Itís been three years in the works say a few of our sources, but the reality of a US MINI spec racing series is getting closer as this summer progresses. Itís likely a matter of sponsorships, how significant the race venues will be, and just how many ready-to-race units the factory can have orders on globally, we at MC² Magazine believe, so we started asking questions of US and European MINI personnel, as well as a production friend of ours in the auto industry.

Some of the catches to the production may be the as-yet-unknown quantity that can be sold globally into the other national series, as the target price is $42,000 say friends in MINI racing. Some high-profile names from the music and movie business, as well as some US MINI dealers and present GP and SCCA MINI racers are known to be ready to drive in this series. Itís possibly marketed as a pre-race event to major national or international races, somewhat like the Toyotas in GP races or the US road race events, says one source.

The major blockage at this time is the Oxford factory and how to integrate this into the production line and how it would interrupt that day or two of production. ìItís the automation that actually gets in the way,î states our automotive production specialist. Itís not easy to make FIA-legal race cars on a production line that makes street cars, as theyíll not be shipping these off to Italy as they did the GP last year.

Just how they will be sold in the USA, if it be specific MINI dealers or all MINI dealers isnít known yet, so donít talk with your dealer, as they know nothing of this.

For the rest of the story, you can read the next issue of MC² magazine thatís mailing April 27 to all subscribers and should be on newsstands like Books A Million and others May 10-15.

Meanwhile, we would like your input on our forum about this topic at www.mc2magazine.com. And if youíre a serious buyer for one of these MINIs, you can contact us at publisher@mc2magazine.com.

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