Photo: MINI
It was 50 years ago, in Monte Carlo, when MINI managed to win its first ever rally title with Paddy Hopkirk behind the wheel of one of the smallest cars ever to enter the competition.
How time flies. Today, the champion is 80 years old and happier than ever to be able to celebrate this fantastic age with the company that supported him through his career.
Just a year later and then again in 1967, Paddy’s team-mates Timo Makinen and Rauno Aaltonen managed to secure other valuable wins aboard similar Cooper S models, cementing the British car in the hearts of the public.
“Although the Mini was only a little family saloon, technically it had a lot of advantages. Its front-wheel drive and front-mounted transverse engine were a great advantage, and the fact the car was smaller and the roads were ploughed, they were quite narrow, so I suppose that was an advantage. We were very lucky – the car was right, everything happened at the right time and came together at the right moment,” said Paddy at the event held by MINI in Munich, to celebrate the passing of 50 years.
The win he managed in 1964 was celebrated with a lot of excitement, especially in Britain, Hopkirk receiving a telegram from the government and even the Beatles that were still a band back then.
“I got a telegram from the Beatles,” remembers Hopkirk. “That was followed by a photograph of the four of them autographed to me saying: ‘You’re one of us now, Paddy.’ And it’s very nice to have that nowadays.”
However, 1964 was only the beginning, the Mini Cooper S continuing to win races throughout 1965, 1966 and 1967 thanks to the drivers that became known as “The Three Musketeers”, Paddy Hopkirk, Timo Makinen and Rauno Aaltonen. That was the beginning of a legacy that endures to this day, MINI claiming the entire podium at the 2014 Dakar Rally, staying true to its DNA.
Just a year later and then again in 1967, Paddy’s team-mates Timo Makinen and Rauno Aaltonen managed to secure other valuable wins aboard similar Cooper S models, cementing the British car in the hearts of the public.
“Although the Mini was only a little family saloon, technically it had a lot of advantages. Its front-wheel drive and front-mounted transverse engine were a great advantage, and the fact the car was smaller and the roads were ploughed, they were quite narrow, so I suppose that was an advantage. We were very lucky – the car was right, everything happened at the right time and came together at the right moment,” said Paddy at the event held by MINI in Munich, to celebrate the passing of 50 years.
The win he managed in 1964 was celebrated with a lot of excitement, especially in Britain, Hopkirk receiving a telegram from the government and even the Beatles that were still a band back then.
“I got a telegram from the Beatles,” remembers Hopkirk. “That was followed by a photograph of the four of them autographed to me saying: ‘You’re one of us now, Paddy.’ And it’s very nice to have that nowadays.”
However, 1964 was only the beginning, the Mini Cooper S continuing to win races throughout 1965, 1966 and 1967 thanks to the drivers that became known as “The Three Musketeers”, Paddy Hopkirk, Timo Makinen and Rauno Aaltonen. That was the beginning of a legacy that endures to this day, MINI claiming the entire podium at the 2014 Dakar Rally, staying true to its DNA.
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