The WRC Team Mini Portugal was Mini's factory-supported World Rally Championship team.[1]
| Full name | WRC Team Mini Portugal |
|---|---|
| Base |  Milan, Italy |
| Team principal(s) | Mario Stagni |
| Drivers |  Armindo Araújo Paulo Nobre Chris Atkinson |
| Co-drivers | Miguel Ramalho Edu Paula Stéphane Prévot |
| Chassis | Mini John Cooper Works WRC |
| Tyres | Michelin |
| World Rally Championship history | |
| Debut | 2012 Rally of Sweden |
| Manufacturers' Championships | 0 |
| Drivers' Championships | 0 |
| Rally wins | 0 |
Established in February 2012 after the Prodrive-run Mini WRC Team had its support from parent company BMW reduced, the team debuted at the Rally of Sweden. The WRC Team Mini Portugal was formed out of the merger of the Mini entries of Armindo Araújo World Rally Team and Palmeirinha Rally, which were both run by the Motorsport Italia firm for drivers Armindo Araújo and Paulo Nobre respectively. Team Mini Portugal were registered as a manufacturer entry, while the Prodrive WRC Team was demoted to a works-supported private team. The manufacturers points that had been scored by Armindo Araújo World Rally Team and Palmeirinha Rally at the Monte Carlo Rally prior to the change were removed.
On 16 August 2012 it was announced that Chris Atkinson and Stéphane Prévot would replace Armindo Araújo and Miguel Ramalho as the team's lead crew for the last five races of the 2012 WRC season.[2]
At the end of 2012 Mini withdrew its financial support and the team was closed.[3]
WRC Results edit
| Year | Car | No. | Driver | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | WDC | Points | WCC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Mini John Cooper Works WRC | 12 | Armindo Araújo
|
MON | SWE 15 |
MEX 7 |
POR 15 |
ARG Ret |
GRE 11 |
NZL 8 |
FIN 15 |
15th | 11 | - | - | |||||
| Chris Atkinson
|
GER 5 |
GBR 11 |
FRA 8 |
ITA 6 |
ESP 7 |
13th | 28 | |||||||||||||
| 14 | Paulo Nobre
|
MON | SWE Ret |
MEX Ret |
POR DNS |
ARG Ret |
GRE 17 |
NZL 17 |
FIN 38 |
GER Ret |
GBR Ret |
FRA Ret |
ITA 19 |
ESP 30 |
- | 0 |
References edit
- ^ Evans, David (6 February 2012). "Prodrive loses status as MINI's factory World Rally Team". Autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
- ^ "Chris Atkinson secures factory MINI WRC drive". AUSmotive.com. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
- ^ "Mini to withdraw backing for works WRC team at end of 2012". Autosport.com. 12 October 2012. Retrieved 26 January 2017.
External links edit
- Team profile at WRC.com Archived 14 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine