Miracles do happen indeed, it’s just a matter of believing! That’s what happened to Paddy Hopkirk  sixty years ago… he was so convinced it was possible that he turned the Mini Cooper into a true sportscar, winning the prestigious Monte Carlo rally in 1964.

Was it simply just a stroke of luck due to circumstances? Or did it happen completely by chance? Surely not, as the Mini won the Monte Carlo rally again three more times in 1965, 1966 (however the whole team was disqualified) and 1967. Along the Irish pilot, Timo Mäkinen and Rauno Aaltonen also have a share in the Mini Cooper racing history. Originally launched in 1959, up until then the car was just a small  « town car », rather girly and posh at it. In Monte Carlo, for the first time, it morphed into an efficient sports car. The Alec Issigonis recipe was pretty simple and it’s still relevant today : maximum passengers and luggage space in the smallest possible dimensions, a wheel at each corner and a transverse engine driving the front wheels.

John Cooper, the wizard of engines

Single-seater manufacturer John Cooper quickly realized the Mini’s potential for racing. Soon, he started developing a higher-performance version. By 1961, the Mini Cooper had 55 bhp while the basic Mini had to make do with 34 bhp. Overnight, less affluent sports car enthusiasts could hold their own against others driving far more powerful machines. The Mini’s basic qualities were still there but the Cooper did everything much better. Fast, fun and easy to drive, the Mini was also very light. In rally guise, the Mini Cooper weighed just 650 kg, ensuring it had a great power-to-weight ratio and enabling it to easily hold its own against much more powerful rivals.

In May 1962, Pat Moss won the Tulip Rally. Stuart Turner was in charge of BMC’s competition department and would soon enter the Mini in various races. He aslo hired two already famous rally drivers, Timo Mäkinen and Rauno Aaltonen. Both from Northern Europe, they mastered left-foot braking like no others. On top of first class drivers, Turner  also set up a dedicated and highly professional team : victory was sure to happen. He was the first factory rally team manager to use « checkers » that drove along the special stages just before road closing, gathering real time road conditions information of vital importance for the pilots and the team.

Ever more power

John Cooper carried on developping the Mini, turning it into an ever more sportier car. The Cooper S had a 1071 cm3 engine developing 90 bhp and quickly replaced the 1000 cm3 Cooper. However, it was still pretty close to the less powerful versions : it didn’t even have a rev counter, sports steering wheel or racier seats. It was still a Mini through and through, with its prominent hinges, sliding door windows and… a string to open the passenger door from inside! In 1963, Aaltonen took a first class victory in the Monte Carlo rally.

The following year, the Mini was just the underdog among 277 participants. No doubt, the snowy and icy roads suited the car and its driver perfectly. As is often the case in the Monte Carlo rally, the winners are the racers outshining all others during the final night. That’s exactly what happened : 33EJB was simply the best.  It happened in the Turini Pass covered in ice and snow, at an altitude of over 1,600 metres. The Mini made a triffle of the 34 hairpin bends located along the 24km special stage. Hopkirk came in second, just behind Ljungfeldt and his Ford Falcon V8, but the rally regulations taking into account both weight and power finally enabled him to take victory. He was first in the final special stage taking place on various downtown Monte Carlo streets. Paddy Hokirk got a telegram from the British government congratulating him on such a tremendous victory and… a postcard sent by the Beatles, no less! Overnight, Hopkirk became a hero and something of a fifth Beatles.

The following year, Mäkinen was the winner. This time, the factory team’s cars were Cooper S 1300s. He was the only driver making it to the end of the rally without any penalties. During the final night run in dreadful conditions, he won another five of the six special stages and took a resounding victory. In 1966, theMonte Carlo had become a bit of a routine: three Minis took the overall top three places i but… they were eventually disqualified for supposedly illegal lights… we’d rather say the organisers had had enough Mini Cooper wiins! The Three Mini Musketeers, Aaltonen, Mäkinen and Hopkirk were back at it again in 1967 and… that was the final victory for the Mini factory team in the Monte Carlo Rally. This time, Rauno Aaltonen was first.

Still, the Mini Cooper would go on to finish third overall the following year but things had changed for good. Bach then, the Leyland group was starting to have problems. The Mini Cooper was facing increasingly tough competition and due to a lack of money and a more competitive car, the factory racing department was finally wound down in 1970. The last Mini Cooper S left the factory in 1971. However, like the phoenix, it came back a few years later. Mini is now a BMW Groupe member and the brand still uses the Cooper name, albeit… on electric cars, that’s another story !