INTERNATIONAL CELEBRITIES AT MINI UNITED

Well-known personalities from A for Aaltonen to Z for Zanardi come together for
the Special Guest Race.

Munich/Misano Adriatico, IT. 17 very special fans of the MINI brand will line
up at the start for a Special Guest Race on Sunday, 30th October as part of
MINI United at the "Circuito Santa Monica". The following will be taking the
wheel in technically identical MINI Cooper S with John Cooper Works Tuning Kit:
Rauno Aaltonen (Finland), who won the Monte Carlo Rally in the Mini Cooper in
1967, the ex-Formula 1 driver Marc Surer (Switzerland), Paolo Barilla (Italy)
and Christian Danner (Germany) and the Italian musician Max Gazzé. The rock
bass player, known in Germany among other things for his collaboration with
Herbert Grönemeyer and Stephan Eicher ("Taxi Europa"), is an enthusiastic hobby
racing driver and MINI enthusiast.

Alex Zanardi, the former Formula 1 driver and several times winner of the CART
World Series, will be entering his first race in a MINI Cooper S. Since he lost
both legs in a racing accident in 2001, a MINI has been specially adapted to
meet his needs. He now successfully drives a BMW 320i in the Touring Car World
Cup and is already Italian touring car champion this year. "I watched two MINI
CHALLENGE races at the Touring Car World Cup in Oschersleben," says Zanardi. "I
was amazed how relaxed things are in this series and how high the technical
standards of these vehicles is. I got in one of the MINI CHALLENGE cars and
immediately thought: this would be just the thing for me."

Marc Surer and Christian Danner have some experience with the racing version of
the MINI Cooper S. Both have been guest participants in the German MINI
CHALLENGE in the past. Danner won the race held at the Belgian Grand Prix in
Spa-Francorchamps in 2004. Surer achieved the top time in training at the
Belgian Formula 1 race last September, and in the previous year he finished in
fifth position.

Alexander Burgstaller (Munich) has even more experienced in handling the 154 kW
(220 bhp) MINI Cooper S. The former touring car professional was the first
champion in the history of the German MINI CHALLENGE in the 2004 season. He has
once again entered the club sport series in 2005 and also acts as the official
MINI CHALLENGE ambassador, providing professional advice to the novices among
his driver colleagues.

MINI United Special Guest Race participants

Rauno Aaltonen (SF) Winner of Monte Carlo Rally in 1967 in the Mini Cooper
Paolo Barilla (I) Former Formula 1 driver, Vice President Barilla
Markus Barth (D) Motorcycle racing rider, BMW Power Cup
Alexander Burgstaller (D) Champion of German MINI CHALLENGE 2004,
MINI CHALLENGE ambassador
Christian Danner (D) Former Formula 1 driver, TV journalist
Grant Denyer (AUS) Racing driver, V8 Supercar Series, TV journalist
Tony Dron (GB) Former touring car driver, journalist
Max Gazzè (I) Musician
Claudia Hürtgen (D) Winner of the German Touring Car Challenge
in 2003 and German Production Car
Championship in 2004, test driver for the German MINI CHALLENGE
Stéphane Lemeret (B) Racing driver, journalist
James Loukes (GB) Participant in John Cooper Challenge UK,
MINI Plant Oxford Team
Stéphane Mertens (B) Motorcycle racing rider, former Moto GP rider,
winner of BMW Boxer Cup Belgium
Harald Schmidt (D) Winner of young talent sighting
Martin Steyn (RSA) Racing driver, South African MINI Production Car
Championship
Marc Surer (CH) Former Formula 1 driver, TV journalist
Stefan Tweraser (A) Head of Marketing, Telekom Austria
Alessandro Zanardi (I) Former Formula 1 driver, Italian Touring Car Champion
2005 in a BMW 320i