One of the UK’s top Mini events takes place this weekend at Santa Pod, Beds with 100's of Mini's due to attend.

• One of the UK’s top Mini events takes place this weekend at Santa Pod, Beds
• Chance to win a classic Mini
• ‘Club Mini Push’, 120mph karts, 150mph gas turbine drag bike, precision parallel parking and the ‘Turbonator’ to be part of the live action
• Beatles tribute act The Brighton Beatles to headline evening show

With less than a week to go before the big day, Mini fans have a lot to look forward to at this year’s Mini in the Park which takes place at Santa Pod, Beds, on Sunday August 14^th.

One of the more entertaining features of the day will be the ‘Club Mini Push’, with representatives of some of the country’s biggest and best Mini clubs competing head to head in a battle to push a classic Mini around an obstacle course in the fastest possible time.

Visitors will also have the chance to enter a competition to win a classic Mini, sponsored by specialist insurers Carole Nash. 

The two-door saloon has been dramatically transformed during the 2016 show season, and the draw to win it will take place live at the show, with one lucky winner getting to drive away in the all-time British classic.

Renowned Mini stunt driver, Alistair Moffatt, promises to be a big draw as he shows off his millimetre-perfect handbrake turn parallel parking in a classic Mini – a breath-taking display for fans, as he slides into a parking space with just inches to spare.

In addition, there will be a hotly contested concours competition, featuring some of the finest cars on the Mini scene, plus a Mini-only ‘Run Wot Ya Brung’ contest on Santa Pod’s famous drag strip, with prizes at stake. Four runs down the famous strip can be bought for just £20 on top of the standard show entry.

Non-club members will also be able to enjoy the show, with a special Mini-only parking area reserved for their prized cars, and even a special award for the best ‘non-club’ Mini attending the event.

The event is also host to MiniWorld magazine's 25th anniversary celebrations, and most notable among this will be a display of featured cars from the past, present and future issues. Expect restored classics and some beautifully modified examples to excite and inspire every Mini fan.

Each year, over 1,000 Mini fans choose to start their MITP experience early, with a festival feel family friendly campsite, plus live music and Santa Pod’s famous funfair. Gates open at 2pm on the Saturday, with entertainment from 7.30pm. Admission is £5 per person in advance or £10 per person on arrival (gates close 2am Sunday morning). 

The evening at MITP 2016 will include the Brighton Beatles, one of the best fab four tribute acts in the country. Prizes for those wearing proper 60s get-up are up for grabs in a Beatles-based fancy dress competition.

A new report shows that once great sellers from the 70's and 80's are very close to being completely wiped out in the UK.

Recent research by leading classic car insurer, ClassicLine has revealed that a number of once popular British classic cars are facing an extinction crisis.

The list of top ten most endangered cars in Britain has been published by the insurance specialists as part of it’s new ‘Save our Classics’ campaign.

Taking the top spot on the endangered list is the British Leyland built, Morris Ital. The new figures revealing that with only 35 registered examples left they are now rarer than a Javan Rhino.

Built at Cowley and then later Longbridge between 1980 – 1984, the Ital was the last production car to wear the Morris badge. In the past decade, a shocking 150 Itals have disappeared from Britain’s roads, and today, the youngest car in the Morris family is on the very brink of extinction.

“Once common 1970’s and 80’s cars are disappearing at an alarming rate and this new list is evidence that a serious extinction crisis is mounting”, said Ian Fray, managing director at ClassicLine. “Tens of thousands of Itals were built during the 1980s, they are a proud part of our British manufacturing heritage so it is very sad to hear that so few now remain”.

The new data also highlights the decimation of the iconic Ford Sierra. Often seen roaming across the British landscape in vast numbers through the Eighties and Nineties they are now in a worrying state of decline. With over 64,000 being lost in the last decade, less than one per cent of the total built now remain.

Other cars high on the Save our Classics endangered list include the 1980’s best seller, the Austin Metro, the once popular Ford Cortina, the Austin Allegro, the Vauxhall Victor and the Hillman Avenger.

Fray added, “It is a tragedy that such huge numbers of these cars have been lost in the last decade. Through our new campaign we aim to raise awareness and support for the plight of these once common and much loved British classics that are being recklessly driven to extinction”.

The new Save our Classics campaign, launched earlier this month by ClassicLine encourages the preservation of British classic cars and has called for a number of incentives such as reducing the current UK road tax exemption from 40 years to 30 years to help enthusiasts maintain the dwindling stock. Drivers and enthusiasts can pledge their support to the campaign through the ClassicLine webpage and join the growing community of ‘spotters’ who are being encouraged to share sightings of the endangered cars when they see them out on the road.

For more information about the campaign and to pledge your support visit 

www.classiclineinsurance.co.uk/save-our-classics 

or 

www.facebook.com/saveourclassics

Top 10 endangered cars in the UK

	2015	2005	Amount built	% lost
Morris Ital (1980 – 1984)	35	185	175,276	99.98004
Austin Maxi (1969 – 1981)	140	318	472,098	99.97035
Austin Allegro (1973-1982)	170	543	642,340	99.97354
Vauxhall Chevette (1975 – 1984)	202	765	416,058	99.95145
Hillman Avenger (1970-1981)	215	291	638,631	99.96634
Morris Marina (1971 – 1980)	273	550	809,612	99.96629
Austin Metro (1980 – 1991)	464	8395	1,518,932	99.96946
Vauxhall Victor (1961 – 1978)	828	1050	827,159	99.8999
Ford Sierra (1982 – 1993)	3350	67817	3,470,524	99.90348
Ford Cortina	3580	4967	4,154,902	99.91384

For the first time ever, a Mini will be taking part in the Peking to Paris rally, let's hope it does really well.

This year’s Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, billed as the world’s toughest endurance rally for classic and vintage cars, will feature a Mini for the first time in the event’s history.

The 1972 Austin Mini 1000 has been entered as a last minute replacement for Car 34 after Paul and Chris Hartfield’s pre-war Packard wasn’t ready in time.

Concerned for the Packard, Paul contacted Owen Turner from the Rover Centre whom he had met on last year’s Sahara Challenge, for some advice and seeing just how much work still needed to be done on the old American car, advised against taking it on the grueling 36-day 8,500mile event that journeys through some extremely difficult terrain. 

Needing a car in a hurray to meet the shipping deadline, the best option was to buy the Mini Owen had prepared for himself for the 2015 Marrakesh event as well as Le Jog.

Owen explains: “The Packard needed a lot of work still doing and would not have coped with the likes of Mongolia at all in its current condition. It will be a challenge for the Mini, especially the Gobi Desert, but at least you can fix it fast and get moving again.”

The Mini 1000 has a 1300 engine and uses a 1991 body shell, sprayed in its original colour. Not bad considering it was built in two weeks. 

The sixth Peking to Paris Motor Challenge, organised by the Endurance Rally Association, will begin on Sunday 12th June 2016 as 110 crews cross the start line at the Great Wall of China in Beijing.

Competitors will cross eleven countries including Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, Russia and Belarus before entering Europe to reach the finish line in the centre of Paris on Sunday 17th July. 

More crews are taking part in the 2016 outing than ever before, with 50 cars dated pre-1942 in the Vintageant class and 60 in the Classic class dated pre-1977. 

The Peking to Paris Motor Challenge begins Sunday, June 12, 2016, at the Great Wall of China outside Beijing and concludes Sunday, July 17, 2016, at Place Vendôme in the center of Paris, France.

Motorsport at the Palace is bringing The Italian Job back to Crystal Palace, with the three Mini's making there return.

Motorsport at the Palace is bringing The Italian Job back to Crystal Palace as the red, white and blue trio of Minis used in the film will be in action at this year’s event on Sunday 29^th and Monday 30^th May.

The Minis return as in 1969, the venue was used to film scenes in the iconic motoring movie The Italian Job. The circuit’s inner field was used to film the van being blown up so the film’s star Michael Caine could say that immortal line; “You’re only suppose to blow the bloody doors off.”

The actual circuit was used by stunt drivers to practice the jumping sequence with the Mini Cooper cars as well as being used for part of the car chase itself.

In honour of the UK’s favourite motoring movie, the three actual Mini Coopers, in red, white and blue, from the film will be at Motorsport at the Palace. They will be on static display so fans can have pictures with these three famous cars as well as taking to the circuit for a parade lap at lunchtime each day.

Around 150 cars from racing and rallying spanning over 100 years of motoring at this year’s show with Classes ranging from pre-war vintage to modern day, delivering high octane competition with around 75 cars running each day. Expect to see the most diverse line-up of racing with a pre-1931 Austin 7 Ulster in one race and a 2000 Honda Civic R-Type in the next!

From Alfas to Westfields, this is a bank holiday of racing not to be missed and a must for any petrol head – be it a classic car nut, a supercar savant, former racing driver or someone who just loves cars!

Motorsport at the Palace, held on Sunday 29^th and Monday 30^th May 2016, is open from 9am until 5.30pm. Car Parking is free. Tickets are now on sale, with adults passes from £12 and children from £5 when booked in advance.

The Motoring World Blog thanks you all ONE MILLION TIMES as we hit the milestone of page views.

Well we have done it, between us all The Motoring World Blog has hit the 1,000,000 page views yesterday, I never in my wildest dreams thought that this figure would be achieved, let alone in only Thirty nine months since I started the blog properly.

In that time I have gone from just posting a post here and there to going international, with reports from all over the world, Social Media has been a big part of this, with a Facebook account and a Twitter one too, and with Twitter, we have achieved some really big names that have followed the account.

Tom Coronel, WTCC driver, loads of car brands, and not just dealerships, but head office ones too, we have been invited to take part in numerous events, some of which include :

• A full private tour of Jaguar at Castle Bromwich where we were allowed to take pictures, unheard of these days.
• Ssangyong has invited us to a number of events, including an upcoming one (more of that later next month).
• We have been given cars to road test, from the MG6 and MG3, to Audi's, Citroen's, Vauxhall's, MINI, Range Rover, Mercedes, and more.
• An invite from SMMT to an event happening soon (again more on that shortly).
• Various other factory and insider visits.
• And so much more.

And at the heart of all this has been you guys, the best month had a figure of 54,000 hits, this month has hit a year low, mainly in part to being unwell, and not being around to do as much as I would have liked to do, all of this, is a one man band, just me.

We have had people from all over the globe read the blog, the USA and UK are the top two, followed by (and in no particular order)

• Germany
• France
• Russia
• Ukraine
• India
• Japan
• Canada
• Turkey
• Poland
• Ireland
• Spain
• Italy
• Portugal
• Saudi Arabia
• Thailand
• United Arab Emirates
• Belgium
• Bahrain

So, you can see we are international, and who knows, maybe even inter galactic, Tim Peake are you reading ? LOL.

As with most people we all have our favourite brands, cars from the British marques, Rover, MG, Austin etc, that made up BLMC through to MG-Rover before it went into receivership 11 years ago, and now Jaguar Land Rover, these are my brands of choice, and I dont apologise for that at all.

The post that has gained the biggest amount of interest ? well, thats the Jaguar XE you can read it here>>JAG<<, at the time of writing this the post has had a hit rate of 8169 views, which is way way ahead of second place.

So, I would just like to say thank you, no, a BIG THANK YOU, to each and everyone of you that has taken time out from your lives to spend a little piece if it with me and my little blog, I hope you have enjoyed it, I hope you continue to enjoy it, and if you have any questions, tips or, even if you feel like you would love to do a road test report on your car, let me know.

And lastly, Thank you to the brands, that have allowed me access to the cars, the events, the people, without which the site would not be as good as it is, modesty is not my strong point.. LOL..

THANK YOU ONE MILLION TIMES

BMIHT Re-Brands to become the British Motor Museum it opens in February with a new building, and 100's of new cars.

The Heritage Motor Centre, home to the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust, announced a number of exciting new changes on Friday 13th November. The world’s largest collection of historic British cars is re-branding the name of its venue at Gaydon to the British Motor Museum,and undertaking a major refurbishment of its Museum this winter as well as unveiling a new £4m Collections Centre.

The change of name to the British Motor Museum will more accurately reflect this Accredited Museum’s recently achieved Arts Council England ‘Designated’ status which confirms the national and international significance of its collections.

An investment of £1.1m by the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust will transform the Museum at Gaydon, which will close to the public from 30 November to allow the refurbishment to take place.  

The changes will result in a much more visually exciting and immersive display, designed to appeal to both current fans as well as new audiences yet to experience all that it has to offer.

An introductory gallery within the new visitor entrance will set the scene and flow into distinctive new themed zones, including ones for movie cars, prototypes and sports cars. 

The popular ethos of allowing visitors to get up close to the exhibits will not change, but there will be different ways to view the cars, with many on raised plinths and some at eye level.  

Families and enthusiasts alike will be able to stroll along the Time Road, look under more open bonnets, and enjoy new interactive content including sound, film and touch screens. Whether the visitor is 3 or 103 years of age, there will be something about each car and its history to fascinate.

The final element of the multi-million revamp is the new Collections Centre. Supported by Heritage Lottery Fund, Jaguar Land Rover and the Garfield Weston Foundation, as well as the two charitable Trusts involved, the £4m project will store around 250 vehicles from the reserve collections of the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust and the Jaguar Heritage Trust. 

Many of these vehicles are one of a kind and most have never been seen by the public. A new team of volunteers will take visitors on a ‘behind-the-scenes’ tour to view both the cars and the conservation work in progress in the historic vehicle workshops. Entry to the Collections Centre will be included within the Museum ticket price and tours can be booked on arrival. 

Julie Tew, Managing Director at the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust said: "We are delighted to announce these exciting new changes which will significantly enhance our status and appeal.  

The Museum refurbishment and the new Collections Centre will enrich our visitors’ experience and showcase our collections to their full potential.  Not only will our prized collection of 300 historic British cars be far more accessible, but our Museum will give people the chance to learn more about the past, present and future of the British motor industry, its technology and its people.” 

The transition to the new name begins once the Museum closes for its redevelopment from the 30 November and the venue will be officially known as the British Motor Museum when the Museum and Collections Centre re-open to the public on Saturday 13 February 2016.