MINI weatherman storms out to Italian job...

Australian TV personality and V8 Supercar driver Grant Denyer will take on all comers, including former Formula One and Touring Car champions, in the MINI United Challenge meeting in Italy this weekend.

Denyer will fly out on Friday to take up his grid position for Australia in the MINI United Special Guest Race in Misano, Italy on Sunday. Seventeen drivers, including some of the best from Italy, Great Britain, the US, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, South Africa and Finland will compete in the 20-lap race as part of the three-day meeting.

The racing is just one of the key attractions of MINI United. Centred on Misano in Italy, the festival d'MINI is expected to attract thousands of Mini enthusiasts from all around Europe as well as further afield.

Fans are set to descend on Italy from 32 countries including those as far a field as Japan and Canada. A convoy of over 200 MINIs is enroute from the UK to attend the Oct 28-30 meeting which will include the grand final of the John Cooper Challenge (JCC).

The 20 top drivers from the European-based national JCC championships will compete against each other in fully-kitted out John Cooper Works MINI Coopers.

Other highlights, Denyer aside, include racing legend Alex Zanardi and ex-F1 stars Paolo Barilla (heir to the Barilla pasta empire), Christian Danner and Marc Surer, as well as Monte Carlo Rally winner, Rauno Aaltonen. Owners will be able to take hot laps with the racers as well as try out the circuit in their own Coopers -- behind a pace car, of course.

Also of interest will be the unveiling of "a special-edition MINI." Listed on the program of events for MINI UNited, this could be tacit confirmation perhaps, that a rumoured Lightweight 'CSL' style performance variant of the Cooper S will be debuted at Misano.

For a sneak peek at MINIUnited click here