MINI prepares for Moroccan & Dakar Rallies
Rallye du Maroc (04th to 10th October, 2017):
The Rallye du Maroc traditionally is the last desert rally on the calendar. In 2017, it will start at Fez and will take the field to the finish podium at Erfoud. Many drivers use this rally as final preparation and final test for the Dakar Rally.
Three MINI John Cooper Works Rally and three MINI ALL4 Racing will travel to Morocco. Mikko Hirvonen / Andreas Schulz and Bryce Menzies / Pete Mortensen will drive two of the MINI John Cooper Works Rally. Orlando Terranova / Ronnie Graue will contest in a MINI ALL4 Racing.
The third MINI John Cooper Works Rally will be driven by Kuba Przygonski / Tom Colsoul and the last two MINI ALL4 Racing by Nani Roma / Alex Haro and Boris Garafulic / Filipe Palmeiro.
Dakar preparation
Simultaneously to the final events MINI Racing will begin its Dakar preparations at its headquarters in Trebur. As usual, the trucks and rally cars will be shipped in late November from Le Havre to Peru. At this point in time, all the service vehicles have been packed and the racing cars must be prepared.
Staff changes at X-raid
After eight years as part of the X-raid squad, long-term team member and appreciated co-driver Michel Périn won’t continue the cooperation. He navigated for Nani Roma, Guerlain Chicherit, again for Nani and in the end for Mikko Hirvonen but now he will focus on new tasks.
Finding a successor for Michel was anything but easy. Andreas Schulz was navigating for Mikko. Andi also is an extremely experienced co-driver and with two overall Dakar wins under his belt he is the most successful German Dakar competitor. His great intuition and his massive experience also will prove to be helpful in the 2018 Dakar Rally.
Meanwhile, there is a ‘new’ team member making its comeback for the Trebur based squad after nearly four years. On 1st September, Bernard Lindauer joined the team as X-raid Team Technical Director. He can look back on many successes. He made a crucial contribution to numerous World Championship titles of Tommi Mäkinen secured in the Mitsubishi Lancer and to many Dakar wins by Mitsubishi. And he was significantly involved in four Dakar wins.
