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The first International rally
vicory, won by Pat Moss &
Ann Wisdom in 737 ABL during
the Tulip Rally 1962.
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The Rally Minis
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The
Mini really took off, when people start using it
slightly differently as Issigonis had intended.
John Cooper pepped up the engine, giving it more
power, and once the Cooper S was intruduced, there
was no stopping the Mini. Even without Cooper's
involvement, using the standard 850 engine, people
discovered the excellent handling of the Mini, and
start taking it to Rallies.
This section of MiniSpace wants to give an overview
of Mini Rallying. For those who want more detailed
information on Mini rallying, I suggest buying the
books: The Works Minis, by Peter Browning, Mini
Cooper & S, by Jeremy Walton, or visit Guy
Smiths website. These are the sources for this
section of MiniSpace.
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Talk
about rally-minis, and one image springs to mind;
those bouncy red and white works Coopers flying through
the scenery at enormous speed. Probably heading for
another Monte victory and not only waving the flag
for Britain, but also making every other rival look
rather gross.
Never has so much outright succes been won by so few
litres (997, 1071, 970 and 1275cc). |
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Abingdon based BMC Works Rally team, lead by Stuart
Turner, really headed off to glory a when the 997
Cooper arrived. It boosted Abingdon's rally fortunes
immediately to the chance of outright international
wins, something that was not possible with the drum-braked
850. That first international win came with the 997's
second outing, the May 1962 Tulip Rally driven by
Patt Moss and Ann Wisdom. They has already driven
in the 1962 Monte Carlo Rally, where they finished
26th overall, and seventh in their class. |
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997 was rallied in works form from January to November
1962, when a trio of them driven on the RAC Rally
by the Finnish rivals Timo Makinen and Rauno Aaltonen
were fifth and seventh, with Morrison 13th. By this
time, Pat Moss had taken three international wins
in a row, so it was not surprise that her ashtonishing
1-litre should finish 3rd overall on the 1963 Monte,
or that all the four 997s entered finished, including
Hopkirk in sixth place. |
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