On its 60th anniversary, MINI Canada stays true to motorsport heritage.

Richmond Hill, ON. MINI Canada will continue to reward MINI racing excellence for the 2019 racing season, highlighting its dedication to motorsports in Canada.  For the eighth straight year, the MINI Canada Motorsports Contingency Program will award a cash incentive to MINI drivers who win Targa Newfoundland, and for the first time ever, MINI drivers placing in the Canadian Rally Championship (CRC), as well.

“With 2019 being MINI’s 60^th year of operation, it’s more important than ever that we stay true to the brand and the values MINI stands for,” said Andrew Scott, director, MINI Canada. “Motorsport is engrained in MINI’s DNA. Anyone who has driven a MINI with a John Cooper Works engine variant has first-hand experience of how powerful and dynamic those vehicles are.  On the road and on the track, performance has always been and will always be incredibly important to us.”

The 1,500+km Targa Newfoundland race, where MINI drivers have a long history of impressive performance, will see the automaker provide payouts of $3,000 for first-place finishes in both the Grand Touring and Targa divisions.  MINI’s new foray into the CRC will see tiered payouts available to MINI drivers who finish in first, second, or third place in each of the seven remaining races, and a $5,000 grand prize if a driver wins the overall CRC championship.

“The Canadian Association of Rallysport is thrilled that MINI Canada has introduced their contingency program for MINI drivers competing in the 2019 Canadian Rally Championship," said John Hall, President, CARS. “Canada has a vibrant, broad-based rally community that competes across the country in the eight national events. This type of contingency program goes a long way in promoting the sport and helping teams that compete with the MINI brand.”

MINI has a long history of motorsport excellence, which can be traced back to John Cooper and his inspirational MINI wins throughout the 1960s.  His motorsports legacy continues to have an effect on the brand to this day.  Not only does MINI’s high-performance sub-brand, John Cooper Works, continue to do exceptionally well in Canada (sales of JCW-equipped MINI models were up 54 per cent in April),  but the automaker also recently announced the two most-powerful MINI models ever approved for public road use.  MINI Canada’s contingency program promotes this relationship and celebrates the commitment to MINI racing excellence in the sport today.

The contingency payout structure for the Canadian Rally Championship will occur as follows:

The contingency payout structure for the Targa Newfoundland competition will reward each class as follows:

For more information on the Contingency Award Program, including Terms and Conditions and the Submission Application form, please contact MINIMotorsport@MINI.ca.

-30-

BMW Group in Canada

BMW Group Canada, based in Richmond Hill, Ontario, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BMW AG and is responsible for the distribution of BMW luxury performance automobiles, Sports Activity Vehicles, Motorcycles, and MINI.  BMW Group Financial Services Canada is a division of BMW Group Canada and offers retail financing and leasing programs and protection products on new and pre-owned BMW and MINI automobiles, as well as retail financing for new and pre-owned BMW Motorcycles. A total network of 50 BMW automobile retail centres, 22 BMW motorcycle retailers, and 30 MINI retailers represents the BMW Group across the country.

For more information, please contact:

Marc Belcourt, Director, Corporate Communications

BMW Group Canada

905-428-5078 / marc.belcourt@bmwgroup.ca                                 

Rob Dexter, Product and Technology Specialist

BMW Group Canada  

905-428-5447 / robert.dexter@bmwgroup.ca          

Barb Pitblado, Manager, Corporate Communications

BMW Group Canada

905-428-5005 / barb.pitblado@bmwgroup.ca