Pre-event test to boost MINI in Spain

MINI WRC Team drivers Kris Meeke and Dani Sordo are due to complete a two-day test in Spain, which could boost the Prodrive-run squad’s chances of landing a third podium finish in as many starts.

Although Meeke has endured a frustrating run of late with a technical failure forcing his exit in Germany and a high-speed crash leading to his retirement in France, Sordo followed up his third place in Germany by coming close to winning in France, eventually settling for second, 6.3s behind winner Sebastien Ogier.

MINI has done comparatively little testing compared to Citroen and Ford, despite its John Cooper Works WRC still in the early stages of development. It only completed a short set-up confirmation test prior to the last round in France.

“If we’ve got new things on the car to test then obviously you test things,” said team principal David Richards. “If nothing has changed, and nothing had changed on the car between Germany and France, then it’s a bit frivolous to go testing. People kid themselves. They go round and round in circles pretending they’re improving things and in many cases they’re just wasting money. You need to focus your resources and your attention where they are best applied.”

Richards admits he didn’t expect the success to come so soon, adding: “This early in the development of the new car, we were not expecting to be challenging for a win and I think it is a real testament to the engineering team that they have managed to produce such a fast and reliable car straight out of the box. As for Spain, it is Dani’s home event and I am sure he will be looking for a third straight podium, while I know Kris is determined to finish this rally and I am sure with the pace he has shown, that he too will be in a strong position.”