Prodrive Mini WRC

At least we have mini. Beside that Prodrive sucks.

It's bad for rallying and motorsport, but I think Bmw-Mini is not interested in the World Rallye Championship.

I hope Sordo will secure a good seat for 2013. He is the best in the return of Mini since last year with diference with three podiums in seven rallyes.

Guys - why are you twisting everything what´s been said officially as "things are going worse and worse...." "it´s bull****ing#.

Can´t you see that what they are saying is what they mean and in that case as said maybe it´s a good solution meaning PD and Mini will be there in WRC in the future. Without it maybe they shouldn´t have been...?

+1 I agree.

I don't think victimising MINI & Prodrive will do anything. They are both still credible brands. I feel very strongly that any downgrade for Prodrive is a set-back for its whole WRC program.

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Originally Posted by Rallyper

Guys - why are you twisting everything what´s been said officially as "things are going worse and worse...." "it´s bull****ing#.

Can´t you see that what they are saying is what they mean and in that case as said maybe it´s a good solution meaning PD and Mini will be there in WRC in the future. Without it maybe they shouldn´t have been...?

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Optimism is a strange illness :)

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Originally Posted by Mirek

Optimism is a strange illness :)

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Illness? It´s just words from FIA. And politics. So what your comment is all about is the big bosses solutions on a dinner after 2200 hours thing.

Everything will be the same for PD and MIni. Just less expensives and more testing and developing because of lower costs.

And probably the red cars will not be at all the events it now seems...

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Originally Posted by mousti

The own funding of both of them got BMW agree with Fia, it's only input of Araujo and Nobro what did it. Because they were already sure of a full program.

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Armindo had sure some rallyes, not the full season.

Anyone looked at the Prodrive cars? They have lost their Mini Financial Services branding, the Mini Motorsport website gives preferential coverage to the MI cars and the press releases are now just for Prodrive and not fancy Mini branding.

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Originally Posted by Plan9

Anyone looked at the Prodrive cars? They have lost their Mini Financial Services branding, the Mini Motorsport website gives preferential coverage to the MI cars and the press releases are now just for Prodrive and not fancy Mini branding.

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Thata was announced during the week. Mini would support MI to have champioship points and not Prodrive. If Prodrive wants to do the rallies, that would be without Mini support.

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Originally Posted by JAM

Thata was announced during the week. Mini would support MI to have champioship points and not Prodrive. If Prodrive wants to do the rallies, that would be without Mini support.

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then it will be better to drive a private Prodrive Mini which i think will be well prepared than the MI mini which will be a dummy of itself with tourist drivers.

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Originally Posted by Red bull

then it will be better to drive a private Prodrive Mini which i think will be well prepared than the MI mini which will be a dummy of itself with tourist drivers.

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You're right. Do you think that prodrive would put good material on MI hands? Of course not. MI wants to rent cars to drivers, and Prodrive too...

Prodrive gave a good car to Armindo on the Rally of Portugal 2011, but that was made by mistake. After that the WRC from MI was always slower than the S2000 1.6T that Armindo drove in Portugal, and much slower than the Prodrive's Mini.

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Originally Posted by JAM

You're right. Do you think that prodrive would put good material on MI hands? Of course not. MI wants to rent cars to drivers, and Prodrive too...

Prodrive gave a good car to Armindo on the Rally of Portugal 2011, but that was made by mistake. After that the WRC from MI was always slower than the S2000 1.6T that Armindo drove in Portugal, and much slower than the Prodrive's Mini.

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Nice conspiracy theory....

Might occur to you Armindo was faster in Portugal because he knows the rally very well?! Of course there is always an excuse.

Never heard for Nobre and he's works pilot.

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Originally Posted by Francis44

Nice conspiracy theory....

Might occur to you Armindo was faster in Portugal because he knows the rally very well?! Of course there is always an excuse.

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If you build a car and have to search drivers to rent it, would you give the same car to other team that also search for drivers to rent it? I wouldn't.

It's simple and have nothing to do with conspirancy. Business only.

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Originally Posted by Barreis

Never heard for Nobre and he's works pilot.

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"I could be here saying that i'm official driver, but that wouldn't be rtrue. We were at the right place at the right time, and with the upgraded MotorsportItalia we only won. Tody we are part of a team that has works support and that will work with Prodrive, as a big family. And thinking that way, we won another "fast brother", because beside Armindo now he will Sordo as a partner. Better is impossible!"

Paulo Nobre before swedish rally

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Originally Posted by JAM

You're right. Do you think that prodrive would put good material on MI hands? Of course not. MI wants to rent cars to drivers, and Prodrive too...

Prodrive gave a good car to Armindo on the Rally of Portugal 2011, but that was made by mistake. After that the WRC from MI was always slower than the S2000 1.6T that Armindo drove in Portugal, and much slower than the Prodrive's Mini.

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Good to see a Portuguese with this thinking. Others only say bad things about Armindo. He is not a top driver, but also is not a tourist.

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Originally Posted by JAM

"I could be here saying that i'm official driver, but that wouldn't be rtrue. We were at the right place at the right time, and with the upgraded MotorsportItalia we only won. Tody we are part of a team that has works support and that will work with Prodrive, as a big family. And thinking that way, we won another "fast brother", because beside Armindo now he will Sordo as a partner. Better is impossible!"

Paulo Nobre before swedish rally

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Very good quote. I was wondering how the Prodrive-MI relationship would work. I didn't think that MI had the capability to be a works team on its own merit.

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Originally Posted by Plan9

Very good quote. I was wondering how the Prodrive-MI relationship would work. I didn't think that MI had the capability to be a works team on its own merit.

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The relationship between MI and Prodrive is basicly the same as in 2011.

What do you guys think will happen to Meeke's contract for 2013? He has a deal to do the full season in a MINI...

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Originally Posted by JAM

The relationship between MI and Prodrive is basicly the same as in 2011.

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I was worried that might be the case.

@prodrive Great to have @krismeeke back in the MINI WRC Thurs/Fri testing in Southern Spain. Trying out a range of new parts for the car.

Sordo is going to test next Sunday and Monday. Tests are going to take place at Huelva.

Prodrive gave a good car to Armindo on the Rally of Portugal 2011, but that was made by mistake. After that the WRC from MI was always slower than the S2000 1.6T that Armindo drove in Portugal, and much slower than the Prodrive's Mini.[/QUOTE]

Why would Prodrive do that? I don't believe that for a minute.

Anyone know what's going on over at Prodrive now?
One of I believe dani's mechanics just tweeted: " lost a few good blokes today. The dream is over."
followed by "4 or5 more rallies this year"

Below is what I wrote on the 8th of February :


" This is the start of the wind down. I can see them doing another few European rounds convenient to the UK but if they are still going by Rally Deutschland I will be surprised.

As a business unless they are severely contractually obligated there is little point in continuing. Prodrive needs manufacturer backing and finance in addition to sponsorship to make a full programme viable.

They will not land another car maker in the WRC if there name is constantly attached to Mini."

They need to make a break from Mini to find another manufacturer. I hear 10 staff were let go which is very sad for thos involved :( There in no point in Prodrive pedalling the Mini WRC if its a dead end from a business point of view.

I think Prodrive would make an even more severe cut with BMW only they probably have sold 10 - 15 ? Mini customer cars and they want to look after them more so then those in Munich

[quote There in no point in Prodrive pedalling the Mini WRC if its a dead end from a business point of view.[/QUOTE]

I can´t understand why Mini couldn´t be a business? And how can anyone tell it´s not, from the beginning. Just tell me how anyone can look into the future?

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Originally Posted by WRCS14

Below is what I wrote on the 8th of February :


" This is the start of the wind down. I can see them doing another few European rounds convenient to the UK but if they are still going by Rally Deutschland I will be surprised.

As a business unless they are severely contractually obligated there is little point in continuing. Prodrive needs manufacturer backing and finance in addition to sponsorship to make a full programme viable.

They will not land another car maker in the WRC if there name is constantly attached to Mini."

They need to make a break from Mini to find another manufacturer. I hear 10 staff were let go which is very sad for thos involved :( There in no point in Prodrive pedalling the Mini WRC if its a dead end from a business point of view.

I think Prodrive would make an even more severe cut with BMW only they probably have sold 10 - 15 ? Mini customer cars and they want to look after them more so then those in Munich

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so if like you say there looking to brake away. where do they go. are there any manufactures looking to come in?

There are probably no other manufacturers ready to come in GTimad73, I have found Prodrive to be a very proud company and I dont think they will tolerate a relatively minor team being the manufacturer entry for a great car that they created and ran relatively successfuly but only for a short time.

I think the lay offs and further reduction in rounds is a sign. For example they could have ran say 8 european rounds in 2009 with the Subaru and some sponsors which Marcus proved was not a bad car but there was little point. The manufacturer has given up and Prodrive had no point in business terms just racing a car that they build.

Many private semi-profesional teams run cars in WRC and national championships but I,m sure the common theme is they are all small to mid sized and many can go broke or shut down.

With a manufacturer behind you, your companies turnover will go up by millions, your profits increase dramaticaly as do your staff number and size of your premises.

Prodrive have manufacturer backed size premises and staff numbers but now with poor / mixed manufacturer input. Look at Malcolm Wilson and what has happened to his outfit since 1997. They have similar business model, take car makers money and secondary produce customer rally cars and sell for large amounts also.

OK mini is supposed to be developed to 2018 or something like that, if I am David Richards sitting at my desk looking at projected financial figures for nearly the next 6 years with just say 30% commitment level from BMW the figures will look poor. No other car maker is going to touch the company to build a new rally car is they are 30% connected to BMW. Im sure Richards is aware of this too. I would think it has to make sense for Prodrive to make a complete cut by the end of 2012 in business terms.

Wait and see.

I agree with the above. I think it is pointless for Prodrive to run a Mini without reward. Best to cut and run like they did in 2009 with the Subaru.

They ran group N impreza cars without program for decades so they should do the same with mini WRC.

I still don't understand. The results were so promising. Shame, really ashame :mark:

So we are deaming out Mini for just rumours, are we?

Im seriously wondering just WHY Prodrive 'cant get any sponsors'.

There seems to be an abundance of energy drinks out there atm with cash to throw around with Monster, Red Bull and Go Fast being spoken for in the WRC, but surely there are other products, not just energy drink brands, selling well atm around the globe.
I can only assume Prodrive are looking for a single major sponsor which is a big mistake, why not go for multiple smaller sponsors? If the cars have to look like a 4 year old's paint work then so be it (Focus WRC of ~2008/09), as long as the money is there to support it.

So, perhaps DR needs to get his head out of his ass and realise that its not the 90's anymore and you have to make do with what you can get your hands on. If someone like the Petter and Henning Solberg can get the money together to run what was always going to be a financially limited campaign for the fast few seasons, then surely a company such as Prodrive can use the extra tools and resources at their disposal to secure sponsorship.

Maybe Ive missed something, which is quite likely, but to me it seems all too simple.

Energy Drink companies have replaced Tobacco and Alcohol as the go-to source of sponsorship now.

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Originally Posted by grugsticles

So, perhaps DR needs to get his head out of his ass and realise that its not the 90's anymore and you have to make do with what you can get your hands on.

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Hmmm, next time you find yourself incharge of a world renowned multi squillion dollar motorsport outfit let us know will you?

Prodrive upgrades WRC Mini car with over 100 modifications - WRC news - AUTOSPORT.com

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Originally Posted by gypseywilson

Prodrive gave a good car to Armindo on the Rally of Portugal 2011, but that was made by mistake. After that the WRC from MI was always slower than the S2000 1.6T that Armindo drove in Portugal, and much slower than the Prodrive's Mini.

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Why would Prodrive do that? I don't believe that for a minute.[/QUOTE]

Then you should explain how a car completly new in a S2000 1.6T configuration was faster than the same car with WRC configuration in all the other rallyes.

Strange, no? :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by WRCS14

There are probably no other manufacturers ready to come in GTimad73, I have found Prodrive to be a very proud company and I dont think they will tolerate a relatively minor team being the manufacturer entry for a great car that they created and ran relatively successfuly but only for a short time.

I think the lay offs and further reduction in rounds is a sign. For example they could have ran say 8 european rounds in 2009 with the Subaru and some sponsors which Marcus proved was not a bad car but there was little point. The manufacturer has given up and Prodrive had no point in business terms just racing a car that they build.

Many private semi-profesional teams run cars in WRC and national championships but I,m sure the common theme is they are all small to mid sized and many can go broke or shut down.

With a manufacturer behind you, your companies turnover will go up by millions, your profits increase dramaticaly as do your staff number and size of your premises.

Prodrive have manufacturer backed size premises and staff numbers but now with poor / mixed manufacturer input. Look at Malcolm Wilson and what has happened to his outfit since 1997. They have similar business model, take car makers money and secondary produce customer rally cars and sell for large amounts also.

OK mini is supposed to be developed to 2018 or something like that, if I am David Richards sitting at my desk looking at projected financial figures for nearly the next 6 years with just say 30% commitment level from BMW the figures will look poor. No other car maker is going to touch the company to build a new rally car is they are 30% connected to BMW. Im sure Richards is aware of this too. I would think it has to make sense for Prodrive to make a complete cut by the end of 2012 in business terms.

Wait and see.

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Completely agree

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Originally Posted by grugsticles

Im seriously wondering just WHY Prodrive 'cant get any sponsors'.

There seems to be an abundance of energy drinks out there atm with cash to throw around with Monster, Red Bull...

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Red Bull gives peanuts to rallying.

Even in tracking races there were a lot of drivers with Red Bull on their cars without receiving almost nothing.

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Originally Posted by WRCS14

There are probably no other manufacturers ready to come in GTimad73, I have found Prodrive to be a very proud company and I dont think they will tolerate a relatively minor team being the manufacturer entry for a great car that they created and ran relatively successfuly but only for a short time.

I think the lay offs and further reduction in rounds is a sign. For example they could have ran say 8 european rounds in 2009 with the Subaru and some sponsors which Marcus proved was not a bad car but there was little point. The manufacturer has given up and Prodrive had no point in business terms just racing a car that they build.

Many private semi-profesional teams run cars in WRC and national championships but I,m sure the common theme is they are all small to mid sized and many can go broke or shut down.

With a manufacturer behind you, your companies turnover will go up by millions, your profits increase dramaticaly as do your staff number and size of your premises.

Prodrive have manufacturer backed size premises and staff numbers but now with poor / mixed manufacturer input. Look at Malcolm Wilson and what has happened to his outfit since 1997. They have similar business model, take car makers money and secondary produce customer rally cars and sell for large amounts also.

OK mini is supposed to be developed to 2018 or something like that, if I am David Richards sitting at my desk looking at projected financial figures for nearly the next 6 years with just say 30% commitment level from BMW the figures will look poor. No other car maker is going to touch the company to build a new rally car is they are 30% connected to BMW. Im sure Richards is aware of this too. I would think it has to make sense for Prodrive to make a complete cut by the end of 2012 in business terms.

Wait and see.

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It's time Prodrive started courting Hyundai if there is any hope of them{HYUNDAI}making a come back.