Filed under: Motorsports, Crossover, Mini, Off-Road, Racing
MINI John Cooper Works WRC - Click above for high-res image gallery
It's been a long time in the making, but after confirming their participation some eight months ago and unveiling the car in Monte Carlo for nostalgia's sake, Mini and Prodrive have finally and officially launched their joint World Rally Championship effort at the Mini assembly plant in Oxford, England.
The team is starting off with a limited schedule in the WRC this year, where it will contest a number of rallies throughout the year, before taking on the likes of Ford and Citroën - which have won every drivers' and manufacturers' championship in the WRC for the past seven years - for the full championship in 2012.
The S2000-spec Mini Countryman rally car has already contested three lower-level regional rallies, winning the Rally dell'Adriatico in the Italian Gravel Rally Championship. 2009 IRC champion Kris Meeke and former Citroën WRC driver Dani Sordo will debut as Mini's official works drivers at the Italian Rally in Sardegna next month.
We'll be watching to see how they do, but for now you can follow the jump to read the full press release, and check out the images of the WRC-spec car at its debut in Oxford and the S2000-spec machine being put through its paces during Rally Portugal in the galleries below.
[Source: Mini]
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Mini and Prodrive officially launch WRC team at Oxford originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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