World Rally - Mini Flies The Flag on the Coffs Coast

Coffs Coast, August 10, 2011: The Brazil World Rally Team will fly the flag for the iconic Mini brand when the World Rally Championship heads to Rally Australia and the Coffs Coast for its 10th round on 8-11 September.

Young Brazilian Daniel Oliveira will drive the Mini John Cooper Works WRC on the ultimate dust up down under as part of a three-year driver development programme alongside Portuguese navigator Carlos Magalhaes.

The Brazilian privateer team will ensure Rally Australia fans see the exciting new Mini in action, even though the official factory team run by Britain’s Prodrive outfit is limiting itself to European rounds for its debut WRC season. Prodrive is providing operational and technical support for the Brazilian effort.

The Mini’s entry against the established Citroen and Ford teams will bring back fond memories for thousands of fans of the brand and the sport – in the Sixties, the original Mini not only starred in The Italian Job movie but also won Europe’s most famous rally, the Monte Carlo.

In its latest guise, the BMW-developed “New Mini” is a chic, sporty urban runabout that is now out to prove itself in one of the world’s toughest motorsport competitions.