Our tool for managing your permission to our use of cookies is temporarily offline. Therefore some functionality is missing.
TO THE LIMIT.
HARRY HUNT FINISHES 10TH at DAKAR 2016.
27 year old Harry Hunt has become one of the youngest Brits ever to complete the Dakar Rally, finishing 10th out of 110 drivers, ahead of many seasoned competitors and only one place behind Sebastien Loeb, the most succesful WRC driver ever. Dakar 2016, the world’s longest endurance motor race in South America, represented Hunt’s first ever Dakar Rally.
There was drama from the outset with bad weather forcing organisers to cancel the first stage and postpone the second, but this didn’t phase Hunt who remained composed throughout. By stage three Hunt had reached the top 15.
Temperatures during the rally ranged from 40+ degrees centigrade to freezing point and altitudes reached 4,750 metres. The terrain included sand dunes, deep mud and rocks.
Commenting on the race Hunt said: “We drove at a good pace in all of the stages - not too quick, not too slow - and we managed to steer clear of any major problems. My MINI ALL4 Racing was amazing and withstood endless difficult terrain. The X Raid team and my co-driver, Andy, were fantastic. I’ve learnt so much from them“.
Hunt, MINI UK Ambassador, was part of the successful X Raid MINI ALL4 Racing Team, with three team mates finishing in the top 10; Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) 2nd, Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) 4th and Joan ‘Nani’ Roma (ESP) 6th.
Hunt on his next move: “I’ve got a few weeks of down time planned to relax with my family and friends here in South America before it’s time to get back to training and prepare for Dakar 2017!"
THE NEW FACE OF DAKAR 2016 HAS A MOUNTAIN TO CLIMB.
The Dakar is the toughest Rally Raid event in the world: 9,500kms, 45°C heat, dust, dunes, mountains and a 50% drop out rate. It’s going to be no mean feat for rising star Harry Hunt. At 27 he’s one of the youngest drivers to compete, in an event that has yet to be won by a driver under 35. Harry’s also driving the MINI ALL4 Racing, the winning car at Dakar for the last four consecutive years… well, you get an idea of the kind of pressure he’s under.
Can he conquer the physical and mental challenges to take victory in 2016? We’ll be demonstrating just how far Harry’s prepared to go in preparation for the toughest race in the world.
HARRY VS THE HEAt.
search for the summit.
blind navigation.
DAKAR – PUSHING to the edge SINCE 1977
It’s only when we drive ourselves to the limit that we feel truly alive – that’s the enduring belief of all those who’ve tackled the Dakar over the last 39 years. It began as a race from Paris to Dakar in Senegal, although in recent years South America has become its new home. But wherever the Dakar Rally takes its competitors and fans, it remains an adventure, pushing man and machine to the limit, creating heroes against all odds.
THE MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS RANGE.
PERFORMANCE PUSHED TO THE LIMIT.
In the 60s Minis modified by John Cooper took the motorsport world by storm. With three wins at the famous Monte Carlo Rally, the brand’s racing credentials were cemented forever in the minds of drivers and fans alike.
Our racing pedigree lives on today. Every John Cooper Works model in the MINI range is built for jaw-dropping performance, with bold styling and a turbocharged engine packing up to 231bhp (170kW) of power. They’re MINIs, dialed up to the max.