We shall pass on the track, we shall pass on the grass, we shall never surrender!

Like a pack of rabid Jack Russells these Minis give Mustangs and Galaxies no quarter.

Yes, the big Yank Tanks have the advantage in the straights but come the tight stuff at Silverstone and the tiny wonders mug  them on the inside,  the outside, on the grass if needed.

Brakes?  They don't need no stink in' brakes,  Brakes only slow you down!

You are riding with Endaf Owens in his Mini MkI at the Silverstone Classic Masters 2013.   Clearly, Mr Owens is well aware of "the proper way to drive a Mini".

(with apologies to Sir Winstron, via MotosportRetro.com)

This Mid Engine Mini will eat your Porsche....

So it all started with this:



Now, if you have any experience driving at Watkins Glen I don't have to tell you a lap like that in an fairly stock Mini Cooper S street car (with Hoosiers) is phenomenal.

The Driver is Bob Pielli Jr. a fellow Group 52 track rat and at the time we had had featured the video on Axis. A couple of weeks ago, Bob got in touch with us with a picture and to say both him and the Mini had, in the ensuing years had a bit of an...intervention.

If you're reading this I'm guessing the idea of a rear wheel drive mini with the engine in the boot tickles  all the right spots so, I'll let Bob tell you about how it all came about. 

We'll keep you up to date on the project as it moves along.    Cheers Bob and Gregg, you are true maniacs! Love it.

Peak Mini

Sebastien Loeb will not be the only Frenchman tackling Pike Peak's 12.42 miles of switchbacks at the end of June. His Peugeot 208T16 will  be challenged by a 912hp Mini based rocket driven by Andros Trophy ice racer Jean-Philippe Dayraut.

Dayrout has previously raced in the American classic in a Dacia based car in 2012 and 2011.  

The Race to the Clouds has developed quite a cult following in Europe: in 2013 Loeb and Dayrout will be joined in attacking the Colorado mountain  "Pour la France"  by Romain Dumas  and Simon Pagenaud both in  Honda powered machines. 






(autohebdo)

King of Turini: Loeb makes it six in Monte Carlo

Granted not a huge surprise at this point but the accomplishment is titanic, twice as many wins as rally heroes Makinen and Aurion and two more than Rohrl. Behind Loeb and Elena, the MINI JCW of Dani Sordo followed by the Ford Fiesta of Peter Solberg.

You can read details elsewhere, enjoy these awesome highlight clips. After the jump, more clips and onboard of Sebastien Ogier's scary crash after his mistake early in the rally.

Turini

Pierre Campana and Sabrina de Castelli, Mini JCW WRC. Photo: Agence S Press/Andre Lavadinho.

The first part of the video below says all that needs to be said about the Monte Carlo Rally and the Col de Turini.


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Monte Day 2: Loeb in control, Ogier crashes hard!

(Photo: AGENCE S PRESSE/Andre Lavadinho)


The Monte Carlo Rally used to be a snow race but global warming has pretty much turned into a straight tarmac rally.

Thursday,  Sebastien Loeb consolidated his lead while Mini's Dani Sordo, who Spanish papers say took a 30% pay cut in order to get the seat, moved into 2nd followed by Petter Solberg in a Ford.



Sebastien Ogier crashed his Skoda hard, a scary accident that luckily resulted in just a minor injury to his navigator, Julien Ingrassia.



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Cut...

Dani Sordo finding his line... want to see what it looked like from below?

No, he's not just parked there.

Needs more wing..

First really cold day in New York and our thoughts turn to something to do in the cold...
Funny, I would have bet on the Mini, I guess the mongo wing helps!
(via Formula Photographic)
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"Who needs brakes, they only slow you down!"

That classic saying, first heard when I asked for pads with with friction material beyond just the backing plates at a well known rental garage at the ring, is perfectly demonstrated by this clip of the legendary Ring Mini Clubman. Awesome. (via Save the Ring)




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First Rally win for MINI John Cooper Works

Mini winning an FIA rally for the first time since...well, since MINIs were mini sized? The Italian crew of Andrea Navarra and Simona Fedeli drove their Mini John Cooper Works Super 2000 to a win on the gravel of the 18th Rally Adriatico.

Full info from WRC.com after the jump:


(Photo: Paolo Di Blasio)


The MINI John Cooper Works Super 2000, which made its World Rally Championship debut in Portugal last month, has claimed its first victory.

Driven by the Italian Andrea Navarra, the Prodrive-developed machine triumphed on Rally dell’Adriatico, the opening round of the Italian Gravel Rally Championship near Ancona on Italy’s Adriatic coast last weekend.

Running with a 30-milimetre restrictor (as opposed to a 33mm version) to conform to the FIA’s Regional Rally Car regulations to balance the performance with normally aspirated Super 2000 cars, Navarra led from start to finish. Co-driven by Simona Fedeli, he completed the 100-kilometre competitive route with a margin of 12.6 seconds over Andreas Mikkelsen’s conventional Skoda Fabia S2000.

“It’s a great honour for me to give MINI this first victory with Pirelli tyres and another milestone in our history together,” said Navarra. “It was a fantastic rally that was competitive from start to finish: we had to push hard but in the end we got the result that we wanted. I really enjoyed driving the car: the turbo engine means that you can drive with the throttle all the time compared to a conventional Super 2000 car, where you are driving with the gears.”

Although he’s not eligible for points, Navarra will return to the Italian Gravel series - known as the Trofeo Rally Terra - with the Grifone team on Rally Costa Smeralda on 6/7 May. The event runs behind the main world championship rally in Sardinia where MINI will mark the debut of the World Rally Car version of its John Cooper Works.

In addition to Navara’s machine, a handful of other Super 2000 MINIs are likely to be in action on the national-level Rally Costa Smeralda next month.

Insane Mini Challenge Crash in Australia

Amazingly, only two spectators were injured but not seriously. The driver is in the hospital but also escaped serious injury. Anyone else think something's missing on that track, like a proper barrier? Australian Circuit design?

More Info Here


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Continental Challenge, Homestead-Miami Highlights.

Continental Tire Challenge is what used to be called Koni Cup Challenge, the "entry level" Grand-Am series. Cars are reasonably "stock" and are divided into two classes: GS , Mustangs vs BMW M3 vs Porsche 997 and ST which is Mazda Mx5 vs Mini vs Honda Civics.

Here is a highlight reel from Grand Am. Bit sad American road racing barely gets covered live on tv these days (this race will air March 13 on SpeedTV). Check out what happened to the number 13 Bum Bum Racing BMW M3 (that's just all wrong isn't it?...13...bum rum bum whatever...I'd re-evaluate! Nice gold intake plenum though).
Results can be found HERE




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Big Mini

I showed Mrs AC this commercial and asked her what it was selling, without hesitation she said "a lifestyle...". She did not notice it was for a 4 door Mini nor did she particularly care. It's a Mini Cooper, she said and it's cool. Score one for the Mini marketing department!

This new 4 door Countryman is perhaps not quite as "pretty" as the previous two and a half door version but it makes a lot more sense. Since it carries more dogs, children and pineapples than the Mini, should it be called the Midi?





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Holy $h!*!!!

Around this time of year in Rome, if you park under the wrong tree near the Vatican, even the holy power of all the saints will not protect your freshly Zaino coated paint....


(Ansa.it)
In late fall in southern Europe, starlings gather in the millions and fly around like winged schools of sardines. They all land at the same time, packing themsolves on trees and proceed to do what birds to when they land...

Car owners ought to donate to falcon breeding programs as that is the only thing that can kill and scare off the flying varmint. I'm sure the environmentalist would be in an uproar so some cities, MonteCarlo for one, are resorting to trucks with loudspeakers blasting out bird of pray sounds from loudspeakers...

For the most part, starlings are not impressed and the poo rain continues unabated haunting the dreams of world's car neat freaks!





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The proper way to drive a Mini...

Back in the 1960's almost anyone who was anyone in motor racing spent some time racing Minis and the cars were great crowd pleasers. Easy to see why when they are driven the right way. You could argue that any clown can drift given enough  power but, momentum oversteer, that's another story.

Of course much of the spectacle is down to tires, modern tires have so much grip compared to even the best of 1960's tires.  Tiff Needell once said he learned to car control with a car that was so bad and tires so hard that he could drift at about 20 mph. Sometimes you have to wonder about "progress"...

This is a clip from this year's Goodwood Revival (not to be confused with the Festival of Speed), one of the world's great motoring events. I think you will enjoy it and, as I did, put it on your list of tracktard "musts ".

After the jump some in-car from the same race.

How many minis fit in a Mini?

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Wrap my Mini

Brilliant idea from Mini: Custom graphics made easy...   Everything from a simple sticker to a full custom wrap....    

minimotoringgraphics.com

MINI in Drag

The MINI Clubman Max Mosley edition could logically only be followed by a MINI in drag for Pinks! This one really goes though. Check it out and read the official press release stuff after the jump.






Woodcliff Lake, NJ - August 15, 2008... After multiple rounds of testing and nail biting qualifying runs for PINKS ALL OUT at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ, July 25th - 26th, the 650-horsepower MINI Cooper S drag racer, custom built by ABF Performance, emerged a crowd favorite and newly appointed giant killer. Piloted by Vincent Tennessee Kung, MINI USA’s Product Manager, the little "MINI That Could" took down car after car with multiple 10-second passes and trap speeds exceeding 135mph.
Officially the “World’s Quickest and Fastest MINI”, this Cooper S Hardtop has clocked a record-setting 10.48 elapsed time at 135.16 MPH, but not before sending home a Big-Block-equipped Camaro with a blistering start from PINKS ALL OUT host Rich Christensen’s “Arm Drop.” This incredible performance resulted from the collaboration between ABF Performance, MINI USA and MINI Financial Services. With its custom carbon-fiber bodywork and distinctive “Get Your Hands on a MINI” graphics (which shows two hands trying to grab the 1,750-pound race car) there is certainly no mistaking this MINI for any other car on the racetrack. Getting the miracle MINI into 9-second zone is just a few suspension tweaks away.

But the fun doesn’t stop at 1,320 feet out. Thanks to the massive R&D that went into building this car, ABF Performance will continue to build on its extensive portfolio of performance parts for street-bound and race-only MINIs. In addition, ABF Performance will keep on designing and building a range of turnkey race cars available for purchase by motorsports enthusiasts. Also, ABF Performance will support a number of Club Racing series at racetracks throughout the U.S., calculated to demonstrate the racing capabilities of the MINI platform, while strengthening the community of MINI enthusiasts and giving them an opportunity to sharpen their driving skills.

Vincent Tennessee Kung, MINI Product Manager, stated, “The collaborative effort between MINI USA and ABF Performance has resulted in record-making power and speed. As the new generation of MINIs makes its way into the hands of racers, we look forward to seeing what the aftermarket can accomplish both on the dragstrip and on the road course.”

Hubie Fuh, Executive Vice President of ABF PERFORMANCE, INC. added, “The new second-generation MINI platform represents a solid and flexible platform for the construction of extreme high-performance automobiles. We look forward to developing the new platform through our signature racing programs and competing at a variety of racing venues, including Drag, Drift, and Road Racing events over the coming years. We also look forward to making the MINI brand one of the most respected in all of motorsports. The combination of MINI’s fundamental engineering and our performance enhancements will help MINI USA and ABF Performance achieves this goal easily.”

The MINI drag racer, a 2002 MINI Cooper S, has been extensively engineered and tuned by ABF Performance and performed flawlessly over one week of grueling competition in tough heat and humidity. The only hiccup for the team was the factory axles, which snapped like toothpicks under Kung’s driving demands and repeated requests of “more power.” Running 38 psig of turbo boost and making 9000 rpm shifts didn’t help matters much either.

The MINI Cooper S Drag racer speeds on to other appearances and races this fall, including:
• October 18-19: Battle of the Imports (BOTI), California Speedway, Fontana, CA
• November 4 – 7: Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association (SEMA), Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV (display only)

Mini Clubman, the Max Mosley edition

Earlier this year, MINI paid tribute to the FIA president's now well known hobby when it presented this Clubman styled by official Formula 1 girlfriend lingerie supplier Agent Provocateur.   

We had seen pictures of the car but never the video which, depending on where you do work, may in fact be slightly risqué...check it out after the jump.

For more information, model phone numbers and tickets to LifeBall '09 please contact your local MINI shop!

Marko's Mini. Watkins Glen, September 2007 by AC