Classic Minis Race at Brands Hatch

The 2013 MINI Festival at Brands Hatch presented MINI fans with first-rate racing action. The occasion: 50 years of the MINI Cooper S.
Exciting races, international stars, stunts, and a feast of entertainment at the iconic Brands Hatch Circuit: last weekend, the 2013 MINI Festival in the English county of Kent was the hub of the MINI universe. Brands Hatch was the site of spectacular scenes. The occasion: the 50th anniversary of the MINI Cooper S. And the 2013 MINI Festival also featured a true racing premiere, as the title “Champion of MINI Festival” was awarded for the first time.

 In a thrilling race, James Martin steered his MINI Cooper S to victory on the 4.207-kilometre circuit against impressive competition – including Lee Allen, who recently won two races in the MINI Challenge UK series – from a mixture of classic Minis, specially modified for racing purposes, and MINI Cooper S racing cars. Also out on the track: many cars from the privately organised English ‘Mini Se7en’ clubsport series, as well as the Mini Miglia, in which tuned classic Minis achieve top speeds of up to 200 km/h.

 In the presence of a legend: the MINI ALL4 Racing
And away from the racetrack? A packed fringe programme with modified MINI custom cars, stunt shows and hot show cars, like the MINI ALL4 Racing, with which eleven-time Rally Dakar winner Stéphane Peterhansel won the last two editions of the toughest endurance rally in the world for the Monster Energy X-raid team. And the weekend would not have been complete without Paddy Hopkirk’s classic Mini Cooper S, with which the living rally legend triumphed at the Rally Monte Carlo in 1964.

 The fans were agreed upon one thing at the end of the two-day show: bring on the next 50 years of the MINI Cooper S.