of RedBull which were wickedly popular in just about every country except USA, but that’s another story ;)

Not only will you get to see the Coupe (and perhaps sister car the roadster) but MINI plans on showing off the MINI Countryman along with the Paceman concept car, the “Sports Activity Coupe” of MINI, sorta like modern MINI cooper meets the AMC Pacer, as you’ve likely seen in our earlier reports!

I’m not going to bore you with any more marketing fluff (though they did send us a crap load of it, which almost put me to sleep!) so instead, I’ll give you this nice little wallpaper sized HDR photo of the current 2011 model line-up, suitable for saving to your desktop or simply drooling over whenever you like. Cheers!

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.

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 in Spain – Day Two.

Miniology continues our ongoing MINI WRC coverage to bring you the 12th of 13 rounds in the FIA World Rally Championship (Oct. 20-23), Day Two.

Salou, Spain – 22nd October, 2011.

As the cars returned to the Spanish coastal resort for the end of day two of Rally RACC – Rally of Spain the MINI WRC Team cars of Dani Sordo (ES) and Carlos del Barrio (ES) and Kris Meeke (GB) and Paul Nagle (IR) were lying fourth and sixth respectively. It had been a day when the Citroen of Sébastien Ogier (FR) lost time with a puncture and dropped behind Sordo, while the Spaniard chased after the third placed Ford of Mikko Hirvonen (FI) and set the fastest time on stage 11 in the process. Meeke was again in new territory, but remained on the pace of the front runners while learning the stages without taking unnecessary risks.

The drivers were more than happy to leave the dramas of dust and darkness behind them on day one, for the all tarmac stages of day two. In hot and sunny conditions they completed another 142.54 kilometres over six stages without any major mishaps to the top crews. The biggest test of the day was on the 45.97 kilometre El Priorat stage that, along with the other stages, was run twice, but while Riba-roja d’Ebre and Punta de les Torres at 12.27 kilometres and 13.53 kilometres respectively were much shorter, they were both completely new to all the competitors. Tomorrow they have the final six stages and 102.62 kilometres of competition before an early afternoon finish.

Dave Wilcock, Technical Director: “Generally it has been a good day for us. It was the first day of Tarmac and Dani set off with the intention of catching Mikko Hirvonen. On the first loop of stages it was all looking good and he managed to pull 22 seconds back from him, and the target was to do the same in the afternoon. We nearly had a stage win on the second stage of the morning, and then we finally got it on the second one of the afternoon, so we are very happy with that. We were disappointed to drop some time to Mikko at the end of the day, and it now puts pressure on Dani to pull back 0.37seconds per kilometre on the remaining stages going into tomorrow. As for Kris, he has been neat and tidy and shown he is developing very well. Comparing his times to Mikko, we are very, very pleased with his pace. Clearly he is doing a good job, the obvious intention is to get him to the end of the rally and he is very much focused on that. It’s a big day tomorrow so let’s see what happens.”

Dani Sordo (MINI John Cooper Works WRC No 37): “It has been a really good day, there have been no problems and I am very happy to have a fastest stage time. The battle with Mikko for the podium is very tough, as he is a bit far away in terms of times and the gap is now 37 seconds. However, my plans for the final day are to push Mikko really hard and fight him for the podium. It would be really nice to be on the podium here on my home rally, but I am realistic about what I have to do.”

Kris Meeke (MINI John Cooper Works WRC No 52): “I can’t complain at all about today. Probably the most important thing for me is the times relative to the top guys got a lot better on the second pass through the stages, so I am very happy about that. I wasn’t trying any harder, but it just shows how it comes together when you subconsciously learn the roads. The Michelin tyres were mega consistent, particularly on the long 46 kilometre one, and on the tarmac there was maximum grip.”

And of course, as always, here are a bunch of photos delivered to you fresh from the day’s event:

[Source: BMW Group PressClub Sport]

MINI WRC Team on pace to take second in France.

Miniology’s continuous coverage of MINI WRC continues…

Strasbourg, 2nd October, 2011. Second for the MINI WRC Team in Rally France-Alsace is a result it is justifiably proud of on only its fourth event of the 2011 season. Dani Sordo (ES) and Carlos del Barrio (ES) took the fight down to the wire with just 6.3secs separating the number 37 MINI John Cooper Works WRC and the Citroen of Sébastien Ogier (FR) at the finish in Strasbourg this afternoon.At no point over the three days and 340 kilometres of competition did Sordo give up his fight for the lead he held going into day two. He started the final day 9.5secs behind the Citroen, and from the first of the six stages was trying to claw back the time. Tyre choice was critical, with the soft Michelins used by Sordo instantly proving the right choice. On the first stage of the day (SS18) Sordo took 3.1secs off Ogier to then be just 6.4secs down. This trend continued on SS19 on which Sordo was quickest, and reduced the gap to 4.9 secs. On SS20 it was honours even with them both posting the same time, however, on the re-run of the first stage Ogier was 11 seconds quicker than before, and Sordo lost a second to him. On the penultimate stage the gap was 6.7secs, and then on the Power Stage Sordo posted the second quickest time behind the Ford of Jari-Matti Latvala (FI). Unfortunately after the accident yesterday the number 52 MINI John Cooper Works WRC of Kris Meeke (GB) and Paul Nagle (IR) was not able to start the last day of the rally.

David Richards, Team Principal:

“Yesterday we could have so easily have settled for a secure second place but that’s not our style and I’m so proud that Dani was able to challenge for victory right to the end. On this occasion we will therefore celebrate a second place and give the entire team a big pat on the back, particularly Dani Sordo. He managed to keep the pressure on Sébastien Ogier throughout the entire rally, and he’s certainly laid down a marker for his home event in Spain.”

Dave Wilcock, Technical Director:

“Second is an absolutely stunning result for the MINI John Cooper Works WRC. Being just 6.3secs behind Sébastien Ogier clearly shows we were on the pace and, after our fourth rally, being in this position has made us all delighted. It’s been a stunning effort from the team, and especially the crew. Dani drove a faultless rally. He had no punctures, the Michelin tyres were absolutely perfect throughout and never once did we ever have any issues with tyre degradation. This morning we made a tactical decision to take the soft tyre option due to the damp and moist conditions, and knowing that the first stage, which was repeated, had two kilometres of gravel. It was completely the right choice. Then in the power stage to take two WRC drivers’ points and finish in front of Ogier was fantastic for MINI. This is a great position to be in going to Dani’s home event in Spain. We have a lot of work to do before then, but we shall be trying everything we can to repeat this performance there, if not make it a step higher on the podium!”

Dani Sordo:

“As you can imagine I am really, really happy to finish in second position. It is an incredible result for the team so thank you to them and also to Carlos who has been great all rally. I think no-one here expected this before the rally, but we were fighting for the victory and at the end were just 6.3 seconds behind Sébastien Ogier. When you set good stage times as we have here in France, you always enjoy it. Before our first event we did not expect to be doing so well so soon. I am very pleased to be going to my home event in Spain in this position. The car was set-up well here, so I am confident it will be the same in Spain.”

[Source: BMW Group PressClub Sport]

 

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

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]

 

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

Miniology’s continuous coverage of MINI WRC brings you..

Strasbourg, 30th September, 2011.  The MINI WRC Team is leading Rally France-Alsace at the end of day one after Dani Sordo (ES) proved just how fast he is with his MINI John Cooper Works WRC on tarmac stages. After taking 1hour 23 minutes to complete the 148.38 kilometres over eight stages Sordo and Carlos del Barrio (ES) were a second ahead of Petter Solberg (NO) in his Citroen. It was also a good day for Kris Meeke (GB) and Paul Nagle (IR) on their debut in this event as they were fourth overall in the number 52 MINI.

The rally has not been without its dramas as on the third stage, which at 36 kilometres is the longest on the rally, World Champion and local hero, Sebastian Loeb (FR), retired his Citroen. Also on this stage the Fords of Mikko Hirvonen (FI) and Jari-Matti Latvala (FI) also encountered problems. However, the MINIs ran like clockwork and both survived moments when hitting marker poles put there to stop drivers cutting corners that had come lose.

The story of the day was Sordo and Meeke seventh and eighth after stage one, fifth and seventh after stage two, third and fourth after stage three, and then with his second fastest stage time Sordo took the lead on the last stage of the day. Ahead of the crews on day two are another nine stages over 148.39 kilometres, but this time they will have a remote service in Colmar and only return to Strasbourg in the evening.

Dave Wilcock, Technical Director:

“What a day. We came here on a high after Germany. We managed a day of testing between then and here, which was half a day with each driver, so to be here at the end of day one in first and fourth is great. This is our testing year, and if it continues this way with the rate of development then hopefully it won’t be long before the MINI gets its first win.  There is still an awful long way to go on this rally, but we shall enjoy this for now as these positions far exceed our expectations. Dani is in a fantastic position and mentally is taking it all in his stride. He really knows how to pace and control himself. Kris is performing really well and is a star in the making. This is only his second WRC tarmac event and he is improving all the time.”

Dani Sordo:

“It is good to be leading, but to be honest I am really happy today as for the whole time we have been fighting with the leaders.  It is really incredible to be fighting with the Fords and Citroens. Tomorrow we shall try to do the same. It is another big day so we need to do a big push, drive flat and perhaps take some risks to keep this position. However, we have to remember that this is just day one and there are still two days of rallying to go. I enjoy these stages and the MINI has been really good to drive and reliable.”

Kris Meeke:  

“I think from the team’s point of view it is very, very good that Dani is leading the rally.  We haven’t done much testing since Germany, but certainly the car is working very well, which has shown in our times. Dani has the experience on this rally and in the WRC, but all credit to him for leading the rally with the car in its first year, as that’s something really special.  For me I have to be quite happy, although I was a bit disappointed in the last stage as I had a big spin and lost about ten to 15 seconds. To be holding my own in fourth place first time here is good. We are comfortably on the pace of Mikko Hirvonen, if not a little bit faster, but after our mistake it has now let Jari-Matti Latvala within about twenty seconds of us. ”

 

[Source: BMW Group PressClub Sport]