PressClub Canada · Article.
JOHN COOPER HONOURED WITH CBE MEDAL
Tue Apr 04 12:00:00 CEST 2000 Press Release
John Cooper, the distinguished Grand Prix race-car constructor and father of the Mini Cooper, has been presented with the Commander of the Order of the British Empire medal for services to the motor industry.
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Author.
Jochen Frey
BMW Group
John Cooper, the distinguished Grand Prix race-car constructor and father of
the Mini Cooper, has been presented with the Commander of the Order of the
British Empire medal for services to the motor industry.
Cooper, (76) was a leading race car constructor in the 1960s and his team
produced many race-winning cars driven by greats such as Jack Brabham, Jackie
Stewart and Bruce McLaren. Stewart won the Formula 3 World Championship in a
John Cooper car powered by the Mini's 'A' Series engine while Brabham won the
Formula 1 World Championship in 1959 and 1960 in a Cooper car.
John Cooper was one of the first to recognise the racing potential of the Mini,
he took his ideas to a sceptical Alec Issigonis in 1960. Once convinced of
Cooper's ideas, BMC commissioned the development of the first Mini Cooper,
which was launched in 1961. In 1963 the even more potent Mini Cooper 'S' was
launched and these cars put Mini firmly into competition racing and formed the
backbone of the BMC works team. The highpoint for Mini Cooper racing was the
three Monte Carlo Rally wins of 1964, 1965 and 1967 (in 1966, a Mini Cooper
again came in first, but was disqualified for having non-standard headlamps).
Speaking after his investiture, John Cooper said; "I am very honoured to be
given this award for something I have thoroughly enjoyed doing every day of my
working life. Her Majesty the Queen is clearly a motorsport fan as she
commented on our successes with the Mini Cooper. I am indebted to the hard work
of my teams throughout the years and will treasure this honour."