No SnowKyo Drift

Back in 2015 MINI Canada held their first Snowkyo Drift event where local Indycar racer James Hinchcliffe came along as the celebrity instructor and gaves rides around a snow covered track in Orangeville, north of Toronto. The 2016 version was scheduled to provide even more excitement with Quebecois duo Joël Levac and Stéphanie Lewis bringing their extremely rare MINI Countryman John Cooper Works WRC to the Country Heritage Park hust outside of Milton, ON. Unfortunately the mild 2016 winter in Ontario did not co-operate and suddenly a warm spell hit and by event time on the Sunday most of the snow had disappeared from the facility. However that did not stop Levac showing what the WRC MINI could do. Many of the attendant MINIacs’ faces showed signs of trepidation before climbing aboard the Gulf and Diplomático Rum sponsored MINI; not knowing what to expect. However after extracting themselves from the tight confines of the navigators seat and removing the required helmet and mandatory neck restraint their faces told a different story, one that showed many the facets of the ride were now firmly stored in their memory banks. I arrived early to ensure I got the whole picture of the day. Levac and Lewis and their able crew don’t do things in halves. This event was treated like every other outing by Levac Motorsport and first order of the day was to erect the trailer awning. Preparing the MINI to make runs is also a bit more of a process than just strapping in and pushing the starter button. The high strung MINI/BMW motor needs to be prepared and started following a proven schedule to ensure it will perform at it’s best once it reaches operating temperature. The power steering has to be primed in a certain way ensuring an errant rock at the side of the stage will not damage the quick ratio rack. But when it was ready to rock it did so in a way that demanded equal attention from the driver and the crowd of MINI fans. As things wrapped up for the day Levac had this to say, “MINI’s are exceptional cars and our rally version is just one of kind! Seeing people have so much fun in the co-driver seat at MINI Canada’s Snowkyo Drift makes it all worth it!” So capping it all, even with the lack of snow the event was a huge success. Well done MINI Canada and Levac Motorsport, I and countless MINIacs had a blast.

WRC SPEC SHEET

Built by: Bore / stroke: Power (max): Torque (max): Transmission:

Prodrive 83.0 mm / 73.8 mm 315 hp (232 kW) at 6,200 rpm 425 Nm at 5,000 rpm Four-wheel drive

Gearbox: Sequential shift, 6 Forward, 1

Reverse Differentials: Mechanical front and rear Clutch: Double-disc sintered metal Suspension: MacPherson struts with adjustable dampers

Steering: Brakes: Wheels: Tires: Length: Width: Weight:

Power-assisted rack and pinion Ventilated disc brakes (front diameter 355mm on tarmac) 8 x 18 inch for tarmac, 7 x 15 inch for gravel Pirelli PZero 3,976 mm 1,820 mm FIA regulation 2,760 lbs minimum (2900 lbs with driver and co-driver)