From 04 to 17 January 2015 it is time for the dust, dunes and deserts once again as the 37th edition of the world-famous Dakar Rally will be held in Argentina, Chile and Bolivia. MINI and the MINI ALL4 Racing, winners of the world’s most adventurous long-distance rally from 2012 to 2014, enter the competition as the reigning champions. Joan “Nani” Roma (ES) and his co-driver Michel Périn (FR) claimed the 2014 Dakar victory behind the wheel of the MINI ALL4 Racing. For 2015, the Spanish-French duo is keenly focused on achieving one goal: to remain Dakar Rally champions.
“The Dakar Rally is the ultimate challenge for all drivers and teams, making it one of the most enthralling events in the world of motorsport. MINI has taken on this unique challenge with great success in recent years and has played a major role in the history of the rally,” said Jochen Goller, Senior Vice President MINI. “With its international exposure and its extremely demanding characteristics, the Dakar Rally is perfectly suited to the MINI brand.
All of the drivers and co-drivers that will embark on the 9,000-kilometre trek through the heart of South America love doing things a little bit differently. In this sense, they share an exciting parallel with our MINI customers on the roads. The Dakar Rally gives the MINI brand a unique opportunity to connect with its fans, Dakar enthusiasts and people who look beyond statistics and results to enjoy sports in such fascinating and exotic places as South America.
These strategic reasons, combined with our success at the Dakar over the past three years and our constant desire to improve, are what made us reach the key decision to extend our Dakar engagement far beyond the 2015 Dakar Rally into 2016 and 2017.”
Goller went on to say: “You cannot afford to rest on your laurels if you want to be successful on this marathon venture. You have to work as one strong unit with a professional team. In our long-term strategic partnership with X-raid, the MINI brand has already proved that we are more than up to the challenging tasks at hand. The MINI ALL4 Racing has claimed successive Dakar Rally victories in the past three events from 2012 to 2014. For the 2015 edition of the Dakar Rally we are well-prepared once again.
Our goal is to achieve a great team result just like we did in 2014. The prerequisites for another promising Dakar start could hardly be better. We have a proven winner in the MINI ALL4 Racing, which has been further refined to meet the requirements of the Dakar Rally perfectly over the course of the season, with the MINI ALL4 Racing driving to its third consecutive win in the 2014 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies under some of the toughest racing conditions possible.
In this development progress, technology has been transferred extensively to further optimise the MINI ALL4 Racing. The result is the 2015 MINI ALL4 Racing, which we will see at the upcoming Dakar. We also have an international team of ten very experienced driver pairings from twelve different countries, led by the reigning Dakar winner Joan “Nani” Roma. While the 2015 Dakar Rally is widely regarded as the toughest Dakar since the rally moved from Africa to South America, it will also be an unbelievably fascinating experience for everybody involved – teams and fans alike. The Dakar Rally is an adventure of a lifetime.
X-raid is ready to continue its run of success. However, it goes without saying that success cannot be taken for granted. There is a long way to go between now and the finish in Buenos Aires on 17 January. However, I am confident that MINI will once again thrill motorsport fans from all over the world en route.”