Oct 31st, 2005
A win in the final race of the weekend allowed Maxime Martin to seal overall victory in the MINI Challenge World Final. The Belgian driver had the edge over the 19 fastest MINI drivers from ten different countries over the four disciplines of this multi-faceted championship. Second in the standings was the Swede Fredrik Lestrup, ahead of Johannes Stuck (Austria) – son of racing legend Hans-Joachim “Strietzel” Stuck – in third. The world championship was just one of the attractions on the bill at the inaugural MINI United event.
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Oct 31st, 2005
Based on info we’d received over the pasts few months we had expected the JCW GP to eventually make it to the North American market. I’m now happy to report that this has officially been confirmed by MINI USA today. US MINI dealers should get their an allotment of five cars starting around July of 2006.
As we mentioned last week the Recaro seats won’t make it (due to the seat cushion airbag sensors) and instead the US market will get black cloth and leather seating. That aside the rest of the car should stay relatively intact. In fact MINI USA is even studying the feasibility of a Delete Option for both the A/C (further reducing weight) and DSC. This Delete Option will be available elsewhere in the world.
Here’s the official press release just issued by MINI (as seen on the MINI USA press site). While it doesn’t include any US specific information, it does expand on the press release issued earlier in the day from MINI UK:
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Oct 31st, 2005
The following is the first official UK press release on the new John Cooper Works GP Kit. We expect more information as the week progresses.
The launch of the new MINI in 2001 set a new standard in the small car market for handling and driving enjoyment. Over the next four years rumours came and went regarding the arrival of a lightweight, high-performance MINI.
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Oct 30th, 2005
We have more Phil Wicks for you this week. Todd and I are back with the 2nd half of our interview. This week we touch mostly on Phil’s motorsport heritage. 50 years worth. We also hit the news of the week and tackle a few reader emails. Enjoy!
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Oct 29th, 2005
More photos after the jump…
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Oct 29th, 2005
We left Frankfurt on Thursday night and drove the first strech to a small village near Zürich in Switzerland. On the next morning we woke up with beautiful sunshine. A perfect day to go across the Alps. So we decided to go over the “Klausenpass” with an altidude of 6404 ft. It’s a small road that continuously winds up and down the mountains. A spectacular experience.
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Oct 28th, 2005
First here’s the official press release from MINI USA:
The MINI USA/FTR made its drag strip debut at the NHRA Sport Compact World Finals at the Pomona Raceway in Pomona, California this past weekend. In its inaugural run the car posted an impressive time of 12.54 seconds for the Quarter Mile with a top speed of 115.79 miles per hour making it the world’s quickest MINI in the quarter mile.
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