MINI and Burton Go Freestyle with RE:LAAX

Official News from MINI: MINI provides creative highlights of the off-piste variety at the season’s curtain-raiser – the Burton European Open in Laax. The MINI Countryman takes a turn for the artistic.

The most prestigious freestyle event in the eyes of snowboarders, the Burton European Open (BEO), will once again slide into the Swiss resort of Laax on 4 – 9 February 2013 as the international snowboard elite do battle in the slopestyle and halfpipe categories. MINI, on the scene once again as presenting partner for the Burton Global Event Series (BGES), will lay on a creative and varied support programme. Topping the bill are the PirateArtCrew, who have answered MINI’s call to Laax to stage a unique art event with a MINI Countryman. Added to which, the MINI Feature Award will be presented once again this year to the most creative park crew, and free test drives in a model from the MINI family will also be on offer.

RE:LAAX – the MINI Countryman Perspective: an art event in a container
In a first for the BEO, a MINI Countryman will be chiselled artistically into a snowy landscape during the event. Hence MINI’s invitation to the PirateArtCrew. Their art has earned them a regular gig with the world-famous Pirate Movie Production, purveyors of epic snowboard films that have made them a big name on the boarding scene. The crew run by Lukas Goller and Tobias “Ludschi” Ludescher will project a gradual reel of thrills and spills from the Burton European Open, along with snapshots of nature, onto a MINI Countryman. The creative process behind their “RE:LAAX – the MINI Countryman Perspective” installation will be on show for everyone to see in Laax. The MINI Countryman will be placed in a glass container in Café NoName at the mountain station and opened up to visitors at various times.

MINI Feature Award 2013 for the shape crew of the moment
MINI and Burton will be getting together once again this year to present the coveted MINI Feature Award. The Award and accompanying prize money will be handed over to the shape crew who have conjured up the most creative MINI obstacle. In Laax, Roger Heid and his shape crew are preparing ingenious tricks to set the riders up for jumps you won’t see every day. Meanwhile, Frank Wells at Snow Park Tech is responsible for cutting the slopestyle course over in Vail, Colorado (venue for the Burton US Open). Both teams get an advance cheque of US$5,000 from MINI for their work, and the winner is ultimately crowned by a jury made up of competitors, Burton representatives, competition judges and media representatives.

The BGES events presented by MINI are held over the course of the year in four countries on three different continents. Next up after the Burton European Open in Laax will be the Burton US Open in Vail (25 February – 11 March 2013), followed by the Burton High Fives in New Zealand and the Burton Rail Days in Tokyo.

Source: MINI