WRC driver Michal Kosciuszko has ended his relationship with MINI and the Motorsport Italia team due to ongoing mechanical and technical issues. With immediate effect he will now start preparations to race a Ford Fiesta WRC with M-Sport.
It’s fair to say MINI’s comeback to the world rally stage, while accompanied with great fanfare and promise early on, has been a total disaster. If not from a technical and sporting point of view, certainly from a public relations standpoint. MINI re-entered rallying with excellent good will in the rally community, but we’re not sure how much, if any, remains. BMW is a company with outstanding motorsport heritage, but it has hung MINI out to dry.
“I am a player who is committed to high standards and consistently strives to achieve the intended objective. The place where I got, the WRC, confirms my determination,” said Kosciuszko. “The beginning of the season for us was technically very difficult, so I thank my strategic partner, Grupa LOTOS, which showed great understanding.
“Together we decided to change the car and work with M-Sport. I would like to thank Motorsport Italia for co-operation and wish them luck for the future.”
Kosciuszko will miss this weekend’s Acropolis Rally but is expected to line up for Rally d’italia in late June.
[Source: wrc.com | Pic: Motorsport Italia]
2 replies on “Kosciuszko dumps MINI for Ford”
I have to say, I am a big fan of Minis and their motorsport heritage, but the Peugeot sourced engine is a liability. Our mini cooper s was much beloved but we did have rattles, squeaks and engine problems.
Launched with so much promise. Then BMW got itself distracted with DTM, then MINI started spending its motorsport marketing dollars on Dakar/Rally Raids and more recently on Rally Cross. MINI Challenge suffered and the WRC program has been on a death spiral ever since the factory support moved away from the Prodrive squad. Very sad indeed.