MINI’s return to the WRC - David Richards Q&A

Subaru’s decision to withdraw from rallying in 2008 sent a shockwave through the sport and ended an association with British motorsport firm Prodrive that stretched back almost two decades.

Now Prodrive is back, with a new partnership with BMW Motorsport and MINI, and a new World Rally Car, the Countryman, under development ahead of a WRC debut in 2011.

Heading the project is Prodrive’s chairman, and WRC title winning co-driver, David Richards - the man who first brought Subaru into the WRC back in 1989.

Talking on the World Rally Championship’s official radio station, Richards explained how the new team had come about, how the car was coming along, and why he prefers to take some risks when it comes to choosing a driver-line-up...

The MINI project marks the public return of Prodrive to the WRC, two years after Subaru pulled out in 2008. How did you keep the team running in the meantime?

“We had some extraordinary talent in the team and we knew that if we took our time and didn’t do anything immediately people would disappear into other areas. Some people did, of course, but we put many on sabbaticals and had some working on other projects. To the core team and we said right, your job is to design the ultimate rally car according to the new regulations.”

“The traditional way of producing a rally car is that a manufacturer comes along and asks you to make a car out of this product. Instead, we took the new regulations and said, right, what would the ultimate car look like? We used reverse engineering. Three months in, we looked at what we’d got and analysed this against the cars of all the manufacturers in the world. By March 2009 we had come up with 11 target cars. Then we went to talk to the manufacturers.”

So the MINI lends itself well to the WRC treatment?

“Ironically the MINI wasn’t on that list because the car as we knew it was too small. It just didn’t fit the rules. But during discussions we found out that a new, larger car was in development - the four-door Countryman - and it went straight to the top of our list. Firstly, as being just about perfect in dimensions and layout, and secondly being one of the most iconic names and rally brands ever.”

When did work on the Countryman start?

“By June 2009 we’d narrowed things down to three manufacturers and three products we thought were suited. At the same time we continued work on common elements of the project: We decided which manufacturer we wanted to work with on a new design of steering rack, and were working with a suspension manufacturer on a new damper concept. It was the first chance for us to have the time to do these things in a logical, methodical way. By December it was decided that we were going to be working with MINI and they gave us car data for us to start designing from. So we’ve been working on the actual car for nearly nine months now and the first car is ready bar an engine.”

When will BMW motorsport give you the first proper engine?

“Regulations from the FIA were a little delayed in terms of the turbocharger and other details engine, but we expect the first engines to be with us by the middle of August. We’ll start shakedown of the first cars by the end of August.”

And how soon after that before the car is ready to rally?

“But from there on it’s probably another six months before you can finish the development programme, the homologation work, produce spare parts and make sure that everything is right. It will be the middle of next year before we’re competing.”

Next year you’ll be pitting the new MINI against cars from established WRC manufacturers Ford and Citroen. How do you think it will fare?

“There’s no way you can underestimate the strength of the competition, but we’ve done this very methodically. We’ve done it with a lot of experience of what is required to win and with the cooperation of BMW Motorsport on the engine side as well, so we’re under no illusions about what the task is and how good the car has got to be. But the basic MINI starts off as being a superb product and this new Countryman is a great product and around it we will build a very special car.”

And it’s a new car which you’ll sell to private competitors?

“Absolutely. It’s what we did with Subaru in the past and selling customer cars is something we will continue with this programme. We’ve taken a number of orders already from our existing customers, who clearly we have to prioritise, but we expect to be producing one of these cars every fortnight from the latter part of this year. These customer cars will be identical to the ones we’ll run ourselves in the WRC. It works from both sides; it gives economies of scale and increased developing and testing wherever they are in the world.”

Have you selected your development drivers yet?

“There is no shortage of applications. But the initial testing will be done by our engineers and a small group of test drivers who we use historically for doing this work for us in the UK. Most of this will be carried out between now and September when the major testing starts in Spain or Portugal. I would expect we’ll have one or two drivers signed up by then.”

And what about your works team drivers beyond that? Names including Markko Martin and Marcus Gronholm have been linked to MINI.

“Markko has done work for us in the past and Marcus is a great friend of ours who did the Portugal Rally in one of our cars last year. But there is also young talent out there and we must take some risks with this programme. If I look back at how we were so successful in the past it wasn’t by making safe decisions - it was choosing young McRae when everyone told me he would never get to the end of any events. And look what happened. And then picking up RB and working with him and getting him to the WRC title. That’s what we’re about and that’s what I intent to make sure MINI is all about for the future.”

And what chance for a British driver?

“Mini is an international brand and we need to get the best drivers in it and get the best opportunity for success, but I’d very much like to see a British driver in the team. After all, it was Paddy Hopkirk who scored the last great victories for MINI and wouldn’t it be great to see that repeated with another British driver? But let’s see how things evolve over the next couple of years. We’re not rushing into anything yet and our full programme doesn’t really commence until 2012 - so we’ve got a little time yet.”