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Mini exiting WRC after just one year

There was a fair bit of hullabaloo two years ago when Mini announced a return to the World Rally Championship for this season, but the road to making that happen has been as rocky as a gravel stage. It spent 2011 developing its JCW Countryman WRC challenger, changing its mind about how it wanted to work with Prodrive, dumped a driver due to budget issues, then registering its entry after the deadline had passed in a ploy that might or might not have been a protest aimed at the WRC promoter.
Mini had stated that it wanted to win the whole championship in 2013, and spent 2011 doing six WRC rounds as development. As it stands for this year, the WRC Team Mini Portugal - paid for by Mini, run by ProDrive - scored 26 points in the first rally at Monte Carlo and has so far blanked the rest of the season. The relationship between Mini and ProDrive appeared to be an ever-contentious affair, at the end of this season, even the money will dry up along with what support there was.
Because it contested every race in the calendar, though, Mini says it has completed the FIA requirements for homologation of the JCW Countryman WRC; meaning that privateers can continue purchasing the car and run it in the WRC. BMW Motorsport is continuing development and parts supply of the 1.6-liter turbo engine, and a report in Autosport indicates that ProDrive will continue to run Minis in the series next year.

Man criticized for filming rather than helping road rage victim

A man from Cheshire in England was criticized on social media after he filmed a road rage brawl and provided color commentary for it instead of helping the victim. According to the Daily Mail, Alec Wall was traveling through Cheshire when he came upon a strange scene. A red Mini was stopped at a light, and standing next to it in traffic was a woman in a white dress. As Wall watched, the woman lunged for the Mini's driver's door, wrenched it open, and began fighting with the woman behind the wheel. While the women fought, Wall pulled out his phone and started recording. "Road Rage!" he shouted as he filmed. Apparently finding the situation extremely funny, Wall continued to film, giggling all the while and providing commentary on the scuffle. "Oh my God, actual road in a rage!" he shouted. Once he returned home, Wall uploaded his video to a Facebook page called Idiot UK Drivers Exposed where it racked up nearly 90,000 likes. Not everyone found it as funny as Wall did, however. Comments began piling up chastising Wall for his flip attitude and his failure to intervene in the fight. "How about instead of laughing and screaming 'road rage' like a moron you do something productive like get out of your car and try to defuse the situation? Use some intelligence..." said one commenter. "I really have failed to see what the camera man is laughing at," said another. "It looks to me like someone being seriously assaulted. Why is that funny?" There is no report on the cause of the incident, or how it ended. Related Video: News Source: The Daily Mail Auto News Weird Car News MINI road rage fight

Mini 're-evaluating' relationship with Abby Wambach following DUI arrest

Mini USA is "re-evaluating" its relationship with former US Women's National Soccer Team star Abby Wambach after the 35-year-old was arrested for driving under the influence on Sunday morning. Wambach was just one of the athletes that joined Mini's recently launched "Defy Labels" campaign. She was driving a 2014 Land Rover Range Rover – not a Mini – at the time of the arrest. "We're obviously concerned about the alleged DUI attributed to Abby Wambach. This behavior is against the values we promote as an organization and the safety of everyone on the road is a priority here at Mini," the company said in an official statement obtained by Automotive News. "Because of this, we are re-evaluating her association with the brand and are pulling content that individually features Abby from our marketing. We will continue to assess the situation and weigh our options." Wambach was arrested in Portland, OR after running a red light in her Range Rover. Her blood alcohol content was not released by the Portland Police Bureau, although she was described as "polite and courteous" throughout the affair, according to a statement. You can see the Super Bowl ad featuring Wambach below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.