MINI CHALLENGE makes eight V8 dates in 08

It's not going to be quite a return to the golden days of Mini racing in Australia, when the flying bricks humbled the biggest and most powerful production cars in the land, but the sight of a raging herd of new MINIs jostling for position on Conrod Straight at next year's Bathurst 1000 will bring a nostalgic tear to many an eye.

The Bathurst race will follow a series of scheduled appearances in the one-make series -- just announced by MINI custodian BMW -- that will include circuits such as Eastern Creek and Oran Park in NSW, Barbagello in WA, Sandown and Phillip Island in Victoria and Symmons Plains in Tasmania.

The inaugural series will support eight rounds of the V8 Supercars championship, beginning with Round 1 at Eastern Creek on March 7-9 and rounding off with the Oran Park final on December 4-7 -- a swansong hosting by this historic venue which is in line for redevelopment afterwards.

The MINI CHALLENGE will also include the newly instituted Phillip Island 500 endurance race that is reminiscent of the pre-Bathurst Armstrong 500 first held in 1960.

On top of this, if current discussions are successful, MINIs could also be competing in sprint races at future Gold Coast Indy 300s.

The introduction of the MINI CHALLENGE follows the appearance of MINIs at tarmac rallies in 2006 and 2007, including a creditable ninth outright in the 2007 Targa Tasmania. The brand celebrated its Australian launch as the star of the Celebrity Challenge race at the 2002 Australian Formula 1 Grand prix.

MINI CHALLENGE is a professionally supported racing programme aimed at making motorsport more affordable and more attuned to the skills of the driver than the amount of money spent on the car. All cars are mechanically identical and matched to a control car.

2008 MINI CHALLENGE SERIES

Round 1 Eastern Creek NSW March 7-9
Round 2 Wakefield Park NSW April 4-6*
Round 3 Barbagello WA May 9-11
Round 4 Sandown VIC June 7-9
Round 5 Phillip Island VIC September 12-14
Round 6 Bathurst NSW October 9-12
Round 7 Symmons Plains TAS November 21-23
Round 8 Oran Park NSW December 4-7

*MINI has also confirmed that MINI CHALLENGE category management will be undertaken by Motorsport Event Management (MEM), which is associated with Carrera Cup Australia.