MINI’s World Rally Championship adventure will continue in Greece this week when Armindo Araujo and Daniel Oliveira contest the Acropolis Rally in their John Cooper Works WRCs.
Araujo, the double Production Car world champion, and WRC rookie Oliveira were among four drivers to give the Prodrive-developed machine its competition debut on Rally d’Italia Sardegna last month.
Since then Oliveira has tackled Rally Argentina in his Brazil World Rally Team entry, albeit without success following a hefty crash on day two of the event.
Araujo returns to action after skipping the trip to South America and can call on previous experience of the Loutraki-based event after finishing ninth overall in 2009. Oliveira, meanwhile, is an Acropolis Rally novice.
“The frustration for not being able to complete Rally Argentina is behind, and now I’m a 100 per cent mentally prepared to overcome this new challenge,” said the 25-year-old Oliveira. “I’ve watched and followed this rally many times in the previous editions and I know it’s one of the toughest of the year. However, I can’t say much until I hit the road and see it by myself.”
The Acropolis Rally will mark Oliveira’s third outing in MINI’s John Cooper Works WRC having competed in Portugal and Jordan at the wheel of the Super 2000 version.
“We’re almost half the way through this season and so far it’s been four months learning,” said the Brazilian. “This is all new to me and it will take me more time to get completely [ready].”
Araujo prepared for the Acropolis Rally with a test near Itea in Greece on Sunday before he switched to a venue near Examilia on Monday. Michalis Zotos, a senior Prodrive engineer who hails from Greece, accompanied Araujo during Sunday’s session and supervised his test the following day.