Virtually no other historical motor-sport event transports visitors back to the flair and glamour of yesteryear as stylishly as the Goodwood Revival. The successful racing history of Minimakes the Goodwood Revival the focal point for presenting some fascinating vehicles taken from the illustrious past of both of the Mini
This year Mini will compete for the St. Mary’s Trophy. A very new scion from the motor-sport collection will line up at the start for Mini. Since the beginning of this year, an Austin Mini Cooper S Competition from 1964 has been completely rebuilt in the workshop of the motor-sport division at BMW Group Classic. “We want to remind everyone that MINI also brought home numerous victories on racing tracks alongside its outstanding successes in rally racing,” explains Friedrich Nohl, Head of the Motor-sport Division at BMW Group Classic, commenting on the motivation for the restoration project.
Manufacture of the racing versions of the Mini-Cooper S powered by a 1275 cc engine commenced in 1964. John Fitzpatrick won the 1300 cc class and took second place in the British Touring Car Championship. John Rhodes dominated the 1300 cc class in this championship from 1965 to 1968. He also drove this car to victory in the European Championship in 1968. The car competed in Group 2 and normally had a displacement enlarged to 1293 cc. “We thought that Goodwood was the ideal venue to showcase this British success story with a view to driving the Cooper S in the first race,” continued Nohl. The classic Mini will be driven by Claudia Huertgen, successful racing driver and chief instructor at BMW and MINI Driving Experience, and by Jörg Weidinger, who comes from the hillclimb scene and has been working as a driver trainer at BMW and MINI Driving Experience for many years

As we all know the MINI is available in the massive auto market that is China. The China Daily decided to mark this occasion by charting the Mini history and how it became MINI over the 50 years of Minis amazing life
Part of the article reads:
"Mini becomes MINI, passion for the feisty little car continues
Compact body, flat top, bug-eyed headlights, hexagonal grille - the Mini is easy to recognize on the road. A star on both race track and city streets, the nimble and fashionable car has attracted a wide range of customers from ordinary people to celebrities.
Born in the late 1950s in Britain, the iconic brand was at first a response to the fuel shortage following the Suez Canal crisis. To the surprise of many who doubted the prospects for a small car, it was an immdeiate hit inside and outside Britain. The cars popularity proved to be long lasting, thanks to the original design, go-cart driving feel and personalized style. More than 5.3 million Minis were made and sold all around the world during its incarnation from 1959 to 2000.
Along with the brands of Rover Group, Mini was acquired by BMW in 1994, The premium German car maker introduced a new generation Mini in 2001 after production of the Mini ceased. The brand was changed to MINI, all capital letters to mark the beginning.
The MINI was introduced to the Chinese market in 2003. The half-century old brand, with millions of fans all over the world, is now firing the passion of more and more Chinese motor enthusiasts"
Please be sure to read the full and interesting article:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-09/14/content_13680302.htm