| Here's the official report from BMW about the Trading Post Rally.
Super Finish for Super Fish in Supercharged MINI Cooper S
03/11/2003
Kieren Perkins proved he's no fish out of water when it comes to motorsport finishing a solid 3rd in class and 41st overall in a field of 100 teams, driving a MINI Cooper S in the 2003 Trading Post Grand Prix Rally.
The dual Olympic Gold medallist, more used to putting in world-beating times over 1500m, had slightly further to go in the 1200km five-day rally which finished at the Albert Park Formula 1 circuit in Melbourne on Wednesday, 5 March. Last year, Kieren drove a MINI Cooper in the same event and couldn't wait to return for another bash.
Kieren piloted his super fast supercharged 120kW MINI Cooper S flawlessly to finish behind two of the three-car Stillwell Team.
Brothers, Nick, Michael and Chris Stillwell comprised Team Sibling Rivalry, all mounted in identical MINI Cooper S's differentiated only by colour.
Eight MINI Cooper S competitors contested class 2B of the Modern Section in the Open Category, Division Two, which also included privately entered BMW M3s and a Honda Integra Type R.
Kieren's Chilli Red MINI Cooper S, with its distinctive white roof was never far from the action over the five-day event. Appropriately enough, the car wore race number 2, celebrating the start of the second year of MINI sales in Australia.
The competition comprised a myriad of driving skill and speed tests, slalom courses, flat out blasts round racetracks, the tight-twisting turns of go-kart tracks - where naturally enough the MINI Cooper S was right at home - as well as performing night time exhibition driving tests in closed street sections of rural Victorian towns in front of huge crowds.
"The MINI Cooper S is perfectly suited to the tight driving tests that the Trading Post Grand Prix Rally is renowned for," Kieren said.
"I managed to place in the top 20 in the auto test in Omeo, and the car coped brilliantly at the Bairnsdale go-kart track."
Kieren wasn't alone in the car, experienced competitor but first-time navigator David Vervaart sat alongside as the scenery rushed past.
Known for his speed in the water, Kieren had his foot down hard at a timed test at Sale Airport.
"The last time I looked, the needle had hit 190km/h. If I?d had a little extra length down the runway I think I could have hit 200 (km/h)."
For both Omeo and Lakes Entrance driving test exhibitions, Kieren hosted a raffle prize winner from the local community in the passenger seat. Both winners had contributed to the bushfire appeals running concurrently with the Trading Post Grand Prix Rally stopovers.
Kieren made friends with another Australian racing legend, Peter Brock, on last year's event and quipped he'd be trading driving tips for swimming tips this year. They must have paid off, for Brock finished 68th.
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