MINI starts title defence of FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup with six MINI ALL4 Racing lined up for Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

Press release

31 March 2016

MINI starts title defence of FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup with six MINI ALL4 Racing lined up for Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

Round 2 of the 2016 FIA Cross Country World Cup: MINI ALL4 Racing crews prepared for shifting sands and the extreme heat of Abu Dhabi.

Munich. No less than six MINI ALL4 Racing will line up for the second round of the 2016 FIA Cross Country World Cup. The season opener for MINI and its iconic MINI ALL4 Racing is the highly regarded Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, which MINI with X-raid Team and the MINI ALL4 Racing have won four times (2011, 2013-2015).

The six MINI ALL4 Racing cars with their crews will line up for the start of the 26th Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge on 2nd April at the Yas Marina Circuit, part of the spectacular Al Forsan International Sports Resort, where they will compete in a Super Special Stage – an action-filled event where all competing crews will race against the clock to determine the starting order for the next day’s Leg 2 of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.

Leg 2 through to Leg 4 will see the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge move to the Liwa Desert – a desert region notorious for its fine sand and undulating dunes. The competitors will not only have to deal with strength-sapping terrain but also the heat associated with dry desert conditions. The daytime temperature in the Liwa Oasis region is already pushing past 30̊c, but should not be a problem to the experienced and extremely race fit MINI ALL4 Racing crews.

The Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge ends 7th April when the action of the final day (Leg 5) finishes with the competitors returning to Abu Dhabi city for the podium presentation and race end celebrations at Yas Marina.

2016 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge: MINI ALL4 Racing line up

Race calendar: 2016 FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies.

19/02 – 22/02 Baja Russia
02/04 – 7/04 Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
17/04 – 22/04 Sealine Cross-Country Rally Qatar
08/05 – 15/05 Pharaons Rally
23/06 – 26/06 Italian Baja
22/07 – 24/07 Baja Aragón
13/08 – 16/08 HunGarian Baja

11/08 – 14/08 Baja Poland

03/10 – 08/10 Rallye Oilibya du Maroc
21/10 – 23/10 Baja Portalegre 500

Find reports, photos and videos in high resolution of previous MINI ALL4 Racing activity on the BMW Media Website by clicking here.