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Trebur, Germany - The X-raid Team has unveiled a cross-country motorsport programme to run and develop MINI All4 Racing in international competition - and its first outing will be on the 2011 Dakar.
The project was first discussed in 2009 and the competitive debut of MINI All4 Racing will be in the hands of the French rally crew of Guerlain Chicherit and co-driver Michel Périn in January’s 33rd Personal Dakar Argentina-Chile.
The event will start in Buenos Aires on New Year’s Day 2011 and finish back in the Argentine capital on January 16th.
STARTED IN 2009
MINI All4 Racing will be part of X-raid’s seven-car Dakar team – the largest yet entered by a team in the 33-year history of the world’s most famous off-road rally – and the third of three vehicles running on the event under the Monster Energy X-raid Team banner.
Team director Sven Quandt began looking at the feasibility of the project in 2009 and held initial discussions with automotive engineering and manufacturing company Magna Steyr and BMW to see whether the new Mini was a realistic replacement for the BMW/MINI X3 CC - which has earned the Trebur-based team three FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rally titles since 2008.
Quandt received the green light for the new project from BMW in June 2010 and Magna Steyr gave its full approval on September 24. 2010. Initial plans for the project were discussed at length throughout October in Graz, Austria - home of Magna Steyr.
The MINI Design team and Magna have managed the design of the vehicle. Quandt and engineer Martin Ertl, a former X-raid staff engineer who also manages a Formula 3 racing team, have overseen the project for X-raid.
TWIN-TURBO DIESEL
Construction of the new MINI All4 Racing cross-country rally car began in November and has continued into December. The car will be put through a first series of tests in France over December 13/14 then be flown to South America for final preparations for scrutineering in Buenos Aires at the end of the month.
The MINI will be powered by the variable twin-turbo diesel engine that is fitted to the 2011-specification BMW X3 CC and built in Steyr, where the MINI and BMW diesel engines are made. The engine delivers about 240kW and 710Nm of torque - more than the 2010-spec BMW X3 CC's used on the 2010 Dakar Rally to seal fourth and fifth places last January.
“This is a major development in cross-country rallying and something about which we are very excited,” Quandt said. “There has been a very short time between the decision to go ahead and the roll-out for the next Dakar but we are confident that the new MINI All4 Racing will be competitive out of the box.
“Compared to the BMW X3CC, the MINI will be characterised by improved handling as the overall length is less and it is lower. We have also been able to improve on many other smaller details, such as the relocation of smaller components to lower the centre of gravity.”
FIVE YEARS SAVED
The MINI has larger air intakes, a one-piece bonnet and a revised and improved ventilation system using a front air intake and a roof intake. All the body panels can be removed within minutes to get at important mechanical components. The skin of the MINI, for example, can be changed in less than 30 minutes.
The BMW X3 CC was developed over five years and all this development has been used on the MINI All4 Racing.
The BMW X-raid team’s vast array of equipment is now making its way to South America to arrive in good time for scrutineering and documentation in Buenos Aires over December 30/31.
Seven race cars, two race trucks (a MAN and a Kamaz), eight service trucks, six assistance vehicles, two media cars and a team of about 80 people will make X-raid’s challenge for honours in the 2011 Dakar Rally the biggest in the team’s history.
The project was first discussed in 2009 and the competitive debut of MINI All4 Racing will be in the hands of the French rally crew of Guerlain Chicherit and co-driver Michel Périn in January’s 33rd Personal Dakar Argentina-Chile.
The event will start in Buenos Aires on New Year’s Day 2011 and finish back in the Argentine capital on January 16th.
STARTED IN 2009
MINI All4 Racing will be part of X-raid’s seven-car Dakar team – the largest yet entered by a team in the 33-year history of the world’s most famous off-road rally – and the third of three vehicles running on the event under the Monster Energy X-raid Team banner.
Team director Sven Quandt began looking at the feasibility of the project in 2009 and held initial discussions with automotive engineering and manufacturing company Magna Steyr and BMW to see whether the new Mini was a realistic replacement for the BMW/MINI X3 CC - which has earned the Trebur-based team three FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rally titles since 2008.
Quandt received the green light for the new project from BMW in June 2010 and Magna Steyr gave its full approval on September 24. 2010. Initial plans for the project were discussed at length throughout October in Graz, Austria - home of Magna Steyr.
The MINI Design team and Magna have managed the design of the vehicle. Quandt and engineer Martin Ertl, a former X-raid staff engineer who also manages a Formula 3 racing team, have overseen the project for X-raid.
TWIN-TURBO DIESEL
Construction of the new MINI All4 Racing cross-country rally car began in November and has continued into December. The car will be put through a first series of tests in France over December 13/14 then be flown to South America for final preparations for scrutineering in Buenos Aires at the end of the month.
The MINI will be powered by the variable twin-turbo diesel engine that is fitted to the 2011-specification BMW X3 CC and built in Steyr, where the MINI and BMW diesel engines are made. The engine delivers about 240kW and 710Nm of torque - more than the 2010-spec BMW X3 CC's used on the 2010 Dakar Rally to seal fourth and fifth places last January.
“This is a major development in cross-country rallying and something about which we are very excited,” Quandt said. “There has been a very short time between the decision to go ahead and the roll-out for the next Dakar but we are confident that the new MINI All4 Racing will be competitive out of the box.
“Compared to the BMW X3CC, the MINI will be characterised by improved handling as the overall length is less and it is lower. We have also been able to improve on many other smaller details, such as the relocation of smaller components to lower the centre of gravity.”
FIVE YEARS SAVED
The MINI has larger air intakes, a one-piece bonnet and a revised and improved ventilation system using a front air intake and a roof intake. All the body panels can be removed within minutes to get at important mechanical components. The skin of the MINI, for example, can be changed in less than 30 minutes.
The BMW X3 CC was developed over five years and all this development has been used on the MINI All4 Racing.
The BMW X-raid team’s vast array of equipment is now making its way to South America to arrive in good time for scrutineering and documentation in Buenos Aires over December 30/31.
Seven race cars, two race trucks (a MAN and a Kamaz), eight service trucks, six assistance vehicles, two media cars and a team of about 80 people will make X-raid’s challenge for honours in the 2011 Dakar Rally the biggest in the team’s history.
