The centre stage was set already for these top marques to strut their stuff on the certain to get a look from lucky 5% of the world’s population who can afford them whilst the rest if us mere mortals sat there like patting dogs.

2009 was my 1st visit to the show in my JCW after it had been run in but this time I round my JCW has had alot of MINI adventures and is well know and adored by MINI owners across the globe.

I always get told by my work colleagues or people who know me that MINI should make their brand ambassador as fully distilled in lifestyle that is MINI. I am not gonna lie the JCW is always a talking point and some how I always wriggle in my MINI to any topic so I am really a self-confessed MINIac.

99.9% of any of my social media posts are about my MINI so it wasn’t hard for MINI UK to pick up my obsession so much so I was invited to attend the Festival of speed as a VIP guest and bring a few people with me.

I keep in regular contact with Christine all the time as we a good catch up and giggles on the weekend. I told her I managed to blag some more tickets for Goodwood and whether she would like to come with along with my younger sister and little brother.

She accepted and the stage was set for her to go her first festival of speed. We met up at a service station near by Goodwood estate so we drive in together in convoy. As we drove up together we met to what seemed like the sultan of Brunei’s car collection had come out to see who their new friends would be.

There were a lot of Porsches as we drove and parked up into our VIP parking. Here is a fun fact for you all – 80% of all Porsche 911s ever made are still on the road.

As I previously said the number of exotics, super cars and legends of the automotive world was staggering number but wait a second we were still in the park.

As we passed all the tasty exotics we were met with race cars legends ranging from rally cars to Le mans racers with the infamous Martini livery.

Bentley was showing off its return to Le mans bringing its two race cars which ran in the race in June (They weren’t washed).

Too be honest I think they were trying to show off as they brought their recently unveiled GT3 race car.

Porsche wasn’t too far behind all staged up with its race winning cars. Don’t quote me on this one but Porsche has won the most races overall in motor sport.

Then I spotted the uber rare M1 racecar which really got to perform on the track as race series it was built for stopped so BMW was left with a big bill. It was a troubled birth to begin with as Lamborghini was commissioned to build the cars for racing but conflict arose so BMW made the cars themselves. This BMW rarest car as road going cars were made due to homologations to which 209 were built.

Remember I told you all about Bert???

Yes Bertie that small little Mini cooper sport well it might be small but its mighty. Ian his owner decided to put his Mini in competition to win centre stage at the Goodwood festival of speed on the MINI stand.

Your never gonna guess what happened?

That little guy, no not Ian! Little Bertie won the competition and the minions from MINI gave him the call to tell him they would coming soon to pick him up.

Ian was given a loan car for the duration that Bert would be away which was amusing given Ian recently picked up his 5th MINI – Cooper S

You can clearly see he was jealous of my JCW colour and decided to copy me but give his own twist on the interior with toffee lounge leather. He has given his new MINI the name of chewie because it reminds him of chewbecca from star wars (He has a little plush toy to match which sits in his cup holder).

Bert was picked up bundled into a trailer for transportation to be detailed for his BIG day out on the MINI stand for the Goodwood festival of speed. Ian was given VIP hospitably by MINI UK whilst Bertie was under their car with photo shoots and very famous racing driver Paddy Hopkirk coming down to say Hi.

What do you mean this isn’t the 3rd Gen MINI??

I wasn’t gonna let Ian have all the fun!!! As we all know why you buy a MINI is to have fun behind the wheel. So we parked our bums in some of the MINIs line up of model with me looking at the JCW paceman thinking it need more power while my sister was dreaming of drop top posing in the Kite blue coupe. Little Adam was more bothered about jumping on the MINI bumper cars!!!

Yes you heard me right MINI bumper cars. Plenty of go with no need for insurance but the potential of mess hair and shaken brain topped with a BIG Grin on your face.

Well I let the kids so first as I didn’t want to show them up with my epic driving skills as I am gentleman racer which has nothing to the lovely ladies working on the MINI stand *PROMISE*

Little Adam was enjoying himself with the wind in hair and road rage activated. I guess you have to start from somewhere.

We weren’t the only loonies who wanted to join in on the fun as the whole Wacky racers crew came down to settle the score once and for all.

It was across the way to the BMW stand where M was the word with the M5, M6 & M135i taking front stage with the all new 435i M Sport lurking upstairs in the owners lounge.

Next is the upcoming sensation of 2014 the Alfa Romeo 4C with its light weight carbon fibre tub with 240 BHP rear wheel shenanigans which will see the brand win back heart of enthusiasts worldwide.

Remember you not a real car person until you own a Alfa….

There are a few brands which I hold dear to the petrol filled heart – MINI, BMW, Lotus, Porsche, Mercedes, Lamborghini and Pagani. So you guys and girls can now imagine what my ultimate seven-day car garage would look like.

I love the lunacy of the AMG marque as its like going out on a date with axe murderer in pinstriped suit. You know it looks dapper and will show you a good time whilst its drunk but it has all the power in the relationship, however don’t fall asleep before it does as you might not wake up.

Which neatly brings me on to the V8 C63 AMG which will be last hurrah for the V8 as the V6 twin turbo arrives in the next C Class AMG

I wouldn’t mind have a 507 Edition C63 AMG

Black Series, enough said…

You have all heard, watch and read about the Mercedes new offering in the hot hatch market with the CLA & A Class AMG.

I am not sold on the CLA visual appeal as it looks the designer finished his final look and some backed into the clay model. On the other hand the A class is the looker of the bunch and interior is beautifully finish with nice touches here and there but whatever you do not buy it in south sea metallic blue.

Its staggering how AMG’s first attempt at hot hatch market with 2 litre turbocharged engine that produces 360bhp and dispatches 0 to 60 in 4.6 seconds making it the quickest hot hatch you can buy.

You have seen it on Top Gear when Jezza took out this electric beast around the track with 4WD, 740bhp & 738lb ft – 0-62 mph in 3.9 secs , 155 mph, 155-mile range, 3 hr fast charge and 2110kg. Weight for the price tag – starts at €416,500.

SLS AMG Electric drive

As we headed out the Mercedes booth the red arrows had begun their display over head in formation and showing why they are the best at what they do.

The Italians didn’t like to be out shined by anyone and the prancing horse was out in force with the V12 F12 Berlinetta with the ludicrous 730bhp going to the rear wheels only. THE BRAVE MAY ONLY APPLY…

Ferrari had brought their ‘Entry’ level super cars with them

The land of the rising sun was there with some OOOOOOHHHH DRRRRIIIIIIIFFFFFTOOOOOOOOO  ACTION with the Toyota GT86

If you ever wondered why I say AHHHHH DRIFFFFTTOOOOO –

Here is what is happening in my head when I say it

Here in Great Britain we have our gentlemen racer and when we do drive ONE must take their time and enjoy the opulence. Once conditions are clear one puts down their right foot like a sir in the RR…

Wraith is the most powerful Rolls-Royce in history. Behind the deep-set Pantheon grille sits a potent 6.6 litre, twin turbo-charged V12 engine. Delivering 624 bhp with 800 Nm of torque, it powers from 0-60 mph in 4.6 seconds. Even with this formidable power, Wraith is every inch a refined Rolls-Royce with electronically controlled air suspension that creates the signature ‘magic carpet ride’.

If that much power wasn’t enough the land speed legends were soaking up the rays in the sun

The festival of speed is called this for no reason as there is little squiggle of tarmac called the Goodwood hill climb were the money is object supercars and exotic battle it out for the coveted King of the hill.

The first hyper car I was the Koenigsegg Agera whilst humming away at its idle with an AUDI R8 GT behind it taking in the exhaust fumes of Sweden’s finest.

The line up front was too bad either F12 on pole, Careera 4s and waving the British flag the Noble M600

The Mclaren boys were up next with MP4-12C, MP4-12C GT and the successor to the McLaren F1 the P1 was there to flex its power & F1 tech.

We moved from the new boys to the old but still gold warriors of the tarmac

It wouldn’t be true car show without a Bugatti

The V12 7 litre Jaguar XJR-9 Group C and XJ13

Ferrari 512 and 25O GTO

An early 911 in race spec

For my MERICA the Camaro

I had never heard or seen this BMW before but it hell is it a looker -1958 BMW 507

It was only fitting if there was an Mclaren F1 if its offspring were here

Salmon pink Bugatti Veyron – not sure what to think of it

Uber rare and under appreciated Porsche GT1

Still my all time fav the Ferrari F40

Mercedes 540K spezial roadster

Lamborghini countach  (The word Countach is italian slang word to describe a hot chick)

This was Porsche’s show so this year its was their sculpture dawning right into front of the goodwood house

Take a good look at this line up as this is all the models Lamborghini has ever made

As you all know we don’t truly group as all that happens is that our toys just get more expensive. What happens when I say this …and now here they are!!!! The most daredevil group of daffy drivers to ever whirl their wheels in the WACKY RACES. Competing for the title of worlds wackiest racer. The cars are approaching the starting line. 

Back to BIG BOY toys with the track star that is the 993 GT2

930 turbo flatnose called Flachbau in German, straight from the factory was offered as the ultimate 930 Turbo, the this model had an upgraded body and a 330 bhp engine. Costing nearly double the standard model, the Flachbau was rarely ordered. Before 1986, Porsche had offered the Flachbau body option out of its customer service department known as Sonderwunschen.

Despite the panels being slightly heavier, they were modeled after the 935 race car for top speed. The conversion required extended rocker panels, wider rear flares with scooped vents and flip-up headlights up front with functional louvres allowing a top speed of 171mph.

The Revtastic V10 Lexus LFA in the perfect colour – pearl blue

Nismo felted 370z

Track focued Jaguar XKR-S GT – that rear wing is not very jag like

Running Jaguar concept called Project 7

Aston Martin’s present to itself the CC100 speedster (Only two existence – 1 for Aston and one for deep pocketed customer)

Zeee Germans weren’t too far behind with their black magic SLS AMG Black series

Morgan Aeromax which was supposed to be a one-off but 100 were built given customer reaction (Hamster from Top Gear brought one – think it got written off in a 3 car pile)

Epic Clapton’s one-off Ferrari specially built homage to the 512 BB to which he has owned 3 but that’s not the only 3 to the story as it has been reportedly costed £3 million.

F12 berlinetta & 458 Italia spider

Another Italian stallion the Maserati Granturismo MC Stradale

Ruf GT5

The under appreciated Spyker C8 Aileron

Koenigsegg Agera

Close one of the M4-12C GT

Pagani Huayra

Peugeot Onyx concept

McLaren had its own stand with its road & race cars

Long tail Mclaren F1 in Gulf livery

Mclaren F1 LM

Mclaren P1

Formula 1 Mclaren

Porsche had its usual stand and grass area for the off road experience. The stand had all the Porsche through the ages.

That wraps up the day I spent at Goodwood with my veins filled up 99 octane fuel, my lungs filled with exhaust fumes and ears vibrating to the sounds of revving engines.Till next year Goodwood…

Next Blog Post: MITP 2013 – 1/4 Mile Heaven

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“All 1071 Cooper Ss are welcome and they will be given pride of place in a dedicated parking area by the main arena,” says event organiser Tony Salter.

There will also be a display of Cooper S models through the years from the earliest to the very latest MINI Cooper S.

Another annual Beaulieu attraction will be the rare collection of club members’ ex-Works and Special Tuning cars and coachbuilt classics from the likes of Radford and Wood & Pickett.

This another event I heard alot about by other members of Surrey new mini (SNM) and on my recent trip to Germany from motoring journalist Martyn Collins.

Like any other MINI event it was long drive to get there so it was another early start to get to Beaulieu Motor museum and it wouldn’t be a boring one as long the way I spotted another JCW the same colour as mine and I will leave you think exactly what happened with two JCW on empty dual carriageway…

I did say its wasn’t a boring drive up as spotted two classic Mini Cooper S – one red and one blue which were in racing and rally spec. I gave my thumbs as we lined up together than I roared past them both to cut the air in front of them and to clear the path ahead.

I got to the meet point at the service but went on the wrong side so I was service maintenance side with no path to drive to link up with everyone. So I called in and headed directly to Beaulieu and waited for everyone to arrive so I could nip into the convoy like I was always there.

With me making the entrance staff laugh for a while the familiar MINIs and faces turned as skittles that are SNM arrived in convoy. I got my club stand pass off Neil and headed in with the convoy on the gravel path to the pitch on the grass for our MINIs to reside as we went around the grounds.

This is would be the first time I would meet Bert which is Ian’s classic MINI and who is our admin of Surrey New Mini the home of the most UK MINIs who have graced the most magazines, TV screens and international known. Bert is a fine example of a classic Mini with its red paint with white stripes and under bonnet is a 1275 cc MPI engine, which was produced from 1996 to 2000. It was the last few classic Minis to be built before the reintroduction of the new MINI with the R50 in 2001. Ian says ‘After owning a red Mini as my first car, I longed to own another again. I found Bert, and I knew I had to have him – he’s not just a car to me, and everybody that meets him loves him!’ You will meet Bert again shortly in a forthcoming post or might have seen him recently taking centre stage at an established automotive event called Goodwood: Festival Of Speed. Their something about any Mini that puts a smile on your face… All together with my little brother we headed out in pack of SNM members to check out the other clubs. There were a few interesting classic with the owners unique twist on them which made a nice change from all the immaculate tucked away examples which only come out during the show season. I think this one is ready for the winter warfare If your up a gangster look, feast your eyes on this chopped roof Mini with Flat Beat Eric at the wheel The ridiculous Mini Moke which is a silly concept in the UK but you cant help but love it plus there is seating for four Here are some regular tasty examples of classic minis We moved into the tented section where the show and shines were ranging from classic to modern MINIs. As much as I love a perfect example of an immaculate car that still looks like in its original state when it left the factory. There is a point where this automotive examples are not DRIVEN and when I mean they aren’t driven they are lucky to see the light from the garages they reside from the 8 months of hibernation.This is a real shame and travesty to petrol heads as seeing a classic Mini always puts a smile on my face and its the reason why Jay Kay lead singer of Jamiroquai drives his collection of exotics all the time as he gets the enjoyment and so can onlookers to. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deKJRU6Zh0U I personally brought my JCW to enjoy the POWER and to DRIVE IT HARD!!! I tracked mine a few times and gone through 3 sets of tyres, full set of discs and pads. I have chip stones on the front end and side of my JCW but all these marks add character that this machine that is driven and taken to its owner and car limit yet my JCW still draws a crowd at shows and intrigue from people seeing and hearing me coming on the streets. After some chit chat amongst ourselves we headed over to see my favourite automotive creation which I had seen on TV. Your probably wondering what I am on about but it will all make sense when I say the show included a tall loud man obsessed with POWEERRRR, another guy who is slow and has no sense of direction and little guy from Birmingham has white teeth and loves his Porsches. If you haven’t guessed what show I am taking about then you need to re-evaluate your life as you should know I am on about TOP GEAR!!! All of TOP GEAR wacky creations from all the seasons where on show from the reasonable price car to the infamous Toybota which crossed the English channel into France. Here is Top Gear’s personal take on an old person car James May’s Caravan Airship The Jezza’s V12 Jaguar sports train the TGV12 The Mercedes S Cottage The Legendary Indestructible Toyota Hilux The first reasonable priced car Reliant Robin Space Shuttle The snowbine harvester which destroyed a small town in Norway The convoy of British motors to India It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t see the lap time leader board and The STIG The 24 hour Britcar which all 3 presenters piloted from the exploits of the biofuel production The Winter Olympics sking classic Mini The 007 lotus esprit submarine The Top Gear’s amphibious cars The 3 wise man cars who went to meet the baby Jesus Oh no its the Top Gear Rozzers Fancy a lift? The epitome of the future of automotive industry distilled into the Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust which was fully tested by Autocar

Need not worry petrol heads when you become slow with old age here is Top Gears answer Time for some famous UK mini which have graced our TV screens for generations to adore and smile at and which formed the basis of my childhood laughter and my passion for anything with a steering wheel and a gas pedal. The loveable Brum, Mr Bean’s classic Mini and Del boy’s reliant robin On a short note I pestered my parents sooo much to buy a car like BRUM and I wanted him as my first car (I smiled for a while when I saw that car so many found childhood memories came back). Then we all moved on to the Beaulieu’s motor museum its crown jewels which houses collection of over 250 automobiles and motorcycles telling the story of motoring on the roads of Britain from the dawn of motoring to the present day, the award winning National Motor Museum appeals to all age groups. From World Land Speed Record Breakers including Campbell’s famous Bluebird to film favourites such as the magical flying car, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. There are alot of ground breaking automotive legends housed here so I will allow you to enjoy the pictures. Who are you Sir? Bond, James Bond was there to show off his collection of motors which would see Q happy as they weren’t wrecked Personally my favourite Bond is Pierce Brosnan given his look and the way he carried himself and the best shake and not shirred moment for me was the car chase in Tomorrow Never Dies car with BMW 7 series. Next up was the magical world of automotive history on a four seater kart which showed you how automotive industry developed through the ages. Lets say its good if your about 5 and I wish I had a gas pedal to make it go faster lol Everyton Seena’s F1 Honda with Manual gearbox Woke up in a Bugatti After all the automotive goodness we head to the Beaulieu estate and explored it grounds Yes I know this a MINI website so don’t worry about the lack of Minis but I am petrol head at the heart of it all. We departed and jumped onto the magnetic rail which was the slowest thing I have ever been on but it was at the end of the day so meh. It was another great day out with the SNM Club plus there was Ice cream so I was a happy chappy. Next Blog Post: Cholmondeley – Pageant Of Power

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Here are some fun facts:

2009: the event broke the world record for the longest convoy of Minis with a Guinness verified total of 1450 cars.

2010: The event celebrated its 25th anniversary

The Event is believed to be the largest one make car show in the world attracting over 2,500 Minis both classic and modern

Now back to business, having just finished my own organised MINI Run the MIR Run the following Sunday I would be joining the Largest MINI event on the calendar. I have personally always wanted to do this run and I wouldn’t be in bad company with my 2nd family Surrey New MINI.

Just before the event or any MINI Madness I gave my JCW the weekly check over. Having finished the MIR Run I was shocked to see the level of oil left so I topped the oil level with Castrol’s finest 0-30w oil.

MINI Shrewsbury offered to fit my GP2 front under tray for free but might want to ask why I was getting the front under-tray??

I had been doing personally doing alot of reading and research into the GP2 before its release then following up all the information from owners and when I drove one after my local dealership phoned me to ask if I wanted a test drive. One thing I noted was how planted it felt and I went about seeing how it did it but for argument’s sake least but the coilovers to the side and look at the aero on the GP2. MINI clearly state the GP2 reduced lift at the rear axle by 90 per cent because of the aero package (roof spoiler, rear diffuser and underside panelling).

Alot of people have wondered why MINI didn’t inter cooler even this a track orientated vehicle but the front under tray is a clever bit of kit as it as aerodynamic shield underneath reducing drag by the slits which let out hot air out of the engine bay while the NACA ducts suck in cold air creating a vacuum thus cooling the engine further with the benefit of the front end being sucked to the floor at the same time (ground effect).

Not bad for a £58 part?? Given a bigger inter cooler costs £500

My tyres were on their way out and so I brought some Continental Sport Contact 5s after my exploits in Germany testing them on Continentals test facilities. Once I got them fitted I was astonished by the extra grip in the wet and dry and the fact I could take corners much faster with them allowing me to fully put down the power at any given moment.

JCW all prepared for the journey it was time get down to cleaning her, out came the snowfoam and pressure washer all top off with a layer of Reload.

I set off on my 2 and half hour journey to Croydon, London to my hotel and to meet up with Surrey New MINI (SNM). It was grinning whilst I set off to do the L2B run knowing my JCW is being part of the biggest and longest running MINI event over the world. I sat back in my JCW Recaros with Harmon Kardon system playing out the white roof radio podcast. It was genuinely nice driving down this time as traffic was low and the weather was perfect  #RayBansMoments

I planned on meeting up with Christine at a service station so we could convoy down to the hotel together and also we could have our usual giggles over the walkie talkies. We parked up at the hallmark hotel which was opposite our meet point in the morning. I put my cameras on charger and headed down to meet up the SNM gang over the road in Pizza Hut.

There was some new faces at the table with Harry aka Nortonski. He is another young JCW owner in the club who genuinely thought was some old guy given he talked to me on the forums.

With any SNM gathering there is plenty laughs, giggles and stories to listen for us all but god was the service was beyond a joke in this pizza hut with them giving us the wrong orders on the starters, running of food we ordered, 45 minute wait, drinks, main course and final nail in the coffin the incorrect bill.

All feed we retired to our hotel rooms for some Zzzzz as it would be an early start to go pick up our L2B run items from Crystal Palace. I loved the fact my room overlooked my JCW and before I knew it the day came with an early start at 5 in the morning to get ready.

I am not drunk but I parked like this to avoid getting door dings and then a van comes along and parks next to you *face palm*

The usual suspects were ready and waiting – Neil, Sarah, Dan and Christine with the rest of the team. We decided to take a few MINIs down to collect L2B Goody bag whilst the others got breakfast or enjoyed the extra lie in. I had to keep an eye on Dan and his craftiness as he has been after some official MINI sun blinds.

We headed out in convoy down the streets of Croydon to Crystal Palace for the starting point of the L2B RUN to where I would meet two of my Instagram followers Mike aka Twelve_75 and Charlotte who both own classics.

I picked up my run pack which includes a Run Plaque, Run Sticker, Run T-Shirt and Official Program. I have been waiting sooo long to get that plaque as its something I wanted my JCW to wear with pride and I brought some flags to have for momentum sake.

Mike came down to meet and introduced him to some of SNM and pointed down to our MINIs all parked up all in a line. Mike was a nice guy with a near on perfect example of a classic mini and you could see still he had passion for minis all this time which made me happy knowing it doesn’t fade away.

We swapped some stories for a while and then pointed out where Charlotte and her mini was. I couldn’t wait to see Charlotte’s mini as it was fully decked out in the golf livery and even the interior was in the infamous light blue and orange colour scheme as well, not bad for a first car!!!

I spoke with Charlotte for a while and she was telling me about her mini and the other IG followers she met and how this was her first mini.

We head back out to my clubs meet point for breakfast and catch up with everyone who would be joining our convoy for the run. We were twenty plus MINIs strong and I was greeted by the elegant Carina who had never met before whilst I enjoying my breakfast. The first words she said to me were ‘ I have been told your quite the MINI fanatic?’ I laughed and replied ‘I am more of a MINI Lunatic to be fair’

I showed Carina around the JCW and told her all the stuff that had been done to it and took for a quick spin around the park lot as we waited to see how my JCW sounded and to enjoy the bucket Recaro seats.

She then proceeded to show me her Cooper S with the JCW power kit aka ‘Alfie’ and it was nice meeting some my age who shares the same passion and does all the nick picky things like I do e.g. parking away from any other car, having rules for passenger in your MINI and that your MINI is more than a machine but an extension of you and your personality.

We saw the L2B convoy rolling by so we decided to add our new MINIs to ranks of classics. The roads of Crystal palace and Croydon were skittles which all the minis taking up all roads as far as you could see and your rear view didn’t look shabby either. Once we hit the motorway we left the classics behind and connected back to one another with the radios crackling with chatter of our mini owners on the same channel.

I saw the signs for Brighton and a smug grin came on to my face as it still didn’t dawn upon me that I am doing this event given the amount of times I haven’t thought about it or heard about it. Being a car enthusiasts ever since I could remember and as a child I carried around this booklet of cars and when I spotted them I would tick them off and rattle off specifications and technical details if anyone spoke about any car. I guess we don’t really change much…

We stopped at a service station to get everyone back together again given the traffic that ensued which gave us chance to admire the classics and new MINIs together. I don’t think there has been a time when we arrived to any car park without causing everyone to stop and stare.

There were some tasty classic all lined up at the service station.

We hit the road again and followed the signs to Brighton well I mean signs but it was more like follow in the mini ahead lol

It was the most amazing sight that I could see MINIs as far as the eye could see over the horizon

I love how someone who made the signs for L2B run has a sense of humour

I met a familiar face behind in Cooper S Roadster it was Ashley from the MINI Store that I visited last year during the Olympics.

We were finally there in Brighton and were heading down Madeira drive and it was like Moses has parted the sea with minis and MINIs all lined up the seafront.

We parked up and watched the continuous follow of classic and New MINIs drive by us. It was just pure car porn as we walked all the seafront of Brighton.

There was awesome stand of TV show themed minis

 We later hit the show and shine stand

I have always wondered with show and shine show that the majority of these cars are not driven which defeats the point of our a CAR its meant to be DRIVEN!!! Thank god that L2B says that you have to do the run and you’re not allowed to transport it there and that’s how it should be.

I am going shut up for a while and show you all the pictures from the event

Talking about photos one of SNM member is a keen photographer when I say keen photographer, I am probably under rating her alot as she is truly talented and absolute enjoy to be around. I am talking about the Samieeeeeee who has her own website and Facebook page of all her work.

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MiniMadnesss

Website: http://www.minimadnesss.co.uk/

She is a proud owner of an R50 MINI One aka Stripes and classic mini aka Winnie P.

Can anyone guess what this mini is???

The 1962 Ogle SX1000 based on a Mini with the first cars were built by grafting glass fibre body to a customer supplied Mini. The conversion costed £550 plus the customer supplied base car. Later in 1962, complete cars became available with the 997 cc Cooper version costing £1176. Any of the Mini engines could be specified up to the Mini Cooper S unit which topped out at 110 mph (180 km/h). It is thought that 66 were made.

The day came to a close and it was an amazing time being apart of this historic event. I headed back to Birmingham with my JCW wearing the L2B plaque with a sense of pride. My JCW still wears that plaque but it sits on my back window so you can admire my derrière as I pass you ; )

This is dedicated to my best friend’s dad who passed away from Cancer on 02/09/13

RIP Mr Douglas

Next Blog Post: Beaulieu – National MINI Cooper Day

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This annual event takes place in Horsham Town Centre on three days over the Easter weekend and offers visitors and shoppers to Horsham an exciting taste of Italy in the midst of a very English medieval market town. Packed full of fabulous cars and bikes, tasty Italian foods, lively street entertainment and a huge choice of independent shops, cafes and restaurants – Piazza Italia is fun for all the family!

We would taking centre stage on Saturday in Horsham town centre and we were allocated 100 space for all our MINIs I head down to London on the Friday to stay over at my cousin house and i thought driving my JCW in Birmingham was bad!!! There were the mother of all potholes, speed bumps and undulations within the road and my JCW isn’t even lowered and I was struggling not to make it scrap!

I recent put the sports cat on my JCW so it was quite loud but more so much amongst the concrete jungle that is London. I was getting onlooker fascinated the looks of my JCW and the noise it made through the 1st, 2nd and 3rd. I can see why a friend of mine gets 18mpg out of his JCW given all this start stop traffic.

Lets not be all doom and gloom, it was nice seeing my mum’s side of the family up in London. My younger cousin wanted to come along with me to the MINI event as bit of car nut like and he is always telling his mates about my JCW. I wanted to give him some pictures and videos to brang about at school.

It was a nice change not driving a million miles early in the morning and driving through London city I must woken up a few people as we rolled through London’s tunnels and narrow side streets. The closer we got the dealership the more minis we spotted a few familiar MINIs from our club and they were driving in convoy so I accelerated and nipped in between them.

I caused quite a steer at the meet point as everyone could hear me coming and this DINKY blue thing was in my rear view ; ) I had sure they hear the backfire on the overrun as I lifted off the accerelator

We drove into the dealership carpark and soon filled it up MINIs leaving us to wondering where everyone else would park. We headed inside for our goody bag and door vinyl for our MINIs.

There were some new faces at the meet with Emily with her brand new Cooper S

Billy’s Refreshed Cooper S

Ashley with his Pepper white Cooper S (There is alot more mods now)

Mr & Mrs Swan with their Countryman WRC Edition

Dave in his Olympic Edition MINI

Phil aka Bandit his John Cooper works with lots of carbon trim

There must have been easily 100 MINIs there alongside classic ones which is very unusual sight given we were at BMW/MINI dealership all chatting together.

Even thought it was very cold this time of year in March it was worth seeing both classic and new minis people getting on. I grabbed some breakfast with wifey number 1 Christine whilst my cousin and little brother were blowing their brains out with all the minis present.

Garry decided to arrive at the last few minutes before we handed out which was ironic as he brought along his factory fresh GP2 the fastest MINI buy can buy. I bet he did it to show off to everyone!!!

All done with the poser and his GP2 we all headed out to Horsham town centre with a Police escort. Yes i did say police escort, they were holding up traffic for us and waving us through red lights and whizzing ahead on bikes to block traffic off for us.

I felt like an ambassador with the police riding alongside us and the temptation to wind down the window and wave to my discipline as we passed by

As we arrived into Horsham town centre we were ushered on to the high street with SNM taking centre stage along the busy side of the high street

We managed to get both a GP1 & GP2 together

Me and Christine and few others pulled on to other section of the High street just in front of the classics

It was a really busy day with alot of families out enjoying the event and looking at all our MINIs. But it was a little nervous knowing people would be touch, brush along side it and walking around my JCW whilst I was away from it.

I finally got dragged away by little brother and cousin and showed them around pointing out all the members i know and introducing them and point out all the models and details on each MINI we saw.

There was some unusual classic minis and some mint examples which makes me want have a classic even more

We had a spot of lunch with GP Garry and asked him how he was finding owning a GP2 and the livability of it all. Most of his answers involved the word UNBELIEVABLE with him saying I remember taking this corner in my WC50 at this speed but now in the GP2 I taking it 15 – 20mph quicker!!!

The event was coming to a close so we headed back to our MINIs and waited for all the classics to leave in a parade as they were being let loose first to onlookers gathered along the Horsham streets. It was nice having people waving and little children being all excited by the departure of all us.

Once we were let out I made sure my JCW gave them something to remember me by letting a few Pops & Bangs on the overrun.

I waited for GP Garry to arrive as he wanted to go for a little hoon around the back roads. It was great fun playing between us on the backroads as we keeping braking down to its bare minimum and carrying the speeds in the corners. But GP2 was better sorted and the GP slightly left me at the roundabout : /

It was great fun as always with the SNM crew and I would be staying in London longer as I had a wedding to attend the next day so London had to put up the sound of the Birmingham Beast living it all up. My JCW gave my cousins E92 M3 something to quite down abit after I gave him a rev off ; )

Next Blog Post: London to Brighton Run 2013

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The post MINI Vines: Piazza Italia VII appeared first on JCW Adventures.

For once in the UK it was a beautiful summers day so couldn’t wait to see my JCW after 3 long days of not driving her. The shutters rolled up from Midlands Care and there she was gleaming and flake in the metallic paint was really popping. It was like when I pulled the cover off my JCW in the dealership, I had that stupid smirk like it was love at first sight all over again.

I looked around at every panel with Russ spoke to me about the work that went into the paint correction and how shocked he was with all cheap local hand wash had blemished the paint. He said ‘ I have never seen 50/50 comparison shot of paint correction so glaring obvious’ and I replied ‘ I will never allow my paint to be like that every again and I will be washing it myself every week’.

I fired her up and exhaust burble echoed in the unit causing everyone to look up, I thanked Russ and his team for all the work they had put into my JCW. Russ joined me in my JCW to take some piccies for his library of work and for his Facebook page.

I will let the pictures speak for themselves

I dropped Russ back off and headed the long way home enjoying my JCW and the weather. I couldn’t help myself on the way home not to take some pictures for myself

I mentioned the JCW had a special coating on the top of the paint called C Quartz and I am sure you’re wondering what is and what it does?

CQuartz Finest is an evolution in paint coatings. With Finest, stronger more condensed nano particles with better cross linking were designed utilizing a new proprietary nano material to create a “3D” structure which creates a very tough nano structure.  One group(O+Si+O) links to another by a special cross linking agent which produces the cellulose dense joint nano 3D structure coating, giving an extremely durable layer of protection. CQuartz Finest achieves an amazing increase Mohs hardness up to 2H. Unleash the amazing protection and Anti scratch effect and retain a super high gloss clear coat.

What CQuartz Finest does to your paint:

1. Increases the toughness and glossness of your paint
2. Gives your paintwork insane beading qualities
3. More anti scratch protection on paint surface
4. Offers a deep rich gloss with self-cleaning properties, making future washing of your vehicle, faster and easier
5. This protection comes with a  2 year warranty

Before I headed to Germany I got a sneaky but distinctive upgrade to the front of my JCW. MINI officially launched the day time running lights aka DRLs for the R56. I had to have them so I was straight on the phone to MINI Shrewsbury who supply and fitted nearly all my MINI JCW accessories. No dealership around where I live can beat them on service or price, even thought it 40 miles plus trip to get to them I have always left feeling like I am important and value customer.

The DRLs replace where the existing fog lights where and perfectly match the Xenon lights but still retain the fog light function. Yes it was an expensive option to have at £370 fitted but my JCW is two years old and want refresher like I did with full detail of the paint work. I like keeping my MINI looking lush using genuine MINI parts as I know if anything goes wrong with them its covered under warranty, plus at the time in the UK only 400 units were shipped. My JCW was one of the first to have them fitted as a lot of dealership didn’t have a clue what I was taking about until I gave them the part number (63122338554).

Lets get back on track about The M.I.R Run

This is the 1st MINI run I planned and it would be a thank you to my club Surrey New Mini

I wanted to take them to roads I love in the UK and for them to enjoy their MINIs to the fullest. Plus I wanted everyone to come down to Birmingham again so we could get everyone together to do Go karting.

With everything planned out and meet Garry S before the run so I could see his new purchase…

The Green Monster had gone but what would it be replaced with I wonder

The lunatic went and brought a GP2 after months of annoying me with ingenious texts, Chinese whispers and rumours.

I gather he brought one a few weeks back as he said ‘I have had enough of tuning and your right Ali for leaving yours alone and making subtle tweaks here and there’ Then all the cryptic messages on the forums and how quick his new car was built. There could be no other answer than a GP as one of his texts said ‘It got built fast because it doesn’t have many extras’

I think I was more happy for him then he was after woes with the WC50. It was nice seeing a friend being happy and enjoying what I love so much about my MINI – The way it makes you feel every time you unlock it, driving it and that moment when you turn back to admire it after locking it.

The Fast Five got given faster now and GP Garry would be turning up with a fully run in GP2. I was looking forward to seeing him go at it down some twisty roads. I think I could hear the pack from Surrey as the traffic reports on the radio were going bonkers as I am sure they caused a stir on the motorways on the way down.

They all arrived together at the hotel near my house and I greeted them with my brother little Adam who wanted to see everyone again. We all caught up in the hotel lobby over some dinner and filled them in with all the shenanigans of Germany.

The next morning my road was awaken by the sounds of the SNM crew as they filled up my drive way for a quick morning washing our beasts. The pressure washer and snow foam was out to get 4 MINIs quickly washed and dried so we could head out to do some go karting.

I lead the pack to the Cannon Raceway in Wolverhampton for the karting but we arrived late due spending a little too washing the beasts so we headed straight into the briefing room and given our video and personal safety briefing. We dawned our racing overalls and proceed to track to get our helmets and look at the track.

The track looked perfect for some tight races between us all with sweeping bends, chicanes, hairpin turns, long fast straights, a hump-back flyover, a switch back tunnel, “S” bends awaiting us.

We picked our kart of choice but it didn’t really make a difference as these were race tuned 270cc engine karts with slick racing tyres on aluminium wheels and hydraulic disc brakes. I opted to jump into the middle of the field so I eye up my competition and see what lines they would take then go in for the overtake.

Engine and brakes checked we all rolled out one by one from the watchful eye of the marshal. Phil went first followed by Garry then me and Christine for sight seeing laps to get a feel of the track to get the line right and learn the track. Phil and Garry where are it already will me just hooning around for the first laps to feel where the level of grip and what speeds I could take the corners at without too much slip. Christine was at the back holding everyone up as we lapped her, I guess she was really sight-seeing the track.

With our practice laps over we pulled back into the pits for the first of our 2 x 25 lap sessions so cue the F1 Music (The Chain by Fleetwood Mac).

Murray’s Walker voice came into my head as soon as that flagged was waved – GO GO GO for the Monaco Grand Prix!!!

I slammed the gas pedal getting a little swirm as I pulled away with Phil ahead and Garry in hot pursuit. I went Into the 1st the first bend hot and overbraked to get some heat into the front tyres as full throttled up the hump-back flyover not lifting off as it dives down into a hairpin bend.

I caught some air as I aimed my kart for the apex and eased off the gas pedal as the back wheels grabbed contact again with the track and left foot braked whilst backing off gas to scrub the speed off for the bend. I turned into early causing me to reduce speed but this was useful for next section of the track which is a tight set of S bends which require me to get braking and throttle perfect in order to carry speed on to the back straight away.

I weaved into the S bends tapping the brakes to keep right side for the corner as I found it hard to find the best line to track through the S bends. I entered the last section of the S bend kicked the tail out with fully throttle to go wide out to run along side inches away from the crash barriers so I could gain more momentum for the hump back bridge. It paid off as caught a good half-foot of air on the way down from the bridge.

I proceed to savagely hunt down GP Garry & Phil who had the early lead but I gaining on them every corner I took. On the 5 or 6th lap GP Garry  had spun out helping me gain some ground on him after his speeding antics in the infamous Monaco tunnel it would it mount to battle for biblical magnitude.

Now it was game time with GP Garry & Rally Ali going head to head for glory and bragging rights all weekend. I made it clear to Garry that I was right behind him by braking late so he could see and hear me so I could start mounting psychological pressure on him. After tailing him for a lap and pressuring him to make an error he doesn’t seem to buckle from my advances, so driver skill is where I will take him.

As went through the S bends again and on to last the corner I keep my kart centimetres away from as we accelerated away from the corner and we lock eyes to the bridge. Garry was following his own line as he kept away from the barrier whilst I tailgating whilst remain next to the barrier, as we climbed the hill I moved over to right on the crest. Garry backed off the accelerator whilst I keep my foot planted and moved across him to block the corner ahead, we catch air with me half a length ahead. We both lock the brakes as we both make contact with the track I instinctively move left even more to finish overtake and completely blocking him to take the cutting point on the apex leaving him behind.

With Garry dismissed I focused on keeping on the racing line for the next few laps to keep him at bay whilst stalking my next prey called Phil. I learned how to carry more speed through the S bends through precise throttle inputs and leaving the brake pedal alone but there was some debris on the track called ‘Christine’ which doodling along (I am only joking Christine please don’t kill me).

Christine was beneficial to me as she slowed down Phil for me to pick him off next. My hands were getting cramped as I was holding the wheel too firm as I looked for a line to take Phil. My chance came just after the S bends as Phil had tucked in a little too much, allowing me to glide by on the outside with the extra speed I was carrying. I was on pole but there was no time relaxing as I wanted to come close the track lap record and not allow anyone to overtake me.

Sadly my talent might have run out on S bend as just nipped the barrier causing me to crash a little bit and my kart leak fluids on the track which allowed Phil and Garry to gain some significant ground tag team against me. But it didn’t matter as they actually spun out on the little bit of fluid from my kart, which nearly caught me out on few laps later.

I took the chequered flag and took a parade lap to cool down my kart, sadly there weren’t any sexy pit girls waiting for me just blokes and kids looking at me thinking he can’t half drive as the times for each us came up on the boards. I was fastest but a few seconds with Phil and Garry putting in similar times and you can gather who was slowest.

After a short 2 minute rest we were back into our same karts as we were previously raced in. I decided to aim for pure speed and better lap times this around whilst gaining pole position but I wouldn’t be sacrificing lap times just for an overtake.

It was bad decision for me pick the same kart as felt fatigued on the back straight like I had lost power some how and I was acting like Jeremy Clarkson shouting COMMMMEEE OONNNNN!!!! I NEED MORE POWWWEEERRRR!!!!

The battles between us weren’t as epic as we lap time chasing which resulted in a few spinning out. However I did make a dumb move with trying to overtake Phil as I didn’t think he would be braking so I needed up shunting him into the barrier. Sorry Phil but you were in my way! My driving pedigree shone again with me coming first and putting in the fastest time again. Everyone else improved their times with Garry only being about 1 second behind my time.

All pumped with adrenaline we hoped into our little road legal go karts called MINIs and head to Wales to begin the M.I.R Run. The MINI adventure would start off with us meeting a few MINI Mates from Merseyside MINI – Rob & Liz in their GP2 and Si & family in his new factory fresh JCW.

The weather was perfect but the traffic wasn’t on the way to Wales however once we cut across the border we could open the taps on the smooth winding asphalt with the raised speed limit. Sport mode was activated and the hills were alive with the sounds of MINIs poppin and banging on the over run as we arrived into the little village of Betws-y-Coed.

We met up with fellow MINIacs Rob & Liz and Aldo and family for a quick catch up, laughs and photo ops in the carpark. We hadn’t started the Run yet and we were giggling like 5 years olds as we catched up and took some silly pics but I forgot my belt so my chinos were constantly falling down.

Rob wouldn’t lend me the keys to the GP so I took matters into my own hands

After some forgiveness we sat down for lunch together to fuel up for the MINI Madness ahead!

The EVO Triangle’s name comes from the writers over at the EVO Magazine. This route is what the writers use to test drive the cars for magazine features. The route has become very popular among driving enthusiasts, and seems to be one of the most talked about routes in the UK. The route starts on the A543 (just off the A5) heading North along tight sweeping bends and great scenery. You will then turn right onto the B4501 which takes you on some nice long sweeping bends with views of the Llyn Brenig Lake. This road then leads back to the A5 (going through the village of Cerrigydrudion) and back to where you started.

Rob’s GP2 led the pack to the EVO Triangle so we could line up to begin the run and look down on the ribbon of tarmac.

As I was setting up my Go Pro I realised I made amateur mistake of leaving the memory card at home. With me feeling like an idiot, Si son Olly was messing around the field and stumbled upon a rim which reminds you that this road can catch you out. This is where Olly nickname was created with Si getting annoyed with the constant questions and called ‘Alloy come here!’ which ensued laughed amongst us all.

It was like looking at a familiar adversary like Senna was meeting Prost for the ultimate no hold barred rematch to see who was the better driver. My foe would be more kind to me this time as the asphalt had recently been resurfaced and my JCW had its upgraded JCW discs and fresh set of pads however my tyres were down to 3mm all round.

It was bad enough catching a GP in cold winter months but we had to leave distance between us as the freshly laid road had small stones littered all over it and those Kumhos tyres would be at operating temperatures making it my work harder.

So it begins!!! 1220 BHP of MINIs in convoy head down the ribbon of asphalt called the EVO Triangle. The GPs cleared the path like to two scouts heading forth into battle with the full battalion of JCW heading to finish off the stragglers.

The two GPs were off like a flash and the extra gap between us just made it harder to catch up as my grip wandered in the corners as there were a few moments of squirming where power wasn’t being put down.

That extra gap for the GP was enough for them to leave in me literally in their dust as I was at least a full corner behind them all the time. I couldn’t keep up to my annoyance as I was entering a corner they were a full 5 car lengths ahead and powering away from me. I felt bad for my JCW as I pushing her to the point she was skipping and ABS coming into play due to the lack of traction in the breaking zones.

Me only consolation prize was Si who was trying to keep up with me and I had no idea how far behind Christine and Phil where. I had to wait with the GPs in a lay by for them to be anywhere remotely visible to us.

Don’t you worry GPs my JCW will be matching you in the bends soon after some coilovers go on to my JCW next year…

You can’t say I wasn’t trying to keep up with the GPs as when we pulled over our first lap of the EVO triangle my tyres were LITERALLY melting!!!  The GPs left me in the bends and had a corner advantage over me : /

JCW decided to roll back as the brakes were hot as I left it on the hand brake and Si was left very impressed with the sound of my JCW and thought the overrun pops were immense. I was shocked for him as he was trying to keep up with in a JCW with only 400 miles on the clock!!! I guess everyone has their own run in procedures ; )

We went back around again to shrub some more rubber off tyres and to be greeted with the smell of baked brake pads.

I still cant get over how well sorted the GP2 is. Alot of people say it’s too expensive, it’s not special enough, it looks like an R56 JCW with silly stickers and why doesn’t it have more power???

For the doubters the GP2 was in development for 2 years where it was honed for both the track and road, where the already well sorted chassis was given the fundamental upgrade of coilover suspension system. That difference alone makes it a formidable foe to dance with as I found out again pursing the GPs over the run.

The suspension just absorbs the bumps and gives the tyres the greater contact with the road for those compound specific Kumho tyres. You can physically see it at work as my JCW bouncing around whilst the GP was composed like it flattening the undulations in the road.

Garry loved the road and his GP even more and the SNM crew could see what I banging on about early in the year. The smiles and grins said it all when we pulled over half way on the way back to our cottage in a small car park and caused a little commotion like we normally do when we drive in convoy.

This time we attracted another MINI owner who circled back round to see us and ask a few questions about what we had been up to and that he engine light on his dash. I got my diagnostic tool out of my boot and told him the error code and fault it had with his MINI which was an error code related to him putting a sports cat on.

We said our goodbyes to the MMC crew and head back to our cottage, we didn’t expect to have some awesome roads along the way but we did!!!

We arrived at our cottage and it was amazing with nice furnishings and ambles amount of space for us to kick back chill out and just catch up. We all freshened up a little and head down to the hotel restaurant to taste some of the local food to find a couple of muskets above what was once the fireplace.

After we eat we all head back and caught up with one another after we hadn’t been together as a group in a while, plus a few things had changed in our lives and we wanted the verdict off Garry how living with the GP2 is compared to WC50. We were all laughing and merry as they cracked open the complementary bottles of wine whilst I sipped on my ribena. We all reminisced that this time last year we had all met for the 1st time and we were in France for MINI UNITED 2012.

We woke for day two for the MIR Run resulted me getting up early to try to steal Garry’s GP keys so I could take a cheek spin around the block. Sadly Garry knows me all to well and hid his keys which was really annoying as the lunatic parked outside the front door.

We had the perfect fry up breakfast in the pub restaurant next door then proceed to pack up our bags and check up on our MINIs before we headed out to do some more awesome roads.

The next road up road for taming was in the Pass of Llanberis in Snowdonia and the weather was immense for the UK with temperatures hitting 26 degrees for those ray bans moments to continue.

We all parked up alongside the lake across the pass for some piccies as the water looked mesmerising with the sun glistening the ripples alongside the back drop of the mountains and evergreen forests.

We leisurely cruised through Llanberis pass with clear blue skies with the windows down taking pictures were we could and enjoying the pothole free smooth tarmac.

It always been moments like this where I wonder if I didn’t have a MINI would I be doing this? Would I have met the people who I call friends but are family to me? Is this motoring heaven? Why am I smiling so much?

We just cruised the whole journey taking in the beauty of Snowdonia with the waves and smiles we got from onlookers by.

After all the waving to our subjects we grew hungry and retired to local pub opposite Swallow Falls in Betws-y-Coed which was once again another sweet lunch. The Welsh have got three things nailed on the head; scenery, food and roads which happen to be best things in the world.

After the delightful lunch we crossed the road to Swallow Falls to take in the natural beauty of the falls with the sound cascading water which brought an aura of calm to the bank holiday weekend mini madness.

Like all good things it had to come an end and we gave other hugs and wished each other a safe journey home as we would diverge on the motorway away from one another. But we would meet again next week for the legendary London to Brighton Run.

I want to close on a few words on this posts as the website turned one & my JCW turned two years old.

Its been two years of continued MINI Adventures with the world’s greatest friends with my most pride possession my JCW. I look at my JCW every morning and think ‘Thank you for all the MINI Adventures, smiles and connecting me with people who I wouldn’t have ever met otherwise’.

You may think I mad that genuine love my JCW, as it’s truly an extension of my personality but I often call her ‘the misses’. Sure she cost me a small fortune with £1,000 being spent on her before I went on the MIR run with brakes, disc, tyres, DRLs and a full detail but she is worth!!

The messages, comments and looks I get every time I drive her on a daily basis is still a new every time people tell me. The FACT people some say I am driving their Perfect MINI or their Dream Car humbles me that I am fortunate to own my JCW. This is the reason why I write this blog so you can see WHY I brought my JCW to DRIVE and to take you on the drive of your LIFE…

Next Blog Post: MINI Vines: Piazza Italia VII

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The post M.I.R RUN appeared first on JCW Adventures.

My JCW faired well in the snow with me driving it everyday in -5 degrees weather on normal tyres. She started first time, defrosted quickly in the morning and passed a few cars doodling at 15mph with a few pops & bangs in the snow : D

Sadly I was messing around abit too much and caught the kerb on the back wheel causing it to bounce off the Kerb leaving a shiny silver kerb mark on my Black R112 rim

I feared the worst I thought I had bent the rear control arm or suspension. Off I went to the MINI Accident repair centre to get my JCW assessed. She is tough one but my suspension was out so a full KDS Alignment was needed.

What is KDS? Kinematic Diagnosis System is where by MINI punch in your Chassis number into the system to pull up the full specification of your MINI including all the options installed. They will set your suspension back to what it was at the factory and alter if options are fitted later down the line that will affect the balance of the vehicle. Therefore all MINIs have a different setup to each other e.g. a MINI with a sunroof will have a different alignment to one without.

It was well worth the £120 as the ride and handling was transformed and it felt even sharper. Hats off to MINI Oldbury Accident Repair centre

Enough doom and gloom!! Back at MINI UNITED 2012 i met this MINI couple – Rob & Liz and members of Merseryside MINI club who were a great laugh and discussed the GP 2 at some length. Rob talked about the route including the Stevalo pass and driving through the Alps and that he would heading the Nurburgbring in his WC50 shortly after MINI UNITED.

Rob told me about his club and wanted me to join in with their fun so I signed up for My 1st Run of 2013 would be the Dragon run which included the infamous EVO triangle. He let me know on a little secret of his that his WC50 would be traded in for GP2 so I was happy to see him & Merseyside crew again.

As always the JCW was made Shiney Shiney the night before and fuelled with Shell V Power and I headed to North Wales for the dragon run. The meet point would be a service station with plenty parking and places to Nom Nom breakie.

I rolled up to a nice selection of MINIs with the 1st & 2nd Gen GPs

A few minutes later Rob & Liz came in his new GP2  with Rob saying ‘Hey Ali, Nice seeing you, I would love to give you a lift but I have no back seats’ LMAO

With everyone together we headed to the Great Ome, Llandudno

There nothing like driving in a convoy of MINIs as every always stares and waves which is one of the many pluses of owning one

The road to Llandudno were great with the coast being on our right and not a pothole in sight

Up we went to the toll road to the top of the Great Orme was twisty with the cliff walls rebounding the sound of my JCW exhaust added with Pops & Bangs

We filled the carpark at the top with 27 MINIs all parked together and enjoyed the view out to sea

I got to speak to a few owners who i had never met but spoke with on the forums

DJ with his 1st Gen GP

I was surprised to realise his dad was the owner of the GP 2 which was brought from the same dealership and same person (Dawn) who I brought my JCW from

Jonta from Minis Unleashed with his sweeet British Racing green Cooper S with nice mods with coilovers and awesome four spots upfront

It was good seeing Kevin again after meeting him at MINI UNITED not as happy as he was to see my infamous hat again

We all headed back down and drove along the coast with the clear blue sky and ocean view aheading to Cerrigydundion

The roads on the way there were epic with the speed limit being higher and the scenery for some epic shots to be taken along the way

It was like skittles on the roads with virtually all the MINI colours and UK flag being drive on the roads. I say the road were amazing because they dipped and corkscrewed up when you come out the bend just like on the nordschleife. This reinforced especially when your chasing the MINI up front pushing them on to brake that bit later and get on the power sooner

I was grinning ear to ear appreciating my recently dialled in suspension with the JCW popping like MAD on each gear change. I managed to get pop on every change up to 5th  and i never heard my JCW  Pop & Bang so much EVERRRR!!!!

We stopped up at Betws-y-coed for some nom nom for lunch bringing this little village to a stop with everyone staring at us

We got all our MINIs all lined up in the car park as well filling up one whole area of parking hehe

I went into a cafe to get my lunch and tried to the vegetarian option which was chef special of vegetable pie with salad and handcut chips with real lemonade. I have to say it was very nice and filled me up nicely

During this time I got to speak with Steve & Ally who are owners of two 1st Gen GPs

They had been on a fair few MINI adventures with the GP and I was shocked to hear that the GP was their wedding car as well as the drove into the sunset for their honeymoon. Proper MINI die-hards with the GP winning a few concours awards and being in a few official MINI UK events as well

But its annoying when you never see a GP on the road and then 3 turn up at once

We all headed out to the infamous EVO triangle only to turn around 2 miles down the road because a local had crashed their car. It’s an reminder that you should always obey rules of the road and be sensible with manoeuvres and your spatial awareness as all it takes to think is 2 seconds and 1 second for it be game over.

We looked at the funny thing paper called a map and searched for a route we could go on to headed in the direction of the EVO triangle.

I am sure if going the other way would have been as good given I was in awe of the mountains, scenery and the epic winding asphalt as I managed to get some motion shots of all us heading into the mountains

When we got the EVO Triangle  we all parked up on the side to see a Frozen Blue M3 Performance Pack & Black 1M Coupe howl by. We all know why they came her for some proper Hoonage on the best roads with the UK

A few of you might be wondering why is it called the EVO Triangle

The EVO Triangle’s name comes from the writers over at the EVO Magazine. This route is what the writers use to test drive the cars for magazine features. The route has become very popular among driving enthusiasts, and seems to be one of the most talked about routes in the UK. The route starts on the A543 (just off the A5) heading North along tight sweeping bends and great scenery. You will then turn right onto the B4501 which takes you on some nice long sweeping bends with views of the Llyn Brenig Lake. This road then leads back to the A5 (going through the village of Cerrigydrudion) and back to where you started.

This perfection of asphalt is 20 miles long and ribbons like a dragon through the heartlands of North Wales with a steep inclines with tight challenging turns to work your suspension with every turn, torture to your tyres to limits of grip, boil your brake fluid and for you thirst after every gear shift to connect every turn with the exact steering and throttle input all of the feeling that I tamed this tarmac beast.

We all eyed up the tarmac that entered the woodlands and with a deep breath enter our machines pressing the sports button lifting off the safety nannies thus engaging the electronic limited diff as we didn’t want any interrupts of power

I had the perfect sparring partner up front as I would be chasing Geoff in his GP 2

So began the drive of my life with me chasing this GP 2 in my JCW and taking it to the limit to get every ounce of performance out her and slip streaming the GP to get right behind on each corner to keep the momentum going and keeping the turbo spooled up in its sweet spot

I have never been so focused and enjoyed a road so much within the UK and it was petrol head nirvana with me lynching for more! Constantly trying to get the racing line and getting the front end to kiss the apex coming in and out the corners.

It was challenge to keep up GP 2 as I could clearly see that he could get on the power much more earlier than me with the Kumho Ecsta V700 gripping the tarmac like claws and the Bilstein Coilover suspension eating up all the undulations like it was nothing with no visible sign of body roll at all. Plus he could get on the brake much later as those colossal 6 pot Brembos scrub the speed away at neck breaking force.

You clearly see the GP 2 has been setup dead on with its damping, rebound rates, braking and doesn’t waste any of the power from the engine which just goes to show power isn’t anything if it can’t be used

Later on the route I had to back off as I was getting brake fade only due to the fact my pads and discs were due in 2,000 miles so there wasn’t much bite left in them

When we finally came to a finish I was astonished by this piece of asphalt as my hands were sweaty, my pulse was racing and my pupils dilated. I felt a sign of accomplishment that I had come here and conquered that dragon of tarmac with my JCW pinging on cool down with the cool fans kicking in with added smell of brake pads.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

I looked down upon the valley that we came from and said i would be seeing you soon with a few performance tweaks to my JCW

It was an awesome day out with Merseyside MINI & MINIS UNLEASHED and I made a few more MINI Mates

Look forward to seeing everyone again on the MINI Events later on in the year

I got to say I really like Liz & Rob as they always made me fell welcome and they are MINI loonies like me with Liz being no slouch with her Super Soov Chilli Red JCW

They recently got engaged so I wish them all the best and many MINI more years of happiness

Cant to see the MMC crew again on another meet where ever it maybe

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Well with my JCW fully run in I was off to Goodwood with my little brother and my close friend Simon who got me into MINIs.

We set off nice and early as it was an 3 hour drive from my house and the MINI Adventure began…

On the way we saw a Rosso Red 458 Italia lucky guy had a hot chick as well

We arrived in good time and parked up on the Goodwood estate – It’s hard to believe someone owns the estate and all the land surrounding it

There was 5 Fields like this full of cars and further 15 at least

There was tons of Uber exotic on show such as the Lexus LFA (Nurburgring Edition), Aston Martin One 77, Pagani Huayra, Koenigsegg Agera, Porsche GT3 RS 4.0 and the Beast of the Moment Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.

This year’s theme was Jaguar’s 50th Anniversary with an Over 175 Tonnes Sculpture of an E-Type which is arguable THE best looking car ever made.

Dont worry everyone I went straight to the MINI stand and there was the whole line up of MINIs from the One to JCW and the Goodwood Edition was unveiled that day as well. There was an extra treat of the actual Countryman JCW Rally Car being on show.

I was fortunate to see it been driven down the Goodwood Course. MY GOD does it fly and sound Biblical

This has been the best car show I have been with the most exotics, atmosphere, WWII bomber flying over head and the supercars, rally cars, race cars flying down the Goodwood course.

On penny pinching note i managed an average Fuel economy of 48mpg with Air con at 22 degrees with cruise control set at 70mph. I left with a full tank of fuel and returned with 392 miles travelled with a range of 89 miles to go not bad indeed.

Link for the photos from the Event – https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ez5hf5otc4h03bh/gm-1ENta1F

Next Post – The Mystery MINI Adventure…

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