Whilst they were out hooning on the rear wheel drive BMWs my half of the group was learning about how continental develops a tyre from the compound to the thread pattern and all the research and development that goes into the process.

I asked the question – What if I or tyre company copied your thread pattern would it perform the same or better?

Reply – Even if you copied the exact thread pattern, the compound of our tyres is very different and that’s where our extensive R&D developments goes into

I have always been a preacher about buying good tyres and brakes as these are the only things that keep you on the road. People forget that contact patch between you and the road is only the size of your palm. It was our time for some rear wheel drive shenanigans in the white BMW 1 series and they were fitted with cheap import tyres. I mounted my Go Pro 3 to the back window to showcase my driffftttoooo ability whilst on the wet handling track. I jumped into the driver’s seat unaccompanied and put the paddle shift gearbox and car into sport mode.

We followed a pace car upfront with radios on board which talked us through the lap and how to push the tyres to the limit to feel the difference. To be honest I was being a right yob with me hanging the back out on every corner for a continuous drift.

It was laughable how easy it was to induce over-steer all the time with the cheap import tyre being very loose in the wet handling track and gave no confidence what’s so ever when you pushed the car. When you reached the limit of grip you were met with snap on over-steer which is fun on track but deadly on public road.

All these characteristics are stupidly fun on a closed track which makes you wonder why doesn’t someone offer a track day like this?? Joking aside these handling threats of the tyre would deadly on the open road. Still grinning from ear to ear fun, I suction mounted the Go Pro to the grey BMW fitted with ContiPremium Contact 5s to see how Continental’s tyres could fare better even with the worsening wet track. Into the first corner the difference was evident with the BMW front end would not wash into under-steer and the rear end refused to swing out as I mashed the loud pedal middle corner.

I was being a right lunatic to get the BMW to over-steer as I had to go specifically out of my way to do it. The difference with the Conti tyre was it told you exactly before it let go whilst being controllable.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/wreXP1uB9WY]

It was a no contest between which tyre you would buy.

Tread carefully was the next station which was designed to show you how much a difference tread difference can make

We would drive 3 VW Golfs with different levels of thread – 8, 3 and 1.6 mm at different speed starting at 60 kph (37 mph) then 70 kph (43 mph) and finally 80 kph (50mph) to see the difference. My Group elected to learn the theory behind changing your tyres at 3 mm opposed towards the legal limit of 1.6 mm. 1.6mm is the legal limit for tread depth on tyres. But tests show that at this tread depth, tyres are only performing at 55% efficiency, meaning stopping distances are greatly increased in wet conditions.

We learnt about how the efficiency of the tyres decrease when the thread reduces and about the structure of the compound, side walls and thread pattern make a difference. With the theory dusted off we head towards the car to which there were two people per vehicle because it made easier to switch seats.

I was joined by the motoring journalist queen aka Geraldine Herbert the founder of wheelsforwomen.ie  who has written for newspapers, magazines and websites including the Sunday Independent. It was an honour having her on-board and we had some good discussions about the event and wider car industry. My driving skills had to be at their A game with her on board so no pressure at all. We entered the first car which had 3 mm thread and went around the oval track building our speed up to 60 kph and keeping it steady at that speed whilst we drove through about a 2 metre long patch of standing water. At 50 kph there was a slight slow down in the vehicle but nothing that really phased the tyre.

Next we built up 60 kph and felt the car slow as you noticed the tyre was trying to move the water but with a slight struggle. Once again we ramped up the speed and noticed the car twitched by it moving it to the right which was nothing uncontrollable. It sort of felt like torque steer with reduction of speed of about 5 kph. The Golf fitted with 8 mm tyres was up next so everything was going be fine due to the thread depth and it was true. The car never struggled with the standing water at the different speed and the only teeny tiny difference that was felt at 80 kph even then we were pointed straight ahead.

Next up where the 1.6mm tyres and me and Geraldine gave each other that look, were we we going slide into the barrier plus she elected me to do it first such a Lady. Sadly at this time we were being rushed as our allocated time at this station was coming to a close.

Therefore we dashed into the other Golf and began our first run at 60kph and as soon as we went through the stand water the car aquaplane. It felt like the car was being pushed sideways I was temporary stunned by how the car acted but my reflexes kicked in with me adding opposite lock to steer the car through the cones. We looked at each after it happened and we were like ‘WOW, are you OK?’ Then the radio crackled again saying we need to speed things up so we were moving up the speed to 80kph.

You should have seen my face, WHAT!! An extra 20kph (17mph) we are going hit the barrier at this speed or I am going spin it front of all these motoring journalists. Great I am gone tonight’s topic of laughter at the bar.

We went back around again and I held the speed steady at 80kph and in the corner of my eye I saw Geraldine clutch the door pull so I told her ‘I got this and you got your seat belt on right?’.

Around the bend we went on to the stand water and everything went into slow motion with the car being violently throw to the right like we had just been T Boned by another car.

My fingers buried into the contours of the steering wheel as reacted to the aquaplaning and I meet it with an equal force to correct the car to stop it under steering into the barrier. I caught the car and the grip returned the dry asphalt so I powered it out the cones in front of me. I looked over and said ‘I genuinely thought we were going hit that barrier as didn’t think the front tyres would regain grip’. We were in slight state of shock with the adrenaline still pumping for a while after that encounter. The message was clear from this test – change your tyres before or on 3mm thread is only left

We have been drilled in by the theory test and motoring laws saying 1.6 mm is legal limit. Therefore we have been miss education to change the tyres when its close to legal limit which is completely wrong thing to do. Next up is all the track time madness I have spoken and promised everyone by telling them to wait for Part 2.

We arrived at the next station called ‘Driving Performance For You’ where there was a line up of some tasty cars – 2 x Audi RS3, A Class AMG, BMW 335i, Porsche Panamera GTS and a Porsche GT3 RS.

I looked at these tasty motors and thought – ‘Oh yes time for some track action and they are not my tyres’. Someone had to come over to shuffle us into the white tent for the briefing about the performance tyres made by Continental. We were shown the Sport Contact 5s, Sports Contact 5P and Conti Force Conacts with the 5s being for a fast car/road tyre and the 5P being more of a lower profile track orientated tyre which can be used on daily driver but wont grip as much in the wet as the 5s given the thread pattern and compound.

The Force Contacts are a track bias tyre will with them being lower profile and the compound being suited to a dry track but they were still street legal if you wish to drive around on them a daily basis. It was ironic as this was the dry handling track but it was wet and still pouring down. So I wasn’t sure how to handle the cars on a wet track with ridiculous amounts horsepower on a track I didn’t know.

First up was the Audi RS3 and strangely Geraldine came with again after the ride in the Golf, I guess my recovery of the aquaplaning impressed her.

I mounted the Go Pro to the back window and enter the larger leather bucket Seats of the RS3 which were very comfortable. I fiddled with the seat and adjusted the autobox to sport and put the car into sport mode and eyed up the line the track and listened to the instructions coming from the walkie-talkie.

This was my 1st time in the RS model and everyone raves on about them but I honestly don’t like Audi’s at all! I actually loathe them with them all looking the same with them just being a longer and shorter of themselves with their boring driving feel and input. I wanted to keep objective so I set aside the my dislike and I hunkered down in the RS seats and gave the throttle a few blips to hear the exhaust note which was nice. Off we went following the lead car a black BMW 335i and mashed the gas pedal as soon as we left the lay-by area with the four-wheel drive hooking up and all 335 ponies from the forced induction 2.5 litre TFSI engine propelling us forward with a jot to push us back in our seats.

I went into the first bend all cautious as I wasn’t sure about the how the car would handle in the wet but I soon realised that you didn’t have to do anything but press the loud pedal as the car did everything and all that was left was for you point the thing in the right direction.

The Audi was quick with it reaching 140kph on the back straight but my god was it boring it drive with no feedback to the wheel at all. I could have driven it one hand and texted my mates to telling them what I was doing and take a few snaps whilst I was there. I left the AUDI unimpressed by its driving feel and here is my summary of the car – If you want a point to point fast car the RS3 is perfect, actually it should be THE getaway car of choice if you want to rob a bank. If your after driving involvement, road feel and laughs then don’t buy it, sure it fast but it’s so uninvolving I would rather go shopping for door mats. Into the much incapacitated A Class AMG which had nice subtle menacing look from the outside and was very tasty inside. SLS AMG air vents and carbon fibre look dashboard with some nice subtle red accents around the cabin. So far good, I looked to the console to turn everything on to get it to sport mode which took a little longer than I like but minor grumble given the performance on tap.

Now I would have another 4 wheel drive vehicle but with 2 litre four banger developing a laugh out loud 355 BHP. Again this would be my first time driving the hot version of normal Mercedes as I had only driven the C Class CDI C220 a while back.

I have always wanted to drive an AMG given how loony the division is with copious amount of power they extract from engines and the noise they make which sound like the heavens have opened up and THOR has arrived. Again I blipped the throttle to her what she sound like but it was slightly muted but I wasn’t sure about the reason given how new the car was but meh.

Off we went around the track again with me being directly behind the lead car so I could push on more as we would setting the pace of the other cars behind us. Straight way I felt the AMG feel more eager to rev and pull harder in the corner but I didn’t like the driving feedback but it was significantly better than the RS3.

I had a lot more fun the AMG with the feedback and it was more playful with it reaching 147kph on the straight way which made me wonder what it would be like in the dry.

I left the AMG impressed as this was their first proper attempt at hot hatch and I would definitely recommended one over the RS3 as its faster and roughly the same price – WIN WIN!! Next up was the blacked out BMW 335i which looked menacing as hell and me being brought up in BMW and owning a 323i for a while I looked forward to testing performance variant of the 3 series. Into the 335i I went with a big grin as I knew some sideways drift action would have happening with the rear wheel drive power.

It’s very dangerous coming out four-wheel drive vehicles as you got used to giving the car full throttle mid corner. This pre mindset was evident in the first corner where I pressed the loud pedal mid corner resulting in the back-end of the BMW going into 60 degree slide then finally me realise and catching the slide with opposite lock and powering out of the corner.

I looked over to Geraldine and said ‘Do not worry I will make sure we will stay on track as I know you have two kids but I will be pushing it hard’. I proceed to get use to the 335i making sure I was getting the most out of the turbocharged 3 litre in-line six developing 300bhp and 300lb ft of torque to tail happy rear wheels. It was quite tricky getting used it due to the conditions of the track and the seat time I would have.

This is what made it way more fun than the Merc or Audi as you the driver had to work learn the cars behaviour and find the levels of grip instead of the electronic nannies and clever four-wheel drive vectoring power behind the senses.

The BMW was the quickest on the back straight with an indicated 160kph but the brake pedal feel was worrying as the consecutive pounding was showing in my time around in the track. Minor grumble as this isn’t a fully fledged skunk works of the M division unlike the RS & AMG as I am sure the forthcoming M3 would have power slided to victory.

Time was now running short and I had to make a tough decision drive the Panamera GTS with Ferocious V8 putting out 430BHP or jump into the Porsche GT3 RS for some hot laps.

By the time I had decided to take the GTS some had nicked it from me so GT3 RS was awaiting me to dawn a racing helmet and to climb through the full roll cage to hunker down into the racing bucket seats. I gave the thumbs ups to the driver who actually worked for Continental on tyre development. Off we went and hell he could drive with his braking and feeding the power in and never letting the power being wasted even in the wet. Not once did miss a clipping point or apex and he drove the GT3 RS like the track was dry. The GT3 RS was fitted with Conti Force Contacts.

I was told later he is very fuss about driving as drove the track first early in the morning and adjusted his tyre pressures then went back out again. When it rained during the day he took it out again to find the better line in the wet and adjusted the pressures again. I got told by the guys that Mercedes C63 AMG would have been out today buy didn’t due to the rain as it would be too lairy, plus the other day one person decided to leave the track in one and go off-road. Typical I have always wanted to drive one as well.

The next experience was up next called ‘Chill Out’ but I didn’t think we would be literary chilling out as we were taken into the where the winter tyres were tested. It was freezing in the testing area and we were told now how a winter tyre were made.

The silica is key to grip in temperatures below 7 degrees due to the properties of it being a soft compound and the tyres have snipes/groves to increase traction on snow or ice. Continental had a novel way of showing you the difference between a normal tyre and winter tyre with slippers.

Yes slippers!!! They had made slippers out of a tyre which looked amazing when you flipped them over – 1 slipper was a normal tyre and the other made of a winter tyre We all rolled out to get our slippers on to the long sheet of ice and you felt straight away when you stepped on the ice with one leg sliding forward to rip your trouser and your other leg staying put like it was glued to the floor.

My left leg had a mind of its own on the ice and it was good thing I wore slightly baggy chinos at the time.

The day was coming to close at 5 and we were all called back to the press room where last parts of the brand experience would happen. We would sit down and listen about Continentals history and developments/partnerships through a presentations.

We learnt how Adidas approached Continental for their expertise to develop a outsole with a strong grip ideal for trail and outdoor sports shoes. The first range of trainers with Continental technology was the Adidas SuperNova Riot 3, featuring Continental’s Traction Compound Technology – which allows confident grip on all surfaces and conditions. Continental has strong brand relations within football industry with sponsoring the UEFA Euro 2012, FIFA World cups and Champions league.

Now most recently with St. George’s Park, the national football centre in Burton-upon-Trent. The new partnership will see Continental Tyres become an ‘Official Supporting Partner’ of St. George’s Park.

With a focus on preparation for driving performance, the Continental presence at the National Football Centre will include a 60-metre indoor ‘high performance’ running track, a goalkeeping ‘stopping zone’ and a bespoke ContiWarmUp area to enable all players to prepare before a game or training session. I have personally visted the grounds and I was genuinely astonished how gigantic they place. You have to drive down a short road network and then it all opens out to Hilton Hotel and the training grounds with 5 areas of parking. Continental has been a partner in excellence with Mercedes-Benz World Brooklands by supplying them with tyres for both on and off-road driving experiences. The Brooklands site offers an interactive world full of the passion, heritage, values and innovation of the Mercedes-Benz brand. These include a wet circle and a 10-acre off-road course, a high-speed handling circuit and acceleration and braking strips.

I missed the chance at going to an event there as I have friend who is driving instructor who works at the Brooklands site. He messages me every now and then with pictures of what he will be driving today!!! I got jealous when he said I have driven the Black series AMG C Class and we have the SLS AMG Black series coming soon to which I will be putting it through it paces! : O

The final presentation of the day was about all the compounds that go into a tyre and how some are natural, synthetics, oils, rubber and how various elements are added to give the tyre compound different properties.

A tyre is a complex high-tech product made up of up to 15 different compounds.  Each compound contains 20 ingredients and up to 30 different components. The tyre is not just made up of rubber compounds; engineers also employ reinforcing materials such as nylon, polyester, rayon and steel to perform varying functions depending on where they are used. For example, nylon and steel cords are used under the tread to restrict tyre distortion and minimise heat build-up in the tyre, whereas rayon or polyester is used in the plies to withstand the inflation pressure of the tyre.

The brand experience was over so we headed back into the coach and head back to the hotel to freshen up for all us to head back out to have dinner together. We went to a local restaurant in Hanover which was couple of kms away which was nice and where I spoke with other motoring journalist about the experience we had during the day and the other events they had been to. It was a pleasant way to end the antics over the 3 days. Thank you Continental for inviting me and I had good laugh on the experience and went away with in-depth knowledge about tyres and stories to tell for years to come. But don’t worry Germany I will be coming back soon….

Next Blog Post: Cooper S Roadster Review 

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The post Continental Brand Experience: The Contidrom Part 2 appeared first on JCW Adventures.

I had written to Continental on the off-chance I would be able to see their facilities and they obliged by inviting me down to their Brand Experience and they would be paying for everything with flights, hotel etc.

I received their email back within 24 hours saying I was going which was fantastic given I would turn 24 and then 2 weeks later be heading to Germany : D

One week before leaving I would make a small trip down to Northampton to meet another MINI Looney – Simone aka Work experience girl and her unique R50 Cooper ‘Mimi’

I had only seen her MINI on instagram and it has always been amazing to meet my followers who are now like family to me.

Why is her MINI so unique given its Orciari Bodykit which I had never heard of or seen in my life

It’s now sitting on Coilovers suspension with Porsche D90s rims going on very soon

I have been into the ‘Low N Slow’ or ‘Hella Flush’ look as it’s not performance orientated but after sitting in her ‘Mimi’ I was shocked how good it rode. Thats the day my coilover fund began for GP suspension/B14 Bilstein as I wouldn’t mind my JCW sitting 15mm lower for better handling and ride.

I made a bet with Monie that if she got a certain job I would allow her to drive my JCW. Guess what she got that job : /

I hand her the keys after she beat up me and she loved every second driving my JCW at some speed around an industrial estate.

Had such a laugh up in Northampton with her & Matt who made me feel so welcome and it felt like we are like old mates catching up

It still amazes how my MINI has introduced me to the most amazing people ever!!!

Before I headed out I dropped my JCW off to Midlands Car Care to be detailed whilst away as too many cheap hand car & dealer washes had dulled the shine on the metallic eclipse grey paint.

I had seen Russ’ work first had whilst visiting him before to get quotations and recommendations on the work i should i get down. When I was down the local Phantom Drophead Coupe was there and it seems like every Ford Focus RS ever made gets detailed there

My JCW would be getting a full paint correction, dent/chip removal and C Quartz protection. I looked forwarded to the results when I came back and forecast was good on the day I came back – Sunny 16 degrees which is classified as take your top off in the UK

I got dropped off by one of  Russ’ detailers in an Audi A3 which is sooo low we scrapped a few times on the drive back to my house.

I started on packaging everything and making sure everything was charged for trip as I wanted to capture all the moments and report back everything back to my readers. All done off I went to sleep

The day dawned and I had to catch this long tubey metal thing called a Train to London Heathrow. Wheeling my suitcase I took to MINI UNITED 2012 with my MINI Dog Tag on it I waited for the train to arrive so the journey could begin. It actually arrived on time and I settled into my seat and popped on my headphones to zone out House of Balloons by The Weeknd.

With the train stopping at Paddington station and then I jumped through the underground system to get to Heathrow connect line. I was hungry at this time and fancied some nom nom so off I head to search for a restaurant in London Heathrow – decided on this Italian cafe and ordered a tuna wrap with fries and some pepsi.

With checking time nearing I head back to check myself in and to see who I would be going with on the plane.

I met up with a few traders and motoring journalists in the departure lounge and introduced myself. There was a few from Ireland but this one guy called Sean was hilarious with him cracking jokes all the time and selling stuff as he seemed to know a guy for everything.

We boarded on the Airbus A320 and waved the UK goodbye for motoring testing shenanigans

A few hours later we landed in Germany and went through customs and collected our bags to be greeted by Mark aka Continental Man to usher us on to the coach to depart to our hotel.

Whilst on the coach it was interesting viewing look at Germany architecture with everything clearly being built to last with stone building and open green spaces around homes. Everywhere I look there were German vehicles with VW, Audis, BMW everywhere and odd Europe car. Their dealerships were MASSIVE I guess stock or choice isn’t a problem there.

Our coach pulled up Courtyard Marriott Maschese Hotel which would be home for our short stay in Germany. We collected our bags and we were guided to into the conference room to be briefed about our stay and given our keys to our rooms.

Once briefed it was time for some nom nom and I picked grilled salmon, steamed vegetables and slice of whole grain bread from the buffet and enjoyed the view whilst the sunset on the day in Hanover.

At this time I bumped into another one of my Instragram follower Martyn Collins who is actually a Motoring Journalist and owner of the original GP. We had some interesting conversations over dinner and all the events he had been to and then a whole load of MINI talk.

Later I retired to my room to dump my bags up in my room and put my cameras on charge for tomorrows Hooniganism. I head back to meet up with everyone at the open bar we had to talk and learn about motoring journalism. We had some great debates about the industry, how cars have changed over the ages and various press/launch events. Also for me to talk about my JCW and the shenanigans and events I get up to.

Whilst at our table and enjoying our drinks and laughing away, the lovely Lorna came up to me to ask if she could borrow my Infamous hat for some piccies. I obliged as I laughed but didn’t want to be in any pics given my hat hair. We talked for a while about what we would get up to in the morning on the Contidrom visit and she made it sound epic with the tasty motors we would driving.

It was prompt start in the morning with me heading down at 8:30 am for breakfast and then to collect my Continental lanyard with itinerary on back along with a press pack memory stick.

On to the coach to head Continental’s Test facilities called the Contidrom. We then taking into the briefing room to have some light breakfast snacks and juices. We were given overview of brands history and developments through their 140 years in business. We were spilt up in groups and I was in the Red group.

Immaculate VW Camper Van

Here are some Facts for you

Continental is more than just a tyre manufacturer

1.  Continental is one of the top 3 automotive suppliers in the world
2.  Continental is spilt into 5 divisions – Chassis & Safety, Interior, Power Train, Tyres and Contitech
3. Over 170,000 employees worldwide
4. 291 Locations in 46 Countries

We were bundled into blacked out VW Transporters to our first station which was ‘The Future in Motion’ I thought this would marketing spiel but then after a short ride I saw VW Passat CC, Porsche Panamera and Renault Fluence EV all lined up the grass with Toyota IQ sitting by the white tent.

There was no messing around and we headed into the normal look Passat with a vinyl saying ‘Simplify your drive’ but once inside the dash was a LCD screen with buttons on the right. The tech guy spoke about continental makes various vehicle parts ranging from dashboards to ECU calibrations.

The idea was to showcase how continentals systems could fundamentally changed the cars feel and drive ability. Hit the prancing horse for sport mode the ride instantly firmed up, the throttle and steering became sharp and it blipped down two gears. I was shocked as I drove as car felt completely different as the body roll reduced and I felt the road more plus it made some naughty noises on the up shifts and down shifts.

As you can guess the feather turned the car into wafting car with the suspension absorbing the bumps the DSG box finding the higher gear to make it silent in the cabin with the throttle and steering slacking but still responsive to inputs.

Last but not least was the Flower button which ECO mode which made it near on impossible to stamp on the gas pedal as felt like it pushing your leg back saying if you press down on me again I will set off the airbag in your face.

This time I was chauffeured like A BOSSSSSS in Panamera which was fitted with Continentals air suspension which could drop and raise the height of the car by 20mm at a stand still or on the move.  The difference was apparent from the back seat as we hit the oval track and when going over the varied road surface which included the lovely cobbled surface. Even its sport setting it wasn’t off-putting but you knew that it soaking the bumps well.

Next up was an education of the tyres & air pressures sensors on cars and most people don’t have clue what pressure their tyres should be and rarely check their pressures. Modern air pressures are lacking technology to be fair with them only ever telling you they are low when hit a certain threshold by then you wasted fuel and increased wear on a under-inflated tyre.

Continental developed at sensor which would inside the tyre which would rely information to an app or in-car systems to inform you of your tyre pressure and even send you a message if one tyre was loosing pressure. Another way of integrating it into the Toyota IQ would to have car flash or horn when the correct tyre pressure was reached when you fill your tyres with air. I would personally welcome this tech as I have come back to my MINI to find I had a slow puncture but having this system I could have been pre-warned about checking my tyre and even ask for mobile tyre fitter to come to my work to check or replace my tyre.

Now for a step into the Future with the Renault’s EV

A problem that has plagued all EVs is it range and finding a source to charge up. The idea of conti’s system was to increase the range of the car by shutting down systems within the vehicle on low power and the sat nav to take you charge or even the car to inform you inside or by a message the car is low on juice. The proposal wasn’t world change technology but a common sense approach of how to get driver home or safely to a charge without it dying out on you – As always the greatest ideas are simplest ideas.

Back into the transporters we went for the next stage called ‘Mixed Up’ where I would be in my element with MINIs on a wet handling pad.

I went to the right side of the door of the MINI to find no steering wheel, so I went to the other side of the MINI Cooper D. All 3 of the MINIs looked the same but when you saw the lower graphics down the side everything made sense -The idea was to showcase not mix tyres or makes.

Mixed Tyres – Continentals upfront and cheap imports on the back

The first MINI had Continentals with an Asian import tyre on the back. There was a radio inside the car and guy on the other end guiding you in what to do. It felt weird changing gear with my right hand but I wouldn’t need to change-up or down on the wet handling track. I built up my speed on the oval pad and the back-end slid out around 30 kph as I turned for some sideways Hoonage.

As much as I was giggling and holding the slide this would be dangerous on the public roads as they are not always smooth and there obstacles and traffic so the room to correct or recover from a slide is down to a bit of luck and driving ability.

The second MINI had the cheap imports upfront with contis on the back but this time the handling was the direct opposite with the massive under steer occurring with the only way to correct it was too slow right down to get it turn properly. It’s interesting to see how on these two tests how the continental tyre is doing its up most to keep you on the road while the import tyre is trying to kill anyway it can.

The last two MINI was fitted with either 4mm or 8mm continentals upfront and 8 or 4mm on the back. All I wanted to was it to get it lift off over steer and god how I tried but it refused me to even with a Scandinavian flick but the ESP kicked when I did that. The contis just gripped and gripped the harder I pushed with me literally falling on of the seat before I could reach the limits of grip.

After all this madness we went cold down in the white tent and they informed about the limits of grip and how continental develops it tyres – how the tread pattern and compounds make a difference. The clear advice from this test was not to buy cheap tyres and if you need to change only two tyres on your car make sure you put the new tyres on the back because in the event of you losing control of the vehicle you will be correct it more easily and your less likely to aquaplane.

If you compare 4mm continental tyre to 8mm import tyre on this test it clearly show how it still trying to keep you on the road while the import tyre is not even working when it’s at optimum thread. Therefore for the sake of £20-30 more per corner having better tyre is always best as it only thing that keeps you on the road.

Continentals crown jewel was up next, the award-winning AIBA (Automated Indoor Braking Analyser) which is the world’s first fully automated weather independent tyres testing facility. This was the only place where camera were not allowed given the technology in this room and we were the only people outside of continental who had ever been access to AIBA.

AIBA is housed in a hall which is 300 metres long and up to 30 metres wide. It allows fully automated unmanned testing all year around irrespective of weather with testing being able to done both in wet and dry road surfaces. The facility has the capacity to carry out 100,000 individual braking procedures on wet or dry interchangeable road surfaces at different temperatures hot or cold without human error for optimum precision.

I was astonished by how they could interchange the road surfaces at push of a button to a different road surfaces such as a poorly surfaced road or smooth autobahn service. If thought that was mind-blowing they accelerated the vehicles on high-tech roller coasters which can linearly accelerate anything from VW Golf to 3 tonne Truck from 0-100 Km/h (62mph) in 4 seconds.

I got a real insight into Continental during the first half of the day. This behind the scene look showed me how day in and day out continental tyres are doing everything to keep you on the road.

There is still more to come in the part 2 of my visit to the Contidrom and there is more things to come like High speed testing and shenanigans on track

Next Blog Post: Continental Brand Experience: The Contidrom Part 2

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Back to my Uni days where all the MINI Madness began

My Dad brought me my true first car

It was an REAL upgrade from my mum’s Honda Civic that I drove after I past my test

Lets say I wasn’t a good drive then with the only panel that was not dented was the roof once I was finished

My VTEC just kick in yoooo days were over!

I was handed the keys to my brand new Midnight Black R56 MINI One

There wasn’t much options on it and it had the 1.4L engine with 89 BHP

She sat on 16′ R94 Bridge Spokes and 0 to 60 came in at 10 seconds

Even thought she wasn’t the quickest, the handling was on another level and working the gears I was able to give a few quicker cars the slip on the bends

This is the car where I honed my driving skills and techniques like double clutching, rev matching down shifts and the ladies favourite hand brake turns

Forwarding a bit I just turned 20 and partied away night away with my uni friends

How I miss days where it was all partying and not having a care in the world

I found out that about something called MINI UNITED and that MINI would be celebrating its 50th Anniversary

This would be my 1st MINI Adventure and I don’t think I could have had a better start

I was sooo excited as it was it Silverstone and it would be my 1st track time & MINI event

I cleaned and waxed my MINI already for MINI UNITED

Before you all go mental about all the chrome – Chrome was COOL in 2009

At this time I hadn’t taken my MINI on the motorway or driven on the motorway for a great lengths so I was nervous about it all

Simon my close friend eased my through it all teaching me what I should be doing on the motorway

The closer we got to Silverstone the more excited i got with other MINIs flashing and horning as they drove past

I miss how back then when you saw another MINI they would flash & wave : (

We rolled up to the Silverstone gates and parked up to get our freebies

The 50th anniversary lanyard and bits where Uber cool making you feel that much more special for being there and owning a MINI

We jumped back into the car and drove over the hill at Silverstone to be greeted with sight of thousands of MINIs parked up from all over the world

I had never seen so many MINIs in my life

I parked up again and this time to the obligatory car and driver shot for memories sake

We walked around look at all the MINIs that come down

I was shocked to see so many foreign MINI with cars from France, Spain, Russia, Poland, Germany

We carried on walking spotting out Foreign MINIs and custom work they had done to them with the paint work

I saw this MINI GP with a Matt Black Body & Carbon Fibre roof wrap with Lime green viper stripes – Still not sure to this day whether it looked good or not

We came across this stage in the main area where MINIs would drive up and the owner would talk about their MINI & their story

There were two ladies from Russia who drove down and it took them a week and over 3,000km!!

Little did I know I would meet them again at MINI UNITED 2012

As it was MINI’s birthday!! It wouldn’t be right not to write it a little message

There was plently to with all with the MINI Merchandise shops and MINI Clubs to join

You could pull a MINI if you fancied

I was more of relaxed with the DJ playing some good sets

Back then one of past times was to DJ so I had to get a shot with DJ stand

There was one tent at MINI UNITED which drew my attention the most

I didn’t know that MINI did a one make racing series and it was amazing that you could walk around this area and look at all mechanics working on the cars

Never seen people move so fast working on car and they were all happy to talk to you as well

This got me all excited and I wanted a JCW – This was the day the saving pot for my JCW began

I was told you could race your MINI on the track which I jumped at it

After a safety briefing detailing over view of the track, racing line and safety we headed down to the track

My MINI was a little overpowered by the opposition

Simon didn’t come with me the first go around as he was a bit dubious of my driving but took some shots as I went around

The 2nd time around simon came around with and guided me on how to drive fast on the track. He had some track time before and had his fair share of fast cars ranging from fast fords to V12 jags

We managed to keep up with the coopers and you should have seen the grin on my face

This is the day Simon appointed the nickname of Rally Ali to me 

After the R56 & I cooled down we headed back to look around the collection of MINIs on show

The Monte Carlo winning rally MINI was there with the MINI Challenge race car

Mr Beans & Paul Smith mini were present

But I loved this Girlie Cop Clubman

I had a fantastic day out and couldn’t wait till the next MINI UNITED

Still remember this event like yesterday and it always brings back many smiles & smerks

Early 2013 I bumped in my 1st Car & MINI : D

Still miss that MINI

I know a few of you went to MINI UNITED 2009 – Why not share your memories in the comments

Next Blog Post: MINI MARCH

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The post MINI UNITED 2009: MINI’s 50th Anniversary appeared first on JCW Adventures.

This was it for the SNM gang as they headed back to the UK while me and Tom headed to Paris for some sight seeing.

We said our goodbyes and headed into Rush hour French traffic with my EYES WIDE open as I saw a few cars with some dents.

Nous sommes arrives en Paris to which it was raining and the roads where all funny with faded arrows and not knowing which lane to be in for turnings or to go straight on. I solved this problem with my right foot : p

I have to say the JCW did sound really good in Paris because the exhaust note was bouncing off all the tight alley ways and roads hehehe

Tom was looking at the TomTom to see exactly where our hotel would be. Good thing to as I was rusty on my French vocabulary plus I had 3 Toms in the car lol

We had to stop to ask for the road as the 3 Toms couldn’t find the hotel but we knew we where close. After getting some directions we had to find a place to park as i booked the hotel because i knew there was a underground parking near by. Having found the car park we unloaded all our stuff and tucked my JCW in for long deserved rest.

Hotel Mistral in Paris would home for the next 2 nights. I booked it for a old school French vibe and plus it was 10 minutes walk to the train station.

Next on the list was getting some food!!! I get hungry every two hours and it had been a few hours drive so my tank was on empty. We found a local takeaway place where we both order a full platter of lamp chops, chicken fillets, chicken tikka, plain rice, peri-peri rice, salad with chips.

With food devoured like cavemen, we headed to the train station to check out the sites on foot. The train station looked amazing itself with it architecture, statues and clock tower.

Its GO GO GO for the Paris Grand Prix

We looped around the roads near out hotel and me being a car loony i loved the chequered road markings. It just made we wana take the JCW out and join the Paris Midnight Club to race between the lights.

Walked on down La Rue De La Paix to see the momentum

We came across this majestic Cathedral

I came across this cheeky bit of French Graffiti/Street tagging

I noticed in Paris there was an awful lot of restaurants and it always hard to pick a place to go to eat. But me and tom decided that night to get some Chinese food before midnight before everything shut. The restaurant had this awesome Purple lighting you seeing in clubs in the movies.

Morning came and it was time to explore Paris with the Tour bus heading over the river Seine where we given insight into Paris making and history over earphones. There was a library with was shaped as an open book.

We passed some beautiful building and i noticed that French building has a real presence about them with a Victorian Royal stone feel to them.

There is something about the air there and the vibe i was getting from the people and atmosphere as tourists and residence went about their business.

We got off the tour bus to grab some breakfast in a cafe. I thought it was the coolest thing about the cafe was the menu was done in a layout of a new paper.

With my hot chocolate drank we headed back on the next tour bus which headed to the Infamous Arc De Triomphe which was like close quarter battle with cars entering at every exit and darting between each other.

The bus went around the famous French Art gallery Louvre then on to Place de la Concorde is at the foot of the Champs-Élysées, built as the “Place Louis XV”, site of the infamous guillotine.

The Egyptian obelisk is Paris’ “oldest monument”

I am sure you can guess what came next…

The Eiffel Tower which was erected in 1889. Its primary use was for science experiments and in 1910 – Father Theodor Wulf measured radiant energy at the top and bottom of the tower. He found more at the top than expected, incidentally discovering what are today known as cosmic rays.

We got off the bus and headed to the Top of the Eiffel tower to which i wanted to do but i am not a fan of heights you see

What cant tell from this picture of me. I am holding on the side rail like Lord Dark Vader with a Death Grip

The View from the Top was EPIC!!!!!

Then we went shopping like two little girls buying everything we liked

This where I brought my Infamous Black Hat

Some say he wears it to look mischievous

And that given the chance he will chat you up

All we know he drives JCW

The real reason why I brought it because i was in the fashion capital of the world and i wanted take some style with me. There is something about that Hat when i wear it my alter ego/persona is amplified!!!

You have been warned!!!

As the sunset in Paris we knew our time in France would be over the next morning so we snapped up all of Paris with our iPhones and headed back to our Hotel.

Bye Bye France

All packed and ready to leave the next morning we took the JCW out of the underground car park and headed for the Channel Tunnel. Thinking about all the memories we had made at MINI UNITED with people who never met before and laughed all the way back.

Our MINI Adventure was over and Tom would be heading back to China after this trip but the MINI Adventures would continue for me…

Thank you France, MINI & BT11 WRK for making this the best moment in my life. For creating these memories I will cherish forever with people who mean the world to me now.

Thank you for being apart of My MINI Adventure

“Money comes and goes, But Memories are forever” – Ali Mir

DropBox Link for more Pictures – https://www.dropbox.com/home/Public/MINI%20In%20Paris

Next Post MINI Festival Brands Hatch 

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The post MINI In Paris appeared first on JCW Adventures.

With a Few millimetres burnt off my tyres from The Track Day at MINI UNITED and still BUZZIN from lasts nite Concert.

I rolled out of bed and gathered myself for the next day of MINI UNITED!!!!!

After yesterdays MINI MADNESS i want MORE!!!!!

Sadly i got PULLED OVER by the Police

I JOKE it was only the MINI CARE POLICE

They pulled me to the side and gave me a ticket to get my MINI washed

By some lovely ladies in MINI Tops & Shorts

MINI Care Car Wash

But this didnt stop them getting the batons out & handcuffs out LOL

They Finally caught me

I signed myself to test drive the JCW Coupe and to my amusement it was left hand drive

I have never shifted with my Right Hand and instructor who came out with me had to shift for me as i was messin it up quite abit – Sworrrriiii  BY-856-BH

JCW Coupe

He didnt like the way i drove either saying i was driving too fast!!! I told him this is how you drive a JCW lol

I know a few people off the web and on instragram and i actually bumped into one of my followers – Matteo Ziccardi from Italy

He drove down in his Cooper S with Challenge Number & Stripes with Blacked out Chrome trim & Headlights finished off with Red Plastic Dipped JCW wheels

Matt’s Cooper S

Matt’s Cooper S with Red Rims

Bellissimo

Whilst meeting and talking to Matt & his sister (Matilde) there were was this Tasty JCW Coupe which was just EPIC with full carbon trim inside & out, Bigger Wheels, Recaros with Sabelt seabelts, Go Faster JCW Side Stripe, Rear diffuser and awesome Akrapovic Exhaust with Carbon Trim

JCW Coupe Ready for Track Time

JCW Coupe Interior

I cant begin to think how much he spend on his JCW Coupe given it was only out barely 2 months ago

JCW Coupe

I actually bumped into another one of my MINI MATES – Claudia from Germany with her Matt Purple Cooper S, which i think is just a show stopper (I have a thing for the colour PURPLE)

Claudia’s Matt Purple Cooper S

I walked on to the Motor Sport section of MINI UNITED to find the MINI E Race car which was the fastest Electric car around the Nurburgring at the time.

MINI E Racecar

Next was the Dakar Rally Countryman MINIs which has some serious kit on them

I was fascinated by the suspensions and shocks on them with the level of travel and they genuinely looked cool at the same time – Form & Function

Next to them were the Countryman Rally cars which were so clean which is strange given they were bash around the nastiest roads in all kinds of weather.

MINI Rally Car

I was impressed my the figures they were pushing out of the Countyman and my god the noise they make was Ear Bursting loud to which i enjoyed and asked if they had a spare exhaust lying about, sadly i couldn’t blag one this time

MINI Rally Car Engine

They has all the parts the rally cars ran in a booth next to it ranging from a Rear Carbon Wing to spiked tyres.

Out side in the heat was this JCW Coupe Race car for 24 Hour of the Nurburgring with a Matt Black paint job with Mooosive Front Splitter, Rear Diffuser & Rear wing

JCW Coupe Racecar

I was fortunate enough to hear Rauno Aaltonen and Paddy Hopkirk speaking about their LEGENDARY win at the Monte Carlo rally as well as the MINI Rally & Dakar Drivers

MINI Motorsport Drivers

It was amazing finally seeing them and speaking with them in real life as i they are always at shows or promoting the Brand but I never got close to them.

We managed to get their autographs and have a chat with them

Garry got his Monte Carlo speeding ticket signed by them whilst Christine got her driving license signed

On the 2nd Day of MINI UNITED the new GP was unveiled to the world

MINI GP

Sadly wasnt impressed by it given it didnt look as special as the last GP which was made by Bertone in Italy which custom parts, whilst the new GP didnt look that much different from a regular JCW

However i did like the touches such the 6 pot calipers up front, Carbon rear wing and rear diffuser. Alot the development went into the suspension and aero of the car to which is why its so fast around the Nurburgring at 8:23 Minutes. I am actually tempted to get the GP under tray put on the my JCW due to it significantly decreasing rear lift

I later learnt my local dealer will have one in as Dawn asked me for some pics and what i thought of it as she took an order & deposit for one for a customer who had never seen it

I went to get my carbon handbrake and gaitor fitted sadly they the MINI team there didnt know how to do and kind of broke my handbrake.

With this happening i was annoyed given that it happened but it was resolved quickly by Stefan who managed to sweeten me up with some FREE SWAG & hot passenger laps in the MINI Challenge Race car.

With the day closing we headed back to the Villa for a quick dip in the pool and BBQ.

BBQ at the Villa

We talked about the new GP and I wanted everyone to come this time to the concert as it was such a laugh. After hyping everyone up, all the guys jumped into my JCW whilst and the Girlies jumped into Mrs MINI (Janet) Cooper S with the Bandit at the wheel (Phil – Janet’s Husband)

Christine brought her ‘Special Orange juice’ with her which was more like 2% orange juice and 98% vodka or something. She was giggling and merry all night with Janet, Nicole and everyone.

This actually a night to remember as Gossip and The Ting Tings where playing. The Gossip rocked it out and The Tings Tings SMASHED IT!!!

The Ting Tings rocking it out

They had me dancing away all night with Fast Five and we made some more friends that night with some local people and i met the beautiful Mika Romeo a local girl who was training to be a nurse. She was an absolute stunner and spoke every good english and we had a right giggle together.

We bumped into the Belgium group again and made even more M&Ms that night (MINI MATES).

This is why i love the brand, it brings people from all corners of the globe regardless of religion, faith, nationality or cast all together.

We stayed to the end of the concert where 3 DJs spun their decks all together at once for a serious set of dance & dub-step tunes. We headed back down the hills to back to Villa for the Final day of MINI UNITED tomorrow which was Bitter sweet.

This was our final day at the Villa and MINI UNITED : (

We headed out in convoy to Paul Ricard circuit for the last time

Today was my Hot Lap in the Challenge Car which is essentially my JCW just stripped with a roll cage, front splitter and rear wing.

MINI Challenge Car

I popped on my flame proof mask and racing helmet and climbed into the floor sitting Bucket Recaros and I was strapped into the 6 point racing harness.

Rally Ali is Ready!

The driver was Henry Littig from Germany who runs in the MINI Challenge series and the very first thing i said him was “Dont hold back and just go flat out” which there was a polite hod.

I gave Henry the thumbs up I was ready to roll we rolled out the pits and the spilt second the pit light went off the Exhaust blarred out the exhausts fumes with a POP and we hurtled towards the 1st bend at 80mph!!!

I could barely hold on to my camera as the acceleration was so violent as dawned upon the 100m brake zone he didnt brake!!! Then the 50m marker came he didnt brake!!!! then a second later he slammed the brake pedal for a second shaving off some serious speed whilst throwing me forward hard against the harness. If that was enough he turned in for the bend and the grip was IMMENSE from the Dunlop slicks with held the asphalt like magnetic stuck down to the ground.

I have never EVER experience grip like that before and i was actually throw again to the side of the Recaros with my helmet hitting the side

We clipped the Apex and he bang through the gears like that were nothing and i thought he would brake for the next bend and HE DIDNT!!!! The Dunlops just gripped and gripped like we sucked to the floor

This was the best ride i have been in a car FULL STOP. I have driven some serious cars so far ranging from BMW M3s, Bentley Continentals, Porsches and a Lamborghini Gallardo but nothing compares to the way this MINI carried its SPEED, POWER & GRIP through the circuit like it was freight train.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and thank you Henry for nothing holding back, i loved every second of it!!!

Next on the list was get my handbrake sorted and my JCW Sidestripes fitted

The handbrake was fitted properly this time with the proxy resin glue used to hold it position.

Carbon Fibre Handbrake

I got the JCW Stripes fitted lower than normal because i thought they were a bit too high on the JCW Roadster I saw them on

JCW Side Stripes

The guys fitted them perfectly on my JCW and i was actually speechless when they showed when it was all done

JCW Side Stripe

It was a nice subtle decal which reminds me of the Porsche GT RS side stripe to finish off my JCW. Plus a few months on I am yet to see anyone with them on : )

I parked my JCW up against the Plane Hangar in the shade to find my 1st sad story at MINI UNITED, which was a R53 Cooper S from Russia whose Coil Pack had gone and they couldn’t do anything about it as dealerships were closed : (

R53 Cooper S From Russia With Love

I hope MINI can learn from this as they travelled all the way from Russia for these 3 Days and nothing could be done. I hope they bring a team with them next time with parts as likelihood of a MINI breaking down is possible. Plus performance parts or complicated parts couldnt fitted on MINIs which were brought at MINI UNITED due the team not having the experience which was a shame. But fair play to MINI any parts that were brought that could be fitted were fitted for FREE!!!

I went to check out the MINI Design section of MINI UNITED to see all the concepts MINI have came out with the Countryman, Clubvan and Paceman.

MINI ClubVan

I loved how MINI turned the Clubman into a van which i was telling my dad before I left for MINI UNITED that it would be a perfect 2nd car to lug around stuff in and it would be a MINI.

MINI Paceman

The Love the look of the Paceman with its Coupe like appearance which is vast improvement on the Countryman’s look.

There was this countryman where you could put your name or a message on and it was absolutely covered on the last day, the paint is actually ‘Blue’ on it.

Messaged Countryman

Our Final Hurray was on another track but not with a MINI but in Go Karts. This was the MOTHER OF ALL RACES with Honour, Respect & ENDLESS BRAGGING RIGHTS to THE END OF TIME on the line.

Garry, Me, Tom and Phil race prepared ourselves putting on our sexy hair nets then our helmets. Moby (Garry) was told to remove his saddles and told put some trainers which had seen better days.

We stared each other out and picked our weapons of choice and slid into the bucket seats of the Petrol Go Karts.  We given our racing instructions about the track and quick tips on how to drive them.

I wanted a Le Mans style starting but that wasn’t allowed but the marshalls started up the engines and we blipped our throttle whilst closing our visors.

We were off with Garry taking the lead with Phil not to far behind with me in a close 3rd and Tom somewhere behind us eating our dust (Actually he was doodling taking in the sites). As we learnt the track go around the 1st time, Phil was taking no prisoners hurtling at each corner at break neck speeds and clipping apexes.

Garry in the meantime was having a wardrobe misfunction with his hair net getting his eyes (He virtually has no hair). Typical racing driver excuses- told him not to use my L’Oreal shampoo in the morning.

This left a gap for me too sneak past and chase down Phil who had just started lapping people. I was giving it my all drafting the competition and sneaking in on the apex when they ran wide under my pressure.

I lapped Tom and had a quick chat with him as i passed him on the course. He was like a granny on electric scooter and told him to speed up.

Garry rejoined the race again after his issues with the hair net but to his misfortune Phil had some plans for his own. Lets just say there was some ‘slight rubbing’ which spun Garry out when Phil passed him.

Garry was out again and i was right up Phil behind on the last lap but it wasnt enough as couldnt make up the pace to overtake. I swear Phil must have down something to his Kart as he is a engineer/mechanic by trade.

Phil was victorious and the debate of the slight rubbing goes on to this day

This was the bitter sweet moment we headed back to the Villa and finished packing to leave and head back to the UK.

Our next stop was somewhere special in France where was a bridge which was actually designed by a British Architect

It was the The Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed road-bridge that spans the valley of the river Tarn near Millau in southern France. It is also the tallest bridge in the world with one mast’s summit at 343.0 metres (1,125 ft) above the base of the structure. The viaduct is part of the A75-A71 autoroute axis from Paris to Montpellier. Construction cost was approximately €400 million.

Once we reached the Viaduct we drove across it and it was like we driving through the clouds. We all parked up at the Viaduct Museum and went up the hill to take some snaps & videos of the breathtaking view of the bridge and the valley below.

Garry wanted to line up all our MINIs into a shot where the Viaduct could be seen. So we searched on the maps and on the Navs to find a spot.

Surrey New MINI at the Viaduct

In the end we found two good spots

Surrey Toy New MINI at the Viaduct

Our MINIs look like toy cars in the shots

With that Final visit done, we hit the toll roads and head to Dijon for overnight hotel where we met up with Mark & Ian for a nice dinner together. It was a nice final day together eating and sharing our laughs and stories over a beauty French food.

We actually bumped into a very interesting lorry driver on the way home, he was transporting the McLaren F1 Formula car to UK after it was finished being test in preparation to for the Monaco Grand Prix.

McLaren F1 Racing Truck

He said that the lorry drivers have competitions whilst they drive across the world to see who can use their brakes the less. He had only finished a set of brake pads after 4 years!!!

I had the time of my life with people i have never met in my life and they made me feel welcome into their little family and they became my family.

I genuinely love you guys & girls

Christine – Thank you for bringing me into the club and helping me out even when you can barely hear me. Sorry about speaking so fast on the phone all the time and thanks for all the PDFs & Check lists. I would have been a mess without you xxx

Garry – I love your witty charm and grin when we talk & the WC50 is truely a GREEN MONSTER

Janet & Phil – I appreciate you making me feel welcome and all the laughs we had. I hope some day my relationship with my partner will be like you two

Phil – Thanks for bringing all the stuff to MINI UNITED in your Clubbie and you are truely are  good mate to me. Your Clubbie sounds better than my JCW sometimes

Nicole – You were a great laugh on the trip and you put a smile on my face through out the stay

Ian – Thank you for helping me with my MINI passion and allowing Surrey New MINI to be platform to promote my blog

Mark – Thanks for all the giggles, laughs and support on the forums, Instragram and the blog ps I am slightly jealous you have a Hampton Clubman

Tom – You have become one of my closest friend and you have picked me up when I was down and I thank you

I dont think MINI UNITED would have been as LEGENDARY without you guys & girls

Surrey New MINI

This wasn’t the end for me & Tom as we wouldn’t be heading just home yet…

Videos

Monte Carlo Rally Drivers Interview on their infamous WIN – http://youtu.be/8yfkOxwEqc4

Entering the MINI CHALLENGE RACE CAR – http://youtu.be/CgkHtXkGk2o

HOT LAP IN THE MINI CHALLENGE RACE CAR – http://youtu.be/lRzMxZasmRE

JCW Side Stripes being Fitted – http://youtu.be/uTX6HKZKfDw

SNM Driving back to the UK – http://youtu.be/JC6jQVq4ECY

SNM Driving on The Millau Viaduct Bridge – http://youtu.be/XE2OKDTpggM

The Millau Viaduct Bridge – http://youtu.be/WvpUoXVfO2E

SNM Photoshoot at The Millau Viaduct – http://youtu.be/SdvnaAZ8OWM

Photos

DropBox Link

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ez5hf5otc4h03bh/aVhBprk7fa/MINI%20UNITED%20PART%202

Next Post MINI IN PARIS….

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The post The Road to MINI UNITED PART 3: The Final Lap appeared first on JCW Adventures.

The sun rose hitting our MINI Badges and there was a smell of burning rubber from last night.

The Fast Five left the hotel leaving and headed forth to the airport to pick up Nicole – Christine’s niece from the airport.

Back on the Toll roads which was great fun with the smooth asphalt and the booths to stop at then race off at full throttle, they never got boring.

Having picked up Nicole we headed into the horizon with our little wavy UK flag on our aerials. The destination was the Villa which would be our home for the next 4 days which was located only a 5 minutes away from MINI UNITED at the Paul Ricard Circuit.

Cruising in our convoy we passed numerous MINIs old and new to which we later met at MINI UNITED and spoke with the owners at let. More interestingly we spotted the MINI Trophy Truck on the motorway to which we honked our horns but didn’t get any reply : (

We got off the toll roads and hit the back roads for the nice scenic drive but more importantly for some French cuisine. We stumbled on this small French restaurant which its pebbled and stone car park.

I was sceptical about the food with me being all picky and i didn’t think French food would be that good. God how wrong i was about it all. I had a beautiful three course meal starting with a simple salad & some fresh baguette slices. The main was grilled fish with a white sauce and French gratin potatoes and a chocolate moose for desert.

All fuelled we headed to Villa passing some beautiful scenery along the river the flowed across this little town we passed threw.

The Villa stayed in was fantastic with 6 bedrooms, fine furnishing, swimming pool, BBQ and plenty of space to park all of our MINIs behind a motorised gate.

The next MINI Adventure was to head to Nice airport to pick up my friend Tom from China (close university friend of mine) then reach our the glamorous destination of Monaco.

There is even a MINI on the Nice Airport Parking Ticket : D

Having pick up at Nice Airport we headed to Monaco along the coast with 32 degrees heat with clear blue skies and clear water. We headed up the hills to Monaco and stares insued as we headed into Monaco in a convoy.

Nice’s Coast

We all eyed up the casino with Ferraris, Rolls Royce, Bentleys all lined up outside. We had a better location to head to being the Infamous Monaco tunnel. We all entered the tunnel with Garry’s WC50 aka The Green Monster leading the pack. We all gunned it down the tunnel only for Garry to get pulled over by a waiting officer with his hand out with a speed gun.

Monaco Police – License & Registration Please

We feared the worst as France has very strict laws on speeding with hefty on the spot fine. We heard over radios that the fine 2250 Euros over the radio thinking that everyone would have to chip in for the fine. To our amazement it was only 22.50 Euros plus Garry got a cheeky snap with officer who caught him.

SNM Crew on the Monaco Circuit

We parked our MINIs up along the Monaco grand Prix circuit to nose around and take some piccies. We adventured around Monaco looking for somewhere to eat but we stumbled upon a Ferrari Dealership.

We set next the circuit having our lunch with these little tinnie tiny deserts which were to die for.

We managed to drive all the way around the whole circuit but we tried to do some shots at the starting grind but we couldn’t do the traffic. So I decided to leave my own mark there by leaving some 11s on the starting grid.

The day had dawned and it was the 1st Day of MINI UNITED!!!!

So got up early and washed the car with the arsenal full of cleaning products and pressure washer and snowfoam lance from Phil’s Clubman.

Snowfoaming our MINIs for MINI UNITED

All cleaned and polished we head up the hills to the Paul Ricard Circuit seeing MINIs from all places of the global waving and honking their horns. Forgot what it was liked to receive a MINI Wave off another owner but then again i will always shout MINI!!!! when I see another MINI.

MINI UNITED 2012

We all rolled up on the circuit and parked up on the grass and walked to the Check In Hanger where we received your free MINI UNITED 2012 Lanyards, bottle of water and wrist bands. We then had to walk  the long way around into what was called the Blue Zone.

There was bit of pavement where we go write our names and where we came from in chalk and this were we bumped into a MINI Group from Turkey

MINI Club From Turkey

There was this AWESOME MINI Rickshaw it was a Cooper S with 17 Inch rims and full leather seats. It was actually quite little to roll about in as i took for a flying lap on the pavement and the turning circle is good as well only downside its powered by what you eat in the morning.

MINI Rickshaw

There was this GIANT SLINGSHOT with a MINI on it

MINI Slingshot

There was HUGE Concert stage and 3 White tents which a food court, bar, internet cafe, MINI Accessories & Parts shop, MINI Show room ranging from the Cooper to JCW Roadster.

Mini MINI Showroom & Accessories Store

This is where I met Stefan from MINI Belgium who was the manager of the parts department where i probably left a mark with him with my wit and legendary blagging skills. While i was at the MINI shops i brought the MINI Flap Clock, Some Tees, Carbon Fibre Handbrake, Alcantara gaiter for the handbrake and JCW Side Stripes.

We jumped at the chance to go into MINI that were DRIFTING!!!!!

Drifting a MINI you say. Yupp!!! Its done by having special tires on the rears whereby when you break the back end slips out making the MINI handle like a rear wheel drive car

Easy Drift Tyres

How much are these tyres? £1,000 EACH

DRIFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

We then had a good nose around looking at the MINI Collection ranging from R53 Carbon Fibre Roof Cooper S to Calvin Klein Countryman.

R53 with Carbon Fibre Roof

Calvin Klein MINI aka Drug Dealer ‘Car of the Year’

We booked some track time one with a control lap where there was a lead car who you followed but you were not allowed to overtake

This wasn’t even for me so i booked ‘Race Your MINI’ – what i call no holds barred racing where RallyAli comes out to which Garry wanted to see plus secretly he wanted to sit in my Recaros.

Sport Button Engaged and All electronics safety nannies switched off and as Colin McRae said “If In Doubt, Go Flat Out”

At the end of this madness my new tyres were tourched with serious scrubbing on the side walls and i must have worn off at least 2mm off a new set of tyres which my dad brought me as a going away present.

Sorry Dad : /

I clicked through the settings on my mini to see what mpg we were getting on the track

We got wait for it ……………………………………13MPG!!!!

After all this MINI Madness we headed back to the Villa for a swim in the pool and BBQ  NOM NOM NOM NOM

After all the mischief in the pool and nom nomin some good food. The Lads got ready for the 1st night of the Concert with Gossip, Iggy & The Stooges and Martin Solveig headling the nite.

Everyone jumped in my JCW as i dont drink and you should have seen everyone scrambling for a front seat in my JCW for the Recaros

With Harmon Kardon system blarring, windows down and exhaust note burbling we head up the hills to the Concert in 26 Degrees heat at 9 at night

Everyone got a little merry after a few drinks and we danced away with other MINI Owners and a small group from Belgium

MINI Concert

The concert was amazing with Martin Solveig having some serious skill on the decks at one point he was controlling 3 decks all the same time

Still buzzing after the concert, we all drove down the hills blaring some TUNEEEESSS.

We were stopped by the Police for a standard breathlyser test along with 5 other cars. The French police officer recognised it was UK car and moved to the right hand side of the car and politely asked to me breathe in the machine. I have never been asked to do one and he explained everything to me and asked where I had been. You should have seen his face when the machine came up with nothing. He must have thought it was broken and he spent the next 10 seconds checking it LOL

This was all done within 30 seconds if that with no attitude or anything. I have to add it was actually a nice experience to be fair. Hats off to the French Police they were very good, i wish UK Police were more like them. Even when I was told i could drive off he was still looking at the machine like it was broken.

With the 1st Day of MINI UNITED over I still couldn’t believe that I had drive 1,200 miles across another country I have never been before with people I have never met in my life and i was having the time of my life. I never of thought i could ever go to Monaco let alone drive around the circuit and meet all these MINI Owners from across the Globe and stay in a beautiful Villa.

I stayed up that night for a while looking outside my window thinking if I never had a MINI I would have never done any of this.

Surrey New MINI aka The Fast Five on the Monaco Circuit

Thank you BT11 WRK – Your worth every penny I spent on you

Video of Noisy SNM En route to MINI UNITED – http://youtu.be/NLImG3UYVZA

SNM Arriving at MINI UNITED – http://youtu.be/oL-xcLfTJrI

MINI Drifting Action – http://youtu.be/GbMAPDFTtHw

Parade Lap – http://youtu.be/M31r9JScssU

Racing my JCW – http://youtu.be/M470UnY0qVo

More Pictures of MINI UNITED 2012 – https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ez5hf5otc4h03bh/Yhk22N9Tzv/MINI%20UNITED

Next Post The Road to MINI UNITED PART 3 – The Final Lap

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With my Birthday just passed I turned 23 and a week later I would be travelling over 2,400 Miles off to Another country with 5 other MINI owners who I had never met before.

With the MINI Prepared more than me, I set off from my house and headed to Dover where I would meet the people I would be sharing this MINI Adventure with.

It was a long drive there so I set the cruise control on at 70mph and just relaxed with the Harman Kardon sound system providing the sound and the Recaros providing the comfort.

I drove past Oxford on the way to Dover with the beautiful yellow fields of buttercup flowers and windmill in one. Hopefully I would be taking my MINI one day to the place where it was born at the Oxford MINI Plant.

With miles racking up and the sunset in the UK the JCW was eating up the miles with ease. I hit the motorway here London Heathrow Terminal 5 and the traffic started to mount up on the 5 lanes with variable speed limits being imposed due traffic and accidents : /

Darkness fell and the Xenon lit up the road ahead of me perfectly given i had never driven so far south before. I called Christine to see how far they were from the Hotel and they had stopped for some dinner but would be setting off again in 20 minutes. Lets say i was lagging abit so SPORT BUTTON was engaged and every gap exploited for clean overtaking to maintain a constant velocity.

With only 5 miles remaining to the Hotel i thought i wouldn’t catch up but in the distance I saw familiar looking rear lights, so i put my foot down to catch up and it was Christine and Phill & Janet in their MINIs so i flashed and tucked in behind Janet’s Fully Loaded R53 Cooper S infront of Christine’s Tasty Hyper Blue LCI R56 JCW which had only 2,000 miles on the clock at time.

Christine’s JCW & Janet’s Cooper S

We parked up at the Hotel and spoke in the the lobby about each others MINIs, MINI UNITED and how each their journey had been.

The next day we all drove down in convoy to meet Garry with his WC50 at Dover where we would drive on cars on to the train to Channel Tunnel to enter France within 30 minutes. Garry’s WC50 is no ordinary JCW or WC50 by a long mile and earned its nickname of the ‘Green Monster’ during this MINI Adventure. With the stock look of an WC50 there is FMIC Intercooler, Sports Cat downpipe, Alta Blow off valve and remap which brings it up from the standard 208 BHP to 280 BHP & 320 Ft Lbs of Torque.

Garry’s WC50 aka ‘The Green Monster’

We lined up the cars to board the train to which would taking us to France in 30 minutes and then drove on to the train parked inside up whilst listening to the on-board safety announcements.

Boarding the Channel Tunnel Train

With this time we had onboard we spoke about each other MINIs and all the adventures they had and what mods they had done to their MINIs. These owners were all member of Surrey New Mini (SNM) who knew each previously but made me feel at home the moment i met them (they are like a second family to me now).

MINI Laughs all around with SNM Crew

We rolled into France and disembarked the train and reminded ourselves to drive on the wrong side of the road. Sat Navs set and Radios sorted Top Gear Road Trip style and we headed for our half way point hotel in Dijon to enroute to the Villa near MINI UNITED.

MINI Convoy

With being a national holiday when we arrived, the motorways were completely empty and we only passed one car after 2 hours of driving. We stopped at a service station to fill up the cars and grab a snack at which point we met up with another member of SNM – Phil with his Clean R56 Clubman Cooper S with JCW Exhaust system. All fuelled up and feed whilst causing a stir at the service station with all our MINIs we left to reach our hotel before night.

Phil’s Cooper S Clubman

We reached our hotel and freshen up only to find Ian (118) on SNM/TotalMini Forum Moderator and Mark from Ireland with his Uber cool MINI Hampton Edition Clubman arrive. I just adore the Hampton Edition with its Reef Blue metallic paint and the WHEELS with the burnished lip Damson Red touches centres. Its just not the exterior of the car i am mesmerised by its interior with the Lounge leather seats with Damson red piping and custom dash board trims make this MINI the apple of my eye. Given i have a soft spot for the Clubman and especially Hampton Edition would make a perfect 2nd car to me given i have driven a JCW Clubman extensively as well as the Hampton Clubman SD as a loan car.

Mark’s MINI Hampton Clubman

We all then went over the road from the hotel to a lovely little pizzeria where I introduced myself and my JCW. We had a beautiful meal sharing stories & few jokes and I made two new MINI Mates.

MINI Mates aka My M&Ms

This is the story so far!!!! Given I had just turned 23 travelled from the UK and into France with 5 people i have never met in my life. I was having the time of my life with people i wouldn’t have never met if i didnt have a MINI

SNM Crew Fly By with Their MINIs – http://youtu.be/WKdFUfQo_a8

The tagline for MINI UNITED 2012 sums everything up perfectly FRIENDS.FESTIVAL.RACING

Next Post The Road to MINI UNITED PART 2….

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