Mini Sport News Dec 2010

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Mini Sport News December 2010

We have Free Ipod shuffles with orders over £400 and Mini Sport Alloy 4 Pot Calipers from £190 +vat a pair to name a few of this weeks special offers.

Get the deals while they are still hot! We only have limited stocks and are sold on a first come first serve basis.

Merry Christmas from all at Mini Sport

Hankook Winter Icept W605 Winter Tyres

Hankook Winter Icept W605 - 145/70 R12 69Q 4PR - Winter Tyre 


Winter run safer better.
These tyres offer excellent replacement tyres in both urban and rural conditions on asphalt and dirt roads. Excellent traveling tyre on snow and ice, showed good traction, and braking performance. The rubber composition silica materials Silica gives tyre elasticity even at low temperatures and protects against snow on the slippery bends in the road.

Reasons to consider winter tyres:

1. Winter tyres are NOT SNOW TYRES
One of the most common reasons we hear as to why winter tyres aren't needed in the UK is because we don't get enough snow. Winter tyres are designed to be more effective than regular tyres in any temperature under 7c (44f) on any type of road. Cold weather tyres are designed with a larger percentage of silica in the compound which doesn't harden up as much as synthetic rubber in cold conditions.

2. Winter tyres really do work
Tested in icy conditions, from just 10mph the winter tyre stopped in 6.4 metres, while the summer tyre needed more than twice the distance to stop at over 14 metres. Imagine the difference from 30 mph.

3. Winter tyres are as comfortable as summer tyres
Yet another myth is a loss of ride comfort, or extra noise thanks to winter tyres. The truth is modern winter tyres are as every bit as comfortable as summer tyres, sometimes more so thanks to an increased profile.

4. Avoiding other people on the road
The number of accidents caused by wet conditions increases in winter by 267%. Give yourself a chance of avoiding someone else's incident by fitting winter tyres. 


Buy Hankook Winter Tyres from minisport.com today

Dave Drew finishes 3rd overall!

A few words from our tame racing driver, Dave Drew;

Just completed the final rounds of the Mini Miglia Championship at Brands Hatch at the weekend, and have pleasure informing you that we started 5^th on the grid in difficult track conditions and after a hectic race, we pulled WIN number 2 of the season in front of the Sky TV cameras and an estimated 20,000 crowd.

Race 2 on Sunday we started 6^th on the grid and by turn 3 we were up to 2^nd position which we held for 13 laps, however had some traction loss out of clearways onto the home straight, and fell down the order to eventually come home in 5^th. This race was also televised on Sky and I will update you when they shall be broadcast.

The Final Championship position for the Mini Sport Miglia was 3^rd Overall, and we are so pleased with the results. We can always look back and say if only we didn’t have an exhaust problem at Pembrey and rear suspension failure at Cadwell Park, we could have possibly taken the Championship, but that’s motor racing!

I have a few bits and pieces that I have collected for you and shall send up next week, along with DVD of the Thruxton TV meeting win and some great posters etc. Finally massive thanks for your help & support in my Miglia campaign this year and hope that I have done Mini Sport proud of our joint achievements and television efforts. I have been the proudest driver in the Club, and thrilled to have Mini Sport advertised all over the car.

  

Kindest regards and thanks once again for a fantastic year.

Sagepay Secure Online Payments - NOW LIVE

You may have noticed we have just upgraded the old payment system on the websites to this shiny new Sagepay online payments system.


This new payment function charges your card as you place the order and allows you to use Verified by Visa or Mastercard Securecode and 3rd Man fraud prevention systems.


This is a much more secure way of paying and Sagepay are the leading UK online payments service provider.

When an order is placed on our website and you have entered your address and agreed to our terms and conditions, you are then forwarded to the Sagepay secure online payments page which will take and process your payment immediately.

Sagepay is the UK industry leading online payments company (formerly known as Protx). Our Sagepay payment gateway uses the latest fraud technology and is 100% secure. If you are unsure of the secure URL you should be seeing at checkout, it should start with https://live.sagepay.com/.....

You should see the golden padlock and a valid Verisign security certificate.

Sagepay also uses the Verified by Visa, MasterCard Securecode and The 3rd Man fraud detection system for both your and our security. We recommend you use these technologies when prompted for your own security and piece of mind.

When paying through Sagepay online payment system, your card will be charged immediately for the amount agreed to on the order.

Please note; we do not or cannot see any of your card details as this is all handled by Sagepay on our behalf.

If you have any security questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us

Dave Drew Mini Miglia Thruxton Win!!

Just competed for Rounds 7 & 8 at Thruxton at the weekend and will prepare full report for you later today, however just to let you know that I qualified 5^th for both races after suffering head gasket problem which is another story…!!

1^st race got under way and managed to get to first corner in 4^th but an accident behind me unfortunately ruined my race by collecting me, however I managed to get it out the gravel and ended up 6^th overall… a few panels damaged and wheel bearing failure due to gravel but all built up for Sundays race in time..!

Sundays Race was televised by Sky Sports and will be broadcasted on the 25^th of next month with repeat shows, and Hayfisher productions are making a CD of the whole weekend for retailing etc.   I started again in 5^th place and lap 3 was leading, lots of drafting and titanic battles every lap with lead changes between 6 of us for whole race which made it a mega exciting race, however last lap, last bend at the chicane we were 4 abreast going in and I managed to get the WIN in what has been described as one of the best Miglia races for years… couldn’t have worked out better for us with the TV etc, and I made sure that the TV interview included a massive thanks to Minisport, as with your support this dream was possible….

Thank you so much for your support and hope that this TV show and plug along with a retail CD is away of repayment to you all…

Full race report will follow later Chris and thanks again…

Kind Regards

Your Race Driver

Dave Drew 

Mini Sport iPhone/iPad Home Screen Icon

Always at the forefront of technology, the Mini Sport marketing team have released the latest creation, wait for it....

The Mini Sport High Resolution Icon for iPhone & iPad


If you have one of these Apple devices, then you will know what this is, if you don't let me explain...

If you want to add a Safari bookmark to the homescreen then you are usually presented with a small clipping of the webpage which isn't very attractive. To overcome this problem we have built a high res icon which is compatible with the new iPhone 4 Retina Display.

To use this superb icon, simply browse to www.minisport.com in your iPhone and click "Add to Home Screen" and the icon will get added to your Apple device.

Let's see it in action....

Young Blood

Here at Mini Sport we are always interested to hear our younger generation joining the Mini clan. We recently heard from Ross in the Isle of Man who started racing Minis when he was 10 (he is only 11 now).

Here is Ross's story;

Ross races in the Isle of Man ministox championship, he is 11 years old, he started racing 7 weeks ago when he was 10.

The car is a 998cc standard engine with a 16mm restrictor and standard exhaust, we run both ways arround the track so no one can set to go in one direction, extra safety bars throuout the car make them about 650 to 700kg in weight, his car was built some 18 years ago and has won both the championship and the Manx sword of state many times, it was the whites and yellows championship winning car last year( no pressure then).

There are 7 races left for this season so his goal is to get used to the track and the car and also take a few hits as this is a contact sport.

Up to July 31st he has won 4 races outrite so a roof upgrade to yellow may not be too far away.

The results and pictures can be found on Onchan Raceway.com

DRIVER PROFILE:

Name: Ross Tunney
Age: 11
Championship: Manx ministox 10 to 16 year olds
Roof Colour: White( beginer)
History: Up to Mon 26th July done 6 meetings in his own car( 12 meetings gone so far in the championship), Hired one last year for his birhday and did one meeting.
26th July.Won the whites and yellows race (1st ever win) 2nd in 1st race(all colours), 1st in 2nd race, 2nd in 3rd race, Won the overall on the night
29th July. Won the whites and yellows again, got fired into fence on 1st all colours race, finished 4th, won the next race, got punted off again and finished 5th, finished joint 3rd on the night.
31st July. Won whites and yellows, got fired into infield again on next race, won the next one, while in the lead on last race, clipped a tractor tyre and damaged steering so pulled in, but still had a good night!!!!

Sudath Mahanama from Sri Lanka

We heard from one of our great customers, Sudath from Sri Lanka recently. Sudath is a true Mini fan and has owned one for the last 25 years.

You might think it would be hard to source parts and accessories for the Mini over in Sri Lanka, but thanks to the great export team at Mini Sport makes this possible.

Anyway, enough of the chit-chat, let's look at Sudaths Mini;

I had my first Classic Mini in the year 1986.

 

In 2001, I rebuilt an Austin Moke and awardedas the "Best Moke" for two consecutive years in the Srilankan "Mighty Mini Club" annual show contest. (I will send you a picture of this Moke as well in a seperate mail)

 

In the year 2003, I bought my second Classic Mini and rebuilt again (after dimentalling all the parts totally), replacing most of the parts and accessories from "Minisport".  Ultimately the Mini became the most elegant butterfly on the Srilankan roads. (Color - Tahity Blue with Silver top)

This Mini won the "Best looking Mini" award in Srilanka in the year 2005 and 2007.

 

In 2002 - 2005 I participated in racing events held in Srilanka in my Moke and in another Mini made for racing only. I am very proud to say that I have won a couple of awards in racing in different tracks (Road and off road as well) in Srilanka. Even my wife won the ladies event once driving my Mini. Due to the busy working pattern nowadays, I had to quit from racing and keeping my hobby as it is, maintaing the Mini up to the toppest condition.

 

Two months back, I gave my dream car a full check up, removing all the parts in pieces for a perfect rebuilt. Color was changed to BMW Mini - Chilly Red with off white top and the new set of decals. (As you see in the pics)

 

This Mini specs as below,

 

1. Engine                - 1293 cc with fast road cam + Single SU 1.75 Carb

2. Suspension         - Adjusta Ride

3. Wheels               - 6 X 13  polished Superlight Alloy wheels

4. Tyres                  - Yokohama A539 175/50/13

5. Exterior               - Fitted the parts and accessories from Minisport

6. Interior                - Same as above

7. Extras                 - Air conditioned,  Sun roof fixed

8. Audio                 - Blaupunkt with JBL surround speakers

Mini Miglia Castle Combe - Round 6

Another installment from our top racing driver, Dave Drew in the Mini Miglia Championship from Castle Combe last weekend;

We have just completed Round 6 of the championship at Castle Combe, which was a very good weekend..! A very large spectator turnout and many visitors to the Paddock taking photographs, some little leagues getting autographs which made there day and to be honest mine too…! and we also run out of catalogues which can only be good news. 

Our qualifying session started with a wet setup and very soon in to it I found the sweet spot and recorded 2nd fastest and only 3 tenths of a second of Pole position. So well happy with that and for the first time this season we are on the front row of the grid and raring to go..!  The race got under way and was first off the line but couldn’t take track position by the infamous Quarry turn at the end of the straight, however managed to get a productive tow from race leader and take the lead on lap 2, which I held for the next 3 laps, lots of drafting and tactics going on but all clean and in order but eventually lost the lead and continued the chase, the crowd reacted to what was a superb display and we eventually finished the race with 3rd and a climb on to the rostrum. Commentator interviews were done and Mini Sport got a big mention of grateful thanks etc.

I have some great in car footage which I shall send to you, along with the weekends pictures and podium celebrations.

We're getting there and at the halfway point in the championship were lying 4th place, and in a strong position to win overall. 9 points separate the 1st 5 drivers..!

Best Regards

Dave 

Mini Miglia Pembrey - Round 4/5

The latest installment from our top racing driver Dave Drew from the Mini Miglia Challange at Pembrey;


Pembrey meeting went reasonably well, but lady luck still wasn’t helping Me.!  Qualified 8th from 19 starters, and started climbing the order in the race until lap 7 whilst running 5th, got a tap in the rear at the hairpin, that sadly broke the rear exhaust mountings, which allowed the exhaust to drag, with the eventuality of the Black & Orange flag being waved at me by officials to report to pits, as car in dangerous condition. Very annoying as we were in very good position, and would have finished higher than my championship rivals, which would have put me leading the championship..!

The Sunday race was great for the first 6 laps until the tyres went off due to excessive track temperature and couldn’t make any progress so maintained track position and finished 6th from 19 starters.

Currently lying 5th in Championship, but only 9 points off leader, but taking into account the compulsory drop scores tally, we are in 2nd overall at the halfway stage.  I’ve just had the car completely refreshed, re-corner weighted and new caster/camber settings applied as we were noticing abnormal tyre wear and heat cycles were all over the place, and I am testing this Thursday at Castle Combe ready for the next round, just to make sure that we are getting the best from the new setting adjustments.

As regards to the shirts, they were all perfect and we wore with pride in the Paddock and Club house. The magazines and stickers were going well and have had a few club members ask if there is any discount for Mini7 club members, of which I couldn’t answer but asked them to give your team a call to discuss etc.

Lots of interest with regards to the Mini Sport Vented Discs and 4 Pot Caliper’s that I am running on my Miglia, and questioned several times on the quality of the steering rack, which I highly rate. 


I will be in touch soon, all the best


Dave

Website Stock Status Levels go LIVE!

We are pleased to announce that Stock Status Levels on www.minisport.com have gone live today!

We have decided upon 4 common status levels on each product which should give an exact status of each product on the website.

Stock Status Levels are as follows:

This product is in stock at high volume and will be dispatched within one working day. This product is in stock at low volume and we cannot guarantee to satisfy large order quantities within our normal delivery timescales. If we are unable to immediately complete your order then we will contact you within one working day. This product is currently out of stock but we are expecting a fresh delivery within the next 2-5 days. Ordering this product will place you on a temporary waiting list, which will be fulfilled on a first-come first-served basis when fresh stock arrives. Please note orders that cannot be completed with stock due soon will be shipped as soon as the order is complete. This product is a out of stock and will be ordered into stock for you. To Order items usually ship in 7-21 days. Please note that orders with stock to order will be shipped as soon as the order is complete.

All products have been through a thorough programme of testing to ensure the correct status is displayed and this will be tweaked on a daily basis once it has gone live.

We hope this makes your browsing and ordering process more enjoyable.

We are also working on further updates and developments over the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled :-)

Martin

Web Development Team

Blackpool Mini Run 2010

Mini Sport are sponsoring the fantastic Blackpool Mini Run on Sunday 27th June.

www.blackpoolminirun.co.uk

This is going to be a superb run as there are 4 individual starting points which all meet in Blackpool. It costs £10 to join the run but this is donated to this years designated charity - Cancer Research UK.
Full information is available on the Blackpool Mini Run website www.blackpoolminirun.co.uk

There are only 150 official places on the Mini run and each will receive an official plaque to display on your Mini. Late entries will be accepted but only the first 150 will receive a plaque. All entries are issued on a first come first serve basis.


There are 4 starting points as follows;

1. Liverpool
Arrive 8.30am depart 9am - Queens Wharf, Liverpool, L3 4BX

2. Penrith
Arrive 8.00am depart 8.45am - MiniMaster, Penrith Ind Est, Haweswater Road, Penrith, CA11 9EU

3. Skipton
Arrive 8.30am depart 9am - Craven Swimming Pool, Gargrave Road, Skipton, BD23 1UD

4. Preston
Arrive 10am depart 10.30am - Odeon Cinema, Navigation Way, Preston Docks, PR2 2YQ

Please check this page for any last minute changes

Mini Miglia Rockingham - Round 1

The Mini Sport sponsored Miglia, driven by Dave Drew came in with a great finish of 5th overall.

A few words from Dave from the weekend:

"Morning all,

The Mini Sport livered Miglia went down extremely well amongst the Club and Paddock, and attracted the most attention all weekend, so well done on the configuration.

I tested on the Friday so I could get the car set up for the qualifying session, and the only issue we had was a gear selection gremlin where it was hitting the reverse gate when going from 2^nd to 3^rd gear, causing it to bulk, but sadly this only raised attention in the last 4 laps of the final test session, so optimistically we had to make fine adjustments with selector shaft in the paddock, and hope that it was resolved for qualifying.

I ran all day with the Mini Sport alloy 4 pot calipers and found them to be very responsive, even and durable under extreme braking.

I put new tyres on all round for qualifying and it appeared that the gear selection gremlin was cured as we managed to qualify 4^th on row 2 outside. The only disadvantage through qualifying was not being able to get a tow effect from another front runner, which will usually gain vital tenths of a second that can propel you up a row, but overall I was happy with our start position.  Come the race I made the best start of all and was along side Kane Astin going into turn 1, which was neck and neck for the lead, but our gear selector gremlin was back again and missed 3^rd gear which nearly buzzed the engine, but thankfully it appears ok. Unfortunately this dropped me down to eleventh, and the safety car was deployed as another Miglia hit the wall at full speed and destroyed itself. The safety car went in after 4-5 laps and I then managed to fight my way through from 11^th to end up finishing 5th overall, which in fairness was a good result considering 3^rd gear couldn’t be selected. 

The engine is now going back to Swiftune to check out the box and to make sure the engine didn’t sustain any damage with the over rev. We didn’t sustain any body damage so will rectify the selector issue and try to improve at Snetterton next meeting.   

Thank you for the support

Dave"

Minifinity Rolling Road Shootout this Saturday

Time flies when you're having fun, that's right guys less than a few days to the annual Minifinity Rolling Road shootout at Mini Sport!!!

This promises to be a good day as ever, Mini World is attending (so we get a nice feature in the magasine), we have a top gear style leaderboard for the day,  some video to stick up on youtube and maybe even some trophy's!

There's nothing quite like the sound of a mini having the nuts thrashed off it! I can't wait, If you're going i'll see you there, if you're not then you don't know what you're missing! who will be top small bore? who will take the 1275 crown? and who will be the bhp daddy!!!

There will also be an extra 5% discount to club members on top of our already low sale prices. Extra discount only available in person on Saturday 10 April.

See you all tomorrow :-)

Get involved with the Minifinity club

Mini Sport Back Miglia Novice Champ

2009 Mini Miglia Novice Champion Dave Drew has got his 2010 campaign off to a flying start with backing from Mini Sport. Dave, who took pole position and a podium finish in only his fourth Miglia race, is over the moon to have such a prestigious name on his car in only his second season of the championship.


“Mini Sport is a name that every Mini owner knows and respects and it is my privilege to race with their support in 2010,” he said. “Mini Sport started business in 1967, around the same time as the Mini 7 Racing Club, and today both are held in the highest regard. We have been working hard on the car over the winter and 2010 promises to be a great year for the Dunlop Mini Miglia Challenge as it celebrate 40 years. There are some top notch drivers out there but my goal is to stand on the top step of the podium in this special season and with the help from Mini Sport that goal is certainly one step closer.”

Jonathan Harper from Mini Sport said: “This is a groundbreaking sponsorship deal for us, one that holds great excitement and anticipation for 2010. Mini Sports DNA is in motorsport, and over the years our company colours have adorned many Championship winning Minis. Dave Drew is a top bloke who's professional approach and presentation ticked all the boxes for us, making it a relatively easy decision to give our backing to him and break into Mini Miglia Racing, in which historically Mini Sport have never been involved. This is a fantastic opportunity for us both and we look forward to a successful season working closely with Dave to achieve this.”

With the first date at Rockingham coming up this weekend, Dave's Miglia has just come back from the bodyshop sporting it's new 2010 Mini Sport livery, see pictures below

Rockingham First Round - Saturday 10 April 2010

Scrutineering 09.15 – 10.15

Qualifying 10.30 – 10.45

Race 1 – Quaife Radical Club Cup - 13.10

Race 2 – Mini Se7en Championship – 13.45

Race 3 – Radical UK Cup – 14.15

Race 4 – Mini Miglia Championship – 15.10

Race 5 – Dunlop Sport Maxx Cup – 15.40

Race 6 – Mini Challenge – 16.15

Race 7 – Radical Club Cup – 16.50

We wish Dave the best of luck this weekend.

FOR SALE - 1971 Mini Mk3 Cooper S 1275cc

A beautiful example of one of the last Cooper 'S's. Restored 20 years ago to a very high standard, using only the best quality parts.

Fantastic to drive, bringing back fabulous memories and the true spirit of what driving a Cooper 'S' was all about in the 60's and 70's. A true sports classic in every respect.

The condition is exceptional and hence is reflected in the price of £11995 ono

Come and look for yourself and buy a wonderful piece of motoring History.




Registration No - XOP 69J

Chassis No - XAD1334257A

Engine No - 12H398FH1024

Colour - Old English White with Black Roof

Mileage - 44000 miles

Extras - RH Fuel Tank, Boot Board, Wood Rim Steering Wheel, Leather Trimmed Original Seats


Mini Sport Cars for Sale

Mini World & Mini Mag on sale!

Get the latest copy of Mini World and Mini Mag from Mini Sport!

We have the latest copies in listed on the website, instock and also have a number of back issues going back to November 2009

Buy your copies now

 http://www.minisport.com/mini-spare-parts/Mini_World_and_Mini_Magazines.html

Congratulations to Jim!

A big congratulation to Jim Wirtz for finishing 44th overall in his Mini Sport sponsored 1985 Mini at the Legend Boucles de Spa Rally in Belgium.

Jim sent us these action shots for you all to enjoy

For full information on this superb rally, visit the website www.race-rally.be

2010 Jaks Isle of Man Rally Report

The Mini Sport Rally Team were in rallying action again last weekend with three of the teams Cooper 'S' BMW Minis over on the Isle of Man for the first round of the Manx Rally Championship.

Daniel Harper, this time partnered by co-driver Paula Swinscoe, John Cressey with co-driver Stan Quirk and Martin Page and Martin Cressey.

This year there were 9 night time stages on the Friday night followed by a further 6 daylight stages on the Saturday. The stages are all held on closed public roads and are a rally enthusiasts dream taking in classic stages such as Druidale and parts of the famous TT Mountain Course.

The crews were going to have to be quick from the outset as they were surrounded by a quality entry of local drivers and others campaigning fourwheel drive turbo and World Rally Cars. A tall order in the 1600cc Cooper S's but the crews are used to mixing it with the 'big lads!'.

Conditions remained dry on the night stages but with temperatures below zero, ice had formed on some surfaces making driving a little tricky in places. The two Martins  overshot a hairpin at speed on Special Stage 5 giving the marshalls there an opportunity to take to their heels....which they did!

Daniel and Paula were unfortunate early on when having taken time out of one of the World Rally Cars...and just about everyone else, they suffered engine damage which disapointingly put them out of the event.

John and Stan were working well and were 4th overall after stage 3. They continued this storming drive in the dark and with no damage caused, routine maintainance was carried out at second service to both remaining cars by the frozen but extremely dedicated Mini Sport mechanics. 

All was prounounced well with just one damaged tyre for the Martins to be wary of on the next stages. 

Stage 7 was cancelled due to an off by another competitor and both crews went straight on to Special Stage 8.

The two Martins had a great run through without problems and were really getting into their new pace note system and revelling in some minor changes to the handling of their Mini.

John and Stan however had to stop mid stage when their lamp pod came loose. Stopping to secure it again cost them 30 seconds.

By the end of the last stage, the two Martins had climbed to 16th overall, putting them in a good position for an attack the following day, while John and Stan had gone on a charge of their own and set 3rd fastest time overall.

The crew of the Hyundai World Rally Car who followed them through the stage were quoted as saying "we were then entertained by Mr Cressy who pulled back onto the stage after a lamp pod problem, we followed him for 4 miles at a distance of about 1 metre and from our view he does very well to keep it on the road !!"

A fitting compliment to John and Stan who were really giving it some on the raggedy edge !

At the start of Saturdays stages, the organisers warned all competitors that the first few stages were effected by ice. Low sun was also a problem making it difficult to spot where the ice was lying and a few cars were caught out, crashing out under braking.

The first stage of the day was the very slippery Curraghs stage. A strip of very narrow, broken and very bumpy tarmac leading to an offset crossroads and then a more smoother second half.

John and Stan were well up for it from the word go and set 4th fastest time through here and through Druidale which no doubt left many of the four wheel drive turbo crews scratching their heads.

The Martins had a just one minor scare on the black ice on the first run through the famous Druidale stage with driver Martin admitting to being probably a little too cautious in this stage. So following final service, the intention was to step up the speed on the remaining stages which were mostly free of ice .

Back into Special Stage 12, a repeat of Curraghs and John and Stans' Cooper S split its exhaust manifold which meant the car was almost unbearably noisy but more crucially John could only use half throttle and only 3500 rpm to avoid engine damage. This cost them a good 30 seconds but the car had to be looked after to get repairs made at service after the second run through Druidale.

The Mini Sport mechanics did a great job of the repair at service and sent John and Stan back out penalty free and to hopefully make up some time having now dropped to 6th place overall.

The last stages were dispatched in good form with both cars running well through the narrow twisty lanes with the Martins 19th overall , 1minute 38 seconds ahead of the next car, a chasing Subaru crew. John and Stan came home a superb 6th overall and 2nd in class, also claiming the best 'overseas' crew award.

In a class which comprises all the fourwheel drive turbo cars the Mini Sport Rally Team did an excellent job and the crews would like to thank all the mechanics and supporters for their unwavering enthusiasm and commitment.

Its sometimes said that those in the mechanics overalls have to be at their best when things are at their worst. They are a superb bunch and do a superb job.

a Mini wedding Down Under

We have just received this superb picture from our good friend Neil Crawford Down Under;

a true Mini wedding convoy

enjoy :-)

Mini on the Monte - Day 4/5

Here are some really bad photos of the last day and night : the stage from Valence to Monaco (day) and Monaco to Monaco (night).

A long long stage again, everyone was exhausted but really happy to cross the finish line and even more happy when we knew that our Cooper S was the only Mini on the 12 engaged to get throught every stage of this Monte Carlo Rally !!! What a victory for us.

So you got now all the "backstage photos". We will send you very soon "in action" pictures.

 

Thank you very much to Minisport for support and quality parts. Thank you to all the team for keeping smile and good mind even on bad moments. Thank you to everyone who enjoyed our adventure.

 

See you soon on French Tour Auto 2010 with 3 (yes three !!!) Cooper S in our team.

 

Very best regards.

 

Vince.

 

WG British Racing

Mini on the Monte - Day 3

For the 3rd day, the stage were from Valence to Valence.

Because of snow, it has been difficult for us to follow the race with the van. Because of the snow again, many accidents as well : a Mustang rolled, a Porsche 911 hited an MGB.

Anyway, our Mini went through and the driver is really satisfied, except for the bucket seat whitch has been "refurbished" with a Minisport sweatshirt to make it comfy !!!

Tomorrow, we're going back to Monaco from about 9am to about 5am next night. It's gonna be a long day.

Very best regards.

Vince.

WG British Racing

A couple of pictures from the Monte...

Another 2 superb pictures have just surfaced from the depths of the Monte Carlo Historic Rallye from Alex at almondgreen.net showing the Mk1 Cooper S sponsored by Mini Sport.

We haven't had an update on todays activities, but as soon as we hear anything this blog will be updated

Mini on the Monte - Day 2

Here are few photos of the 2nd stage from Monaco to Valence, still through the Alps.

All the team did enjoy the night cause of the first stage that was really exhausting.

Nice weather today but cold anyway : around 0°C. It was lot of snow and ice on the road so we decided to fit spiked tyres on front. Brillant idea according to today's accidents ...

We also changed front pads because originals were like polished (I don't knonw the exact word for that !).

So finally, a good day for us, specially when you know that 5 Minis already left the race ...

For more information on the full rally, check out the Rallye Monte Carlo Official Website