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Motoring News
boosted to around 90 hp. is was a lot more than in
previous years but still modest in the face of competi‐
tion from the likes of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SE and
Ford Falcon, whose six-cylinder and V8 units had three
or four times more power at their disposal.
1962. And by the following year, the diminutive British
car was ready to burst into the public consciousness at
the Monte Carlo Rally. Preceding years had been a
tough learning experience for the works team, but now
they would make people sit up and take notice. Rauno
Aaltonen and Paddy Hopkirk drove the 55 hp Mini
Cooper to a 1-2 finish in their class, which was good
enough for third and sixth places overall.
It was clear that the classic Mini was better equipped
than any other car to pull off the classic David vs Go‐
liath act. John Cooper had long suspected that the car
had what it took. Back in 1959 he instructed Roy Sal‐
vadori to drive a prototype to the Italian Grand Prix in
Monza. e journey itself turned into a race between
Salvadori and fellow racing driver Reg Parnell at the
wheel of an Aston Martin DB4. e result confirmed
what Cooper had foreseen in his mind’s eye: the
Cooper-prepared classic Mini arrived around an hour
earlier than the much more powerful Aston.
Identifiable from a distance with their tartan red body‐
work and white roofs, the six small racers dispatched by
the BMC works team for the Monte Carlo Rally in 1964
were – at least on paper – fighting against the tide once
more. e Mini Cooper S lined up at the start for the
first time. Its new four-cylinder engine now had an in‐
creased 1071cc capacity and output had also been
e 33rd edition of the Monte Carlo Rally began – as
was traditional at the time – with a nod to the origins of
the event, the cars starting from nine European cities
before converging on the French city of Reims. e
Hopkirk/Liddon partnership got their journey with the
Mini Cooper S under way in Minsk, while for Rauno
Aaltonen and Tony Ambrose the Monte adventure
started in Oslo, and Timo Mäkinen and Patrick Vanson
set off from Paris. e classic Mini successfully negoti‐
ated all these journeys and all six works cars were able
to take their place in the 277-strong field in Reims. e
first stage of the rally to Saint-Claude brought together
the two cars which were to define the 1964 Monte from
start to finish. Bo Ljungfeldt roared to the top of the
time sheets in his Ford Falcon, but Paddy Hopkirk re‐
mained hot on his heels in his Mini Cooper S.
e next leg of the rally was made up largely of milelong flat-out sections, but Hopkirk refused to let his
big-engined rivals build up a decisive advantage. e
“Night of the Long Knives” would become the day of
reckoning; this was the classic Mini’s chance to demon‐
strate its talents to the full. “It was quite snowy that
year, so we had done a lot of practising and preparing,”
explains Hopkirk. “e Mini was particularly good
downhill, and all the tests were up and downhill, so
what we lost going up, I think we made up for going
downhill.”
Irresistible handling, correct tyre choice, Hopkirk’s gis
at the wheel and the snow – which slowed the bigger
cars down – all came together and ensured that Hop‐
kirk was able to take over the lead on the 1,607-metre
(5,270 ) Col de Turini. However, it remained a tight
contest all the way to the finish, with Bo Ljungfeldt, as
expected, again posting the fastest time on the final
stage through Monte Carlo. However, Hopkirk was also
squeezing everything from his Mini Cooper S once
again and hung onto his advantage to wrap up the win.
“It’s not like rallying today when you know where you
are. I had to do the final circuit, then the journalists
told me I had won and I couldn’t believe it. It surprised
the world and us, so it was very nice,” recalls Hopkirk.
e following year Timo Mäkinen and co-driver Paul
Easter ensured the classic Mini would retain its title.
ey were helped by a new engine with capacity in‐
creased to 1275cc, but it was the Scandinavian’s driving
skill that landed the decisive blow. Mäkinen was the
only driver to remain penalty-point-free throughout the
rally distance, despite the fact that the 1965 Monte Car‐
lo Rally was providing one of the most exacting tests in
the history of the event. Epic levels of snow and ice
made the going seriously tough, but that didn’t stop the
organisers including a second night stage through the
Maritime Alps in the programme. Mäkinen and his
Mini Cooper S appeared impervious to the deteriorat‐
ing conditions. e Finn won five of the six special
stages on the final leg of the rally and finished the event
with a handsome margin over the second-placed car.
e most impressive and also most dramatic Monte
Carlo Rally for the “ree Musketeers” was to follow in
1966. Mäkinen, Aaltonen and Hopkirk dominated the
event from the start, and it was in this order that they
completed a clean sweep of the top three positions over‐
all at the finish. Public enthusiasm for the quicksilver
classic Minis appeared to be boundless – as was the dis‐
appointment when the French race commissioners re‐
vealed their decision to disqualify the trio on account of
lights that allegedly did not conform with official regu‐
lations. is was also the reason given for removing the
fourth-placed Lotus Cortina from the classification,
which meant that the Finnish Citroën driver Pauli
Toivonen was crowned the winner.
e dream of a Monte hat-trick lay in tatters, but the
“ree Musketeers” resolved to return at the earliest op‐
portunity. In t