Prodrive Mini WRC

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Originally Posted by Plan9

You are quite correct. I should make myself more clear. I was referring to the topic itself. I think that the guy who is a mechanic at prodrive could clear some of this debate up. It has been interesting to follow thus far. I am keen to know myself what they plan to do with the 01B.

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Yeh i could..... but i would probably be out of a job just as things are picking back up a bit.

So no coment

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Originally Posted by bubbaontour

Yeh i could..... but i would probably be out of a job just as things are picking back up a bit.

So no coment

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"just as things are picking back up a bit"
Say no more, Im in high hopes that there is good news for your team on the horizon!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bubbaontour

Yeh i could..... but i would probably be out of a job just as things are picking back up a bit.

So no coment

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I guess no news can sometimes be good news after all.

Hi

Does anyone have a picture of the back end of the mini, either on stage or standing still?

If so, please can you PM me?

Thanks

Your best post. :D

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Originally Posted by jcatanho

If you consider the rules at the time you will find that easy to accept.

In the "old times" any driver could score points for a manufacturer. That means that the pilot finishing in the highest position for one manufacturer would score points for that manufacturer. It didn't matter if it was a factory or a private entry. This rule was on until the early 90s.

So official teams could took advantage from giving all the technicall knowledge to private teams. And from 1973 to 1978 the WRC was only a manufacturer championship, there was no pilot championship.

Nowadays we have a team championship (which IMHO was another FIA mistake) so M-Sport, Stobard or Adapta cars do not score points for Ford but for their own team!

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Reminds me of Mikael Sundström who managed to build faster Mazda 323 group-A cars with his own team than official team itself. And correct me if I'm totally wrong but it was also Sundström's team who gave technical knowledge and hints for tuning up for Team Mazda :)

Two hours ago @RALLYMAN40 wrote a comment to the @MINIMotorsport Youtube's video "In the Cockpit with Kris Meeke":
"Whats happened to kris he's a great driver look what he did in the irc. I dont think colin mcrae wouldve of invested in kris if he didnt see potential!!!".
This was the MINIMotorsport answer minutes ago:
"@Rallyman40, Kris is without a doubt a great driver. With the re-structuring of the WRC project however, Kris has not competed on the WRC level lately. But there is no doubt that he will be back in a WRC car soon".
Empty words...

Meeke will be back, maybe not until next season. Has had some one off offers/chances this season but is concentrating on 2013 and currently doing some development work.

Does anyone know what plans if any Sandell has for the rest of this season and beyond? I was surprised not to see him in NZ as he knows the event quite well.

Motorsport Italia press release at August the 16th

Beginning but not the End

'Ciao a tutti,

'It’s Bruno here. I’m sure most of you are surprised to hear from me right now, but I’m afraid I have some news that I wanted to tell you all personally. Unfortunately, Armindo and Miguel will no longer be competing with WRC Team MINI Portugal.

This season has been highly pressurised from the start. We only found out following Monte-Carlo that we would have the opportunity to run two drivers for the full 13 event WRC Calendar as a works-supported team. The original plan was for Armindo to run seven events as a privateer. Due to our long standing and successful relationship, we wanted Armindo to stay with the team for the full season and he was pleased to join us on our journey. As you can imagine, this was one of the biggest pieces of news that any driver can have. However, the pressure on him was significant.

'After our Rally Finland debrief and further conversations with Armindo since returning home, we decided that it was better for him to take a break, relax and regain his focus on the sport and how he approaches it. We've created a great history together and it's fair to say that he had previously always been motivated and determined in his career. We've worked together for many years now – we even won two Group N world titles together! However, there's always a point where you have to admit that something isn't quite right and I hope that we've accepted that point at just the right time!

'The decision was not taken lightly and was made on purely sporting grounds. It was not a personal decision and everyone in the team wishes Armindo all the best for the future.

'And to answer the question on everybody's lips...

'I'm sure you've all heard the name Chris Atkinson – and if you haven't, you should have! Atko's a really top guy all the way from Australia, fast and experienced and he's going to take over as the team's No. 1 driver, flanked by the oh-so-experienced Belgian Stéphane Prévot for the rest of the season.

They're a killer combination and given how fantastic the fans have been in supporting WRC Team MINI Portugal all year we really hope they’ll be equally supportive of Atko and Prévot when they join us.

'It'll be his first time in a MINI on the test this weekend, but we're confident that Chris can handle any car he lays his hands on and his MINI will love him within minutes. We're all very much looking forward to working with him and Stéphane and seeing what surprises Rallye Deutschland has to offer!

A presto,'