Some 45 years after making headlines at the Monte Carlo Rallye, the iconic Mini name is back on the World Rally Championship stage. Recently launched at the Mini spiritual home at Cowley, Oxford, England, the Mini John Cooper Works WRC team made its racing debut at the Rally d’Italia Sardegna with two cars piloted by Kris Meeke and Dani Sordo. Meeke’s car had a few technical problems with the throttle sticking open and was sidelined during Special Stage 2, while lying 4th overall. Sordo, who finished an impressive 6th, less than four minutes behind multiple champion and event winner Sebastian Loeb, said, “I am happy to finish, the car is good and so is the team. I think the weekend was very positive, and after many kilometers on the rally we have learned more about the car, which is important. Also the team has taken a lot of data and is now working hard for the future. In the fast parts of the stages we were close to the top times. The positive is the chassis is really good and it is really nice to drive on the fast road. If you have a good chassis this is most important.”
The new car, based on the new Mini Countryman profile and powered by a 1.6-liter turbo four, has been developed by BMW in conjunction with design expertise from David Richards’ Prodrive organization, which has prepared the challenger to FIA Super 2000 regulations. It will run under the banner of Mini John Cooper Works WRC, but there will be other cars available from Prodrive for private customer teams to contest the same or similar championships run to the FIA Super 2000 regulations.
By Mike Jiggle
