Mini Cooper to WRC Mexico 2017?

Discussion in 'Racing MINIs' started by RallyMini370, Jun 9, 2016.

  1. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

    May 29, 2009
    4,033
    2,236
    113
    Male
    Retired
    Piqua, Ohio
    Ratings:
    +2,788 / 10 / -0
    Thanks, Brian...see, I'm not so bad afterall...dumb, yes, but not bad. :nonod:
     
  2. RallyMini370

    RallyMini370 Well-Known Member

    Mar 12, 2012
    1,970
    1,586
    113
    Engineer
    Central America
    Ratings:
    +1,587 / 0 / -0
    There went 2 weeks in MA. Because the Mini is in CR and I'm up here does not mean I sit on my arse all day doing nothing.LOL In between work I'm researching companies in Mexico and emailing them proposals. I emailed all of these companies http://tacna.net/companies-succeeding-in-mexico/ PepsiCo emailed back to say they currently support soccer and American football! 2 others just emailed to say they don't support motorsport. I've contacted several shipping companies with just one company willing to take on the shipping. The quote just to get to Vearcruz Mexico from CR was $980 for the customs and $2975 for the container, I figure on another $1000 for the Mexican customs. so close to $10,000 in shipping for a round trip! WOW imagine what the WRC guys pay for shipping their cars worldwide. Anyway that quote seems a little excessive and maybe includes Gringo tax???? hahaha I have to mid December so there must be some company willing to help at a reasonable cost. Based on this my Gofundme account looks a little short for the total cost. LOL.

    Also being aged at 54 I'm not a spring chicken anymore so after watching the 2016 Mexico stages on WRC+ I see some of the stages are 50 minutes for the WRC guys so imagine my humble R50's time. I'd be on the stage for over an hour at around 110F in the cabin. Therefore I've been exercising at the gym everyday to get in shape. I remember the Middle East rallies used to be killers in the heat.

    I still have 4 months so anything could happen in that time. Thanks again for your interest. Vote Mini R50 for president!
     
  3. old81

    old81 Club Coordinator
    Lifetime Supporter

    May 4, 2009
    3,217
    1,542
    113
    Used to work making computers run fast!
    Louisville, Colorado
    Ratings:
    +1,731 / 5 / -0
    Keep plugging at it Chris!

    Have you contacted Total Oil Motorsports, they sometimes kick in a buck or two, play up the underdog position!

    Don
     
  4. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
    Staff Member Articles Moderator Supporting Member

    Jul 31, 2009
    11,163
    6,169
    113
    Male
    Ratings:
    +7,874 / 10 / -3
    Who said they don't support motor sports? Maybe I will spend my money on someone who does!

    Hang in there, I hope it happens.
     
  5. RallyMini370

    RallyMini370 Well-Known Member

    Mar 12, 2012
    1,970
    1,586
    113
    Engineer
    Central America
    Ratings:
    +1,587 / 0 / -0
    Hahahaha I did think of Total but seeing as they nearly took me to court regarding the bad fuel , maybe not. I was thinking last night of energy drinks, airlines and shipping companies. I did contact Speed Energy drink last week but then ,over the weekend I see Robby Gordon is in a $3mil law suit with them....ooopps

    So to give you a little insight to the world of corporate begging: back in the 80's it was hard work, a bit like door to door salesmen. I'd find a company, call the operator, find out the marketing guy, call or write a letter to that person. Go visit if they were interested. Then in the 90's I used to fax and finally email. In the early days I used to charge a small fee, I had around 20 companies on the car paying a small fee that added up to covering the costs. Which was fine but getting the small fee was a lot of work. Actually I spent more time working to find, keep and recover the fee than working and rallying the car!

    Today I look for companies online, use LinkedIn and other online company person finder sites. Then send an email with a brief introduction, I say brief because after the 3rd paragraph they will have lost interest. Also the dear old spam box with catch my emails so I fire off an email a week until I get a reply. My main focus now is not asking for money but services or a fee paid. Services could be airline tickets, hotel rooms, free fuel, oil , tyres, spare parts etc. Anything that will save me money and the company will get some media exposure. Another good thing is my rally car is a daily driver so I pitch that angle too!

    Regarding the Paypal and Gofundme campaign, I have send the link to a lot of people I know in the rally and Mini world. In the rally world I guess they must be in the same boat as me, looking for support so I'm not optimistic but for the Mini world I did think a few more owners(especially R50) would be interested to see an R50 battling it out in an WRC event. 9000 owners at $1 each would do it. Anyway another option is getting some Mini stuff from companies and raffling it off via Paypal/Gofundme.

    Yes I'm hanging in there.
     
  6. old81

    old81 Club Coordinator
    Lifetime Supporter

    May 4, 2009
    3,217
    1,542
    113
    Used to work making computers run fast!
    Louisville, Colorado
    Ratings:
    +1,731 / 5 / -0
    Opps, I forgot about the little issue with the Gas, Total sent you a cease and desist letter?

    Reason I mentioned they are very active in the various Automobile series racing, I see a lot of their banners on the rally cars. I will ask my son on current policy for rally support, he is working out of Singapore now.

    Take care...
    Don
    :)
     
  7. RallyMini370

    RallyMini370 Well-Known Member

    Mar 12, 2012
    1,970
    1,586
    113
    Engineer
    Central America
    Ratings:
    +1,587 / 0 / -0
    Thanks Don, Maybe they forgot about me? haha anyway tis would be Total Mexico and not Total CR. I did get an email from WRC today regarding my project and they would want to publish the story on the official WRC site! This would be fantastic but before that happens I need to figure out a realistic shipping cost. Currently the cost stands at just under $10,000 which is ridiculous. Anyway the WRC email was a boost to the project moral.
     
  8. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
    Staff Member Articles Moderator Supporting Member

    Jul 31, 2009
    11,163
    6,169
    113
    Male
    Ratings:
    +7,874 / 10 / -3
    Thats great news! Is the shipping cost over land or air? also how many miles is it?
     
  9. RallyMini370

    RallyMini370 Well-Known Member

    Mar 12, 2012
    1,970
    1,586
    113
    Engineer
    Central America
    Ratings:
    +1,587 / 0 / -0
    By sea in a 20' container : Limon to Veracrruz, then by land Varacruz to Leon. 750KM I have contacted a rally guy in Mexico who is looking into the shipping costs as he has shipped cars here for the NACAM rally.
     
  10. MCS02

    MCS02 Moderator
    Staff Member Articles Moderator Supporting Member

    Jul 31, 2009
    11,163
    6,169
    113
    Male
    Ratings:
    +7,874 / 10 / -3
    I fly a lot to Mexico, Bogota, Panama and CR. I don't layover in CR though so I know this is a stupid idea. But what about over land? Or you could take a few extra days off and run it up the Pan American highway, kind of like a one man Rally!:D
     
  11. RallyMini370

    RallyMini370 Well-Known Member

    Mar 12, 2012
    1,970
    1,586
    113
    Engineer
    Central America
    Ratings:
    +1,587 / 0 / -0
    Not a stupid idea at all, I did think about it and to see if a land container is possible. I'm exploring a lot of options.
     
  12. B.A.D.

    B.A.D. Club Coordinator

    Dec 6, 2009
    2,282
    931
    113
    Ratings:
    +934 / 0 / -0

    I was curious as to the over land distance and if it would be drivable as well.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  13. RallyMini370

    RallyMini370 Well-Known Member

    Mar 12, 2012
    1,970
    1,586
    113
    Engineer
    Central America
    Ratings:
    +1,587 / 0 / -0
  14. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

    May 29, 2009
    4,033
    2,236
    113
    Male
    Retired
    Piqua, Ohio
    Ratings:
    +2,788 / 10 / -0
    Just think of it as your own version of MTTS...South of the border style! :devil:
     
  15. friendraja

    friendraja Member

    Aug 31, 2015
    93
    29
    18
    System Administrator
    Dublin, ohio
    Ratings:
    +31 / 0 / -0
    it would make a great road trip...

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk
     
  16. RallyMini370

    RallyMini370 Well-Known Member

    Mar 12, 2012
    1,970
    1,586
    113
    Engineer
    Central America
    Ratings:
    +1,587 / 0 / -0
    hahaha MTTS = MTTLA If only I had the time! I'm no stanger to road trips in rally cars, back in 1995 I drove my rally car with 4 other rally cars from Amman to Jounieh https://www.google.co.cr/maps/dir/Jounieh,+Mount+Lebanon,+Lebanon/Amman,+Jordan/@32.9617131,34.7978613,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0x151f40c4257f7eb9:0x622d4edf2e7a984!2m2!1d35.6344491!2d33.9842691!1m5!1m1!1s0x151b5fb85d7981af:0x631c30c0f8dc65e8!2m2!1d35.9283716!2d31.9453666?hl=en this was an epic trip I would not be able to do now.
     
  17. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

    May 29, 2009
    4,033
    2,236
    113
    Male
    Retired
    Piqua, Ohio
    Ratings:
    +2,788 / 10 / -0
    Just think..you could test drive all the partrs you've been putting into your car. A nice 4 or 5 day drive with no one pushing you. Think of all the scenery you could see. and, if any bandits showed up, think of how you could outrun them!:devil:
     
  18. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

    May 29, 2009
    4,033
    2,236
    113
    Male
    Retired
    Piqua, Ohio
    Ratings:
    +2,788 / 10 / -0
    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCKKKKKKKKKK! Double post. :nonod:
     
  19. RallyMini370

    RallyMini370 Well-Known Member

    Mar 12, 2012
    1,970
    1,586
    113
    Engineer
    Central America
    Ratings:
    +1,587 / 0 / -0
    hahaha yes looking at those countries we have to pass through I don't think the Mini would make it in one piece.
     
  20. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

    May 29, 2009
    4,033
    2,236
    113
    Male
    Retired
    Piqua, Ohio
    Ratings:
    +2,788 / 10 / -0
    Could you trailer it?
     

Share This Page