.
Following the team's debut entry in last year's Nurburgring 24 Hrs race, John Cooper Motorsport is back for more, with a two-car entry for 2004's epic on June 12/13. Demonstrating the team's increased ambition, they have signed the hugely experienced Touring Car and Endurance racing ace, Roberto Ravaglia to spearhead the effort.
The 47-year old Italian, now principal of the Ravaglia Motorsport ETCC team, has previously won the Spa-Francorchamps 24 hrs race, finished third at Le Mans and is a former World, European, German and Italian Touring Car Champion.
Ravaglia heads up a team of six drivers, under the charge of two team managers, with Mike Cooper acting as overall team principal.
It is not just the talent that has undergone an overhaul since last year; the MINI Cooper S Works has been considerably enhanced too, with the 200bhp engine being stepped up to a far more powerful fire-breathing unit. The engine has so far stood up well to some intense testing carried out by Coopers.
As well as the main event at 3pm on Saturday, June 12, MINI will be playing a major role in the race build-up with a packed grid of red Cooper Clubsport S's entertaining the grandstands in Round 2 of the new MINI Challenge - a joint venture between John Cooper Motorsport and MINI Germany - at midday.
Mike Cooper is thrilled with the resurgence of the John Cooper name in the motor sport arena: 'The success of the John Cooper Challenge has really fired our ambition to put the Cooper name back where it belongs in motor sport, both domestically and internationally.'
Car #1:Team Manager: Mark BrownDrivers: Roberto Ravaglia (I), Paul Harvey (GB), Karl-Heinz Kalbfell (D)
Car #2:Team Manager: Peter RiedlDrivers: Benno Rottenfusser (D), Gunter Weber (D), Thomas Storz (D)
< 8:30:29 PM 
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Goliath Stumbles - David Keeps Humming Along (GB).
This news comes from frequent contributor Lee Johnson:
I finally got around to the business section of today's NY Times and in the "Openers" section on page 2 there is a brief comparing the MINI and the Hummer under the headline Goliath Stumbles, But David Keeps Humming Along. Here's the text:
"A decade ago, after another Iraq war, one Arnold Schwarzenegger spied a hulking military vehicle and decided it was the chariot for him. The seeds of the Hummer craze were sown, blossoming when the Hummer H2 military chic for the leather-seat-and-cupholder set appeared in 2002."
"That same year, in a parallel automotive universe, BMW was thinking far smaller, introducing its retooled Mini to American drivers."
"Both cars were hits, and the Mini the ultimate anti-S.U.V., at least until the even more minuscule Smart Car arrives on these shores still is. But whether it's because of war weariness, surging gas prices or drivers fed up with righteous glares from Mini drivers, the Hummer is fading. Sales have dropped for eight consecutive months. Now, in fact, dealers offer rebates, though the Terminator would surely wince at the word."
So keep up those righteous glares: It's working!
Lee
[MotoringFile]
< 8:29:54 PM
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Cartoon Guide to Federal Spectrum Policy [Slashdot]
< 9:06:52 AM
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Shatner May Return to Star Trek (Briefly?) [Slashdot]
< 9:05:47 AM
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Earth has been gradually cooling. Ah come on! You are guys are messing with us!
The Arctic is melting! - it must be human caused global warming!. Or Maybe not! - since it seems to be doing the same thing it did a few times before in the past 200 years. Could climate be highly variable over time? What a concept. [Edward Mitchell: Common Sense Technology]
< 9:03:28 AM
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