MINI is back in Monte Carlo and this time it is the iconic version that won
the famous rally in the sixties meeting up with the latest MINI WRC that sees
the brand back on the world rally stage. Rauno Aaltonen (FI) was driving the
1960s version when he was greeted at the end of the Rallye Monte Carlo
Historique in the early hours of the 2nd February by Kris Meeke (GB) and Dani
Sordo (ES), the drivers who will revive the brand's rallying tradition this
year.
For Meeke and Sordo this is a stop on what is a busy schedule
leading up to the first appearance of the MINI WRC on selected FIA World Rally
Championship events in 2011, prior to a full assault on the championship in
2012. However, before that they will be heading from Monaco to Spain to put
their brand new test car through its paces. Then on the 13th April comes the
official launch of the MINI WRC Team at the plant in Cowley, Oxford (GB) where
MINI models are produced.
Aaltonen, who won the 1967 Monte Carlo Rally in
a works Mini, covered 4,101 kilometers on the rally that took him and his
co-driver, Helmut Artacker, from the start in Marrakech on the 26th January to
the principality's harbor for the finish in the early hours of the 2nd February.
His comments on the event were: "It has taken us a long time to get here and it
was a good trip. In the old days a Mini in rallying form was rather
uncomfortable, but in this Mini we had modern shock absorbers and it was so
comfortable that after over 4,000 kilometers I am not tired at all. There was
snow in places, but we were not told about this so we did not have the
appropriate tires and so lost over a hundred places. It was really busy on this
last leg, we were really fighting hard and it was a great atmosphere."
Also in Monte Carlo to greet Aaltonen was another famous Mini driver, Paddy
Hopkirk from Northern Ireland, who won the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964.
Remembering that time he said: "It is very interesting to be here and I was
delighted to see Rauno looking so well and the car looking so good. It is just
great to see it all being revived. When we won it was not just motorsport news,
but front page news and I even got a telegram from the Beatles and the Prime
Minister and I was given the keys to Belfast. I do admire the talents of these
guys. Kris took me around the Prodrive test track in the MINI WRC and it was
absolutely fantastic."
Meeke and Sordo are both keen to start their rally
program. "It is great for Dani and me to be competing for MINI and taking up
that legendary spirit. Everything is going extremely well and I think the
fundamental DNA of the car is very, very good. At this early stage of the
development everyone is really excited as it seems to be hitting all the targets
that were set out in the development phase," said Meeke.
Sordo was also
relishing the task ahead of him: "I have driven the car less than Kris but I
have been on both tarmac and gravel. Honestly the feel of the car was really
good. We still need to improve in certain areas, but this is normal because the
car is new. Our MINI is new to rallying but in Prodrive we have a lot of
experience and they have achieved many things in the sport. Kris and I will try
to do the best we can. At the moment the car is really good and getting better
and better."
The MINI WRC is based on the MINI Countryman and is powered
by a 1.6-liter turbo engine derived from the MINI production models that has
been developed by BMW Motorsport for use in series running to the FIA Series2000
Regulations, which also includes the FIA World Touring Car Championship. The
MINI WRC has been developed by Prodrive, one of the most experienced and
respected operations in rallying. This UK based company from Banbury has no less
than six World Rally Championship titles to its name.