PressClub Latin America, Caribbean · Article.
Dakar Rally 2018: X-raid Team to race MINI John Cooper Works Rally and MINI John Cooper Works Buggy.
Thu Nov 23 00:56:49 CET 2017 Press Release
Following four overall victories during the years 2012 to 2015 and three top ten placements in 2017, MINI and the X-raid Team are set to continue their success story with an even more powerful MINI family.
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Markus Appelhans
BMW Group
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Author.
Markus Appelhans
BMW Group
Two different drive concepts will be used for the first time:
all-wheel drive on the MINI John Cooper Works Rally and rear-wheel
drive on the MINI John Cooper Works Buggy. Edition 40 of the world’s
most demanding long-distance rally begins on 6 January 2018 in Lima/Peru.
Munich.
The British car manufacturer MINI and the German
X-raid Team have launched into the final preparation phase for the
Dakar Rally 2018 with the presentation of their current racing cars.
For the first time MINI and X-raid will face the challenges of the
most demanding long-distance rally in the world using two different
types of drive. In addition to the further advanced version of the
all-wheel drive MINI John Cooper Works Rally, which, at its debut
appearance, came in sixth overall at the 2017 Dakar Rally, the
rear-wheel drive MINI John Cooper Works Buggy will head into the
opener stage on 6 January 2018 in the Peruvian capital of Lima.
More determined than ever before, MINI and X-raid are aiming to
continue their joint success story which brought them four
consecutive overall victories from 2012 to 2015. “With these two
cars we have the most powerful MINI family that ever raced at the
Dakar Rally”, said Sebastian Mackensen, Senior Vice President of
MINI, at the presentation in Paris.
The reason why a second vehicle concept was developed lies in
the specifics of the Dakar Rally rules, which, in their current
form, give two-wheel driven cars certain advantages. X-raid Team
Manager Sven Quandt gave the go-ahead for building the MINI John
Cooper Works Buggy in February 2017. “This has been the biggest
project in our company’s history so far and we have worked extremely
hard at it”, he said at the vehicle presentation.
The MINI John Cooper Works Buggy is powered by a 3.0 litre
inline 6-cylinder diesel engine generating and output of 250 kW/340
hp and a maximum torque of 800 Nm. The transmission and drivetrain
as well as the engine’s turbocharging technology, which is based on
the BMW TwinPower Turbo, have been completely newly conceived. The
MINI John Cooper Works Rally uses the same engine. The specially
designed tubular steel frame provides maximum protection for driver
and passenger in extreme situations. A specifically designed body
made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) and Kevlar is
stretched over the frame. The authentic buggy-look exterior has been
designed in close cooperation with MINI Design and aerodynamically optimised.
The new MINI John Cooper Works Buggy has already undergone an
intensive test programme over the past months which took it over
different types of rally terrain for example in Hungary and Morocco.
“During this time the buggy never had to stop once due to a
technical problem, which is really quite remarkable”, reported Team
Manager Sven Quandt. “Despite all the euphoria, we must definitely
not forget the MINI John Cooper Works Rally”, Quandt added. “There
are tracks and types of terrain where an all-wheel drive has
advantages. What is more, our car is extremely reliable.” The
targeted advancements for the MINI John Cooper Works Rally, which
Argentinian Orlando Terranove raced to sixth place in the overall
rankings of the 2017 Dakar Rally, includes a new chassis
construction featuring greater suspension travel and weight
reductions among other things.
The MINI and X-raid range for the Dakar Rally 2018 will comprise
seven cars and an experienced team of drivers and co-pilots. The
three MINI John Cooper Works Buggies will be piloted by Mikko
Hirvonen (FIN), Bryce Menzies (USA) and Yazeed Al-Rajhi (KSA). The
driver seats in the MINI John Cooper Works Rally will be occupied by
Orlando Terranova (ARG), Jakub Przygonski (POL), Joan “Nani” Roma
(ESP) and Boris Garafulic (CHI).
With this driver line-up and the crew of experienced organisers
and technical and medical specialists, the X-raid Team will be
perfectly equipped for the endurance ordeal awaiting man and machine
at the 40th edition of the Dakar Rally. The anniversary edition of
the long-distance rally, which is taking place in South America for
the tenth time, will take the rally participants from Peru to
Argentina via Bolivia. The 2018 Dakar Rally incorporates extended
desert stages as well as rock and boulder fields and asphalt tracks
which take the cars up to an altitude of 4000 meters in the Andes.
The final stage will be completed on 20 January 2018 in Córdoba, Argentina.
In case of queries please contact:
Matthias Schepke, MINI Motorsport Communications
Tel:+49-89-382-78416
Fax: +49-89-382-23927
Email:
matthias.schepke@bmwgroup.com
Andreas Lampka, Head of Communications MINI
Tel: +49-89-382-23662
Fax: +49-89-382-28567
E-Mail: andreas.lampka@mini.com