Today is sad day, friends. Mini and BMW have decided to end its factory backed involvement in the WRC at the end of the 2012 season. This news comes despite Mini’s fairly successful showing since the program started in 2011. The John Cooper Works WRC car managed multiple top-ten finishes and three podium finishes including second place at Monaco.
It appears that this decision may have been planned for a while as the completion of the 2012 season completes the homologation requirement of the FIA allowing any private team to run the car in the series. This move makes financial sense as running a full racing team is costly, but selling cars to privateer racers can be fairly lucrative. It has been announced that BMW Motorsports will continue working with Prodrive to develop the 1.6-turbo four that powers the rally car.
Dr. Kay Segler, Senior Vice President MINI Business Coordination and Brand Management has commented, “We would like to thank Prodrive, WRC Team MINI Portugal and our partners for the good cooperation, and wish all drivers, teams and customers a successful future in rallying.”
It may not be backed by BMW, but we hope to see a Mini or two tearing around Monaco, and the rest of the world, next year.
