December 2, 2015 – Make no mistake: Dakar Rally is the cross-country race of all cross-country races simply by being the toughest automotive race on earth. Despite its fearsome reputation, MINI with its MINI ALL4 Racing has achieved four (2012-2015) consecutive Dakar wins and now looks to a fifth demolition of the competition in 2016. MINI’s bid to secure the 2016 Dakar Rally has already begun with the announcement of a starting line-up of 12 MINI ALL4 Racing crews.
Ever since the original Mini evolved in the hands of John Cooper to Mini Cooper 997 rally projectiles, circa 1961, the name Mini is synonymous with international rally involvement and, of course, winning.
MINI today has continued to uphold this tradition of world-wide racing success through its MINI ALL4 Racing. Like the original Mini Cooper, MINI and its MINI ALL4 Racing have become iconic motorsport combatants through continued domination of global cross-country rally events and championships. One such cross-country event is the Dakar Rally.
Considered to be the most challenging race on the cross-country rally calendar, the Dakar Rally – a two-week-long endurance marathon of cars and crews – will once again be contested by MINI and its race proven MINI ALL4 Racing.
The X-raid Team entry for the Dakar will consist of four MINI ALL4 Racing crews. These crews are made up of highly skilled and professional drivers and co-drivers, all recognised as masters in the world of rally motorsport – and all readied to claim MINI its fifth Dakar title.
Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) and long-term co-pilot Mathieu Baumel (FRA) are the defending Dakar champions after they climbed onto the top podium step at the end of the 2015 Dakar Rally. “To win Dakar,” said Al-Attiyah, “you need good luck, a good team and good co-driver – and also work very hard yourself to achieve a win. The MINI ALL4 Racing is very good because it has won four Dakar titles. My aim now is to win the Dakar again.”
Spanish star Joan ‘Nani’ Roma is a former Dakar winner in both car and motorcycle categories. Together with compatriot Alex Haro, the amassed experience of Dakar is wide and formidable. Even so, Roma is as keen as ever to win…“Every Dakar holds something special,” said Roma. “After 20 Dakars you still find it is special – you always find it is something nice but when you have won it is one of those great moments.”
The remaining eight MINI ALL4 Racing crews are from all corners of the globe. From Europe to South America to China, 13 countries in total are represented by the combined MINI ALL4 Racing crews and underline the demand for the race-proven reliability and performance of the MINI ALL4 Racing – as witnessed in the 2015 Dakar Rally when four of the top five finishing cars were MINI ALL4 Racing.
The MINI ALL4 Racing cars to compete at the 2016 Dakar Rally are further refined from last year’s event. Throughout the course of 2015, MINI ALL4 Racing crews in conjunction with X-raid (DE), builders of the MINI ALL4 Racing, have developed the cars in testing and actual race conditions. The result of this is recorded with a successful title defence of the FIA Cross Country Rally World Cup.
To drive across mountains, valleys, river beds, deserts and everything in between in all weathers takes skill. It also requires the specialised orienteering/navigational skills of a co-pilot to ensure the end is reached. It takes a car like the MINI ALL4 Racing with a proven reliability record and performance to cover demanding terrain. And it takes the exceptional experience of X-raid (DE) technicians to service MINI ALL4 Racing during rest periods.
2016 Dakar Rally MINI ALL4 Racing crew line-up
| Driver | Co-driver | Team |
| Nasser Al-Attiyah (QAT) | Mathieu Baumel (FRA) | X-raid Team |
| Joan “Nani” Roma (ESP) | Alex Haro (ESP) | X-raid Team |
| Orlando Terranova (ARG) | Bernardo “Ronnie” Graue (ARG) | X-raid Team |
| Mikko Hirvonen (FIN) | Michel Périn (FRA) | X-raid Team |
| Erik van Loon (NDL) | Wouter Rosegaar (NDL) | Van Loon Racing |
| Adam Malysz (POL) | Xavier Panseri (FRA) | ORLEN Team |
| Jakub “Kuba” Przygonski (POL) | Andrei Rudnitski (BLR) | ORLEN Team |
| Harry Hunt (GB) | Andreas Schulz (GER) | X-raid Team |
| Boris Garafulic (CHL) | Filipe Palmeiro (POR) | X-raid Team |
| Nazareno Lopez (ARG) | Sergio Lafuente (URU) | X-raid Team |
| Stephan Schott (GER) | Holm Schmidt (GER) | X-raid Team |
| Guo Meiling (CHN) | Min Liao (CHN) | Perfect China Health 100 Yong Team |