Pirelli-backed MINI Challenge to lead festival celebrations

The third round of the Pirelli-supported MINI Challenge will feature as part of next weekend’s MINI festival celebrations at Brands Hatch Indy (16-17 June).

Based near Swanley in Kent, Brands Hatch Indy will host three 20-minute races in the highly competitive single-make series that uses renowned Italian firm Pirelli as the championship’s sole tyre supplier. Now in its 11th year, the MINI Challenge has firmly established itself as one of the most prestigious one-make championships in the UK, and is increasingly seen as a training ground for motorsport’s future stars.

After the championship’s opening two rounds, Henry Gilbert heads the overall competitor leaderboard as well as the Club class with a total of 81 points. Jono Brown holds second, nine points adrift of the lead. In the John Cooper Works class, Lee Allen leads the category by 11 points over second-placed Chris Smith.

The Brands Hatch MINI festival is a celebration of everything synonymous with the prestigious brand, from the classic Austin MINI of the late 1950s to its modern hatchback incarnation. The two-day event will also include a variety of activities with a display of special motorsport MINIs old and new, a MINI stunt show, a trade village, parades and live music.

MINI Se7en Championship, now in its 45th year, will also race as well as the tuned cars of the MINI Miglia Championship. A pre-66 Mini race will be sure to entertain nostalgic fans, whilst arguments over which version is best will be sorted with a handicap race for all variants.