Battle of the MINIs

A truly iconic British car steeped in history, and a staple in the Classic Car world, the MINI was first introduced in 1959 and gives itself as an ideal vehicle in a StreetCar format.

With the MINI at the very heart of StreetCar we can’t help but admire iconic classic MINIs. To showcase its competitive ability, we bring you a story about two similar, yet very distinctive MINIs that often battle it out for supremacy at Maidstone & Mid-Kent Motor Club (MMKMC).

The first is driven by Lloyd Covey whose MINI is celebrating half a century this year, and the second: a charismatic MINI named Olive.

In honour of it’s 50^th birthday, we will dive into the deep history of this event winning car. Going from a show car in the early 2000s, to being recommissioned in 2020, the car was then bought by Lloyd, a dedicated member of the MMKMC, who introduced this humble MINI to the Motorsport life. It participated in it’s very first Autotest under the lights in September 2020 and has since enjoyed a successful career in grassroots Motorsport, competing in 20-25 events per year.

However, the competitive life has not been smooth sailing for this MINI, with many complications and breakdowns along the way.

The most notable competition for Lloyd’s MINI came at the MMKMC AutoSOLO last year. After a damp morning the competition was neck and neck, split by milliseconds. With the adrenaline pumping, going into the final run, Lloyd and his MINI gave it everything they had and came away victorious by a fraction of a second!

We now switch focus to an equally competitive classic MINI called Olive, driven by proud owner and MMKMC member Si. After passing its MOT with the second attempt in October 2022, Olive also started its competitive Motorsport career at MMKMC. The first time Olive took to competition was at a Tarmac Autotest in November 2022, representing the oldest car at the event. Ironically, Si competed against his son, the youngest competitor.

Olive has experienced a few complications in the past, including a wild goose chase for a missing bolt and a sudden loss of power on the journey home from an event. However, for each problem, there is a solution! And in 2024 Si intends to try Olive’s hand at a Trial.

The two cars often battle it out at the MMKMC Autotests with many close competitions in 2023. They are perfect examples of great StreetCar competition between two iconic classics. With plenty of plans for repairs and competitions scheduled for 2024 we wish both of these MINIs all the best!