Seems M sport are backing the NACAM rally Championship but the dates don't match with a rally in the USA and Costa Rica. Nacam Rally Championship - FIA NACAM RALLY 2015 http://media.wix.com/ugd/9690c5_41cfb4e99e5b401497ebcc6433426888.pdf
Confusing. This makes it sound like it might be a separate set of rallies from the NACAM, which sort of makes sense given the dates don't even match. But if the R2 Cup is separate then how is this a possibility?
Looks like the Costa Rica round of the NACAM championship is set for July 25th which will be at the location we won 10 of the 12 stages last year. So rally Mini fans if all goes well we hope to debut the New spec Mini on the 25th. The R2 Fiesta's have around 180bhp and sequential gearboxes but so far they have been dogged with issues so the Mini could stand a chance if I have the bottle to go flat out. LOL This rally will be the first rally of the 2015 season because the May and June rallies were canceled due to only 5 cars per event.
The Mini is pretty much ready for the 25th. I leave CR on the 4th and return the weekend before the rally. All the Fiesta R2's will be there. They have the same top speed as my Mini at around 90mph but 180bhp so we will give them a try.
Good luck on the 25th and drive like... Well you know, like you stole it. Don Hopefully you can grab some pictures from the pro's hanging out in the apex's.
Yea good luck you know we will all be pulling for you! Hay do you think you could do some live Comintern during the race and stream it on the inter net?
wooooo hooooo 5 R2's are showing up! Autos del NACAM parten de México - Puro Motor | Noticias Deportes de Motor e Industria Automotriz Costa Rica
I must say I'm tad nervous to be back in the rally. After the roll I just can't afford another off. So saying that I'm hoping all goes well and we kick some Ford bottoms. One thing I like is the MA dudes are my side of the car! I can never say enough thanks.
With an urgent problem at work I'm heading down to CR early so hopefully I'll get some time on Sunday to fit the front springs and double check everything. I bought a nice book called "fit for motorsport" which covers exercise, mental focus and nutrition for motorsport. No beers for me this week! LOL
The Mini is as ready as it can be! Friday will start with the rally tech check ,then the shakedown (practice) for $100....we will be missing that...$100 really??? 2pm is the recce and 5pm a ceremony in Leberia town to show the cars. Saturday we have 13 stages from 6 k to 13k . Looks like a guy from the US is running an R2 Fiesta Equipos del NACAM hicieron el reconocimiento de ruta - Puro Motor | Noticias Deportes de Motor e Industria Automotriz Costa Rica
Chris, given how often you've seen and swapped bits of the internals of your Midlands I figure you might like this pic of the guts of the gearbox from one of those M-Sport R2s, just for grins.
Nice set of gears Steve. thanks. As for the rally: This rally we won 10 out 12 stages last year so with the new suspension and gearbox we were confident we could give the R2 Fiesta's a good fight but that was not the case. Filling the fuel tank the night was a mistake as I used some bad fuel. overall the rally route was terrible giving problems to all the cars running so I think we were lucky. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLZhwKj43D0"]RALLY AFRICA SAFARI 2015 TOMAS AEREAS PURO MOTOR TEKNAIR - YouTube[/ame]
stories are coming back as to how bad the rally was. Timing issues and the large amount of dust. Several cars had to be towed due to blocked filters! One turbo engine blew because the filter blocked and a pipe blew off bringing in all the dust to the engine. Yes I'm feeling lucky! I'm sure that Mini is like Herbie! lol
Just so you get an idea of the dust.....check this photo. Espectacular y durÃsimo Rally Ãfrica Safari - Profesión Valor
The bad fuel is getting some attention down in CR Gasolina de mala calidad acabó con el rally del equipo MINI - Puro Motor | Noticias Deportes de Motor e Industria Automotriz Costa Rica
Now you see why I'm happy I didn't do this rally. The 2WD's had a hard time....the Mini would have died in that field. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaVRpCM6zyQ"]RALLY AFRICA SAFARI 2015 - TC5 - YouTube[/ame]
I imagine Total is going to react to that negative advertising, I hope they make you whole. Are they one of your sponsors, make it so!