Team MINI -- Drivers and Navigators

But now, 'Sinkers' is swapping his laptop for a six-point safety harness and getting behind the wheel himself, in one of the specially-built Team MINI cars. Sharing with navigator Justin Hunt, organiser of the Rally of Melbourne, Mike will tackle Targa Tasmania and selected events, including some of the Dutton tarmac rallies later in the year.

Married with three children, 44-year-old Mike, a Publishing Director with ACP's successful Trader Group of magazines, is confident that the agile performance and rock-solid handling of the MINI Cooper S with John Cooper Works tuning kit, will more than match his steep learning curve this year.

Justin Hunt
For 33-year-old Justin Hunt, a place in Team MINI is the culmination of a life-long dream -- literally. His family has always owned Minis and Justin first competed in a Mini when 16 -- he's been a member of the Mini Car Club of WA since he was a child.

He's an accomplished motorkhana and classic rally competitor and started co driving when he was just 17, becoming an Australian Rally Championship co-driver at 21. Taking his love of the sport one big step further, Justin was the Sporting Co-ordinator at Telstra Rally Australia for four years before moving from Perth to Melbourne  and is now the Event Manager of the NGK Rally of Melbourne.

Justin admits to being very excited about the challenges of co driving with -- and minding -- journalist 'Sinkers' in the Unique Cars entry and keeping him on the straight and narrow.  Being able to do it in a MINI, getting back into the famous yet exciting marque in which he started his motorsport career is just the icing on the cake for Justin Hunt.

That improved his position to 20th in the same event in 2000, but was enough to get him a driver with the Ralliart team and in 2002 the Birmingham-born Lowndes was rubbing shoulders with rally-legends Possum Bourne, Cody Crocker and Ed Ordynski.

In 2004, Spencer drove in two Chinese events, taking a second place behind current WRC driver Chris Atkinson.

The managing director of Access Hardware, suppliers to commercial builders, and with an Honours degree in Engineering, Spencer is looking forward to his involvement with Team MINI, which will allow him to combine his involvement with front-running competitive motorsport with his demanding day-time job.

Grant Denyer
Channel 7 out and about reporter and weather guy on the 'Sunrise' breakfast show, Grant Denyer is one of Australia's brightest up 'n' coming driving talents.

The former Network Ten V8 pit reporter grew up driving cars on the family farm in the Riverina and started racing karts at 15, winning the NSW Country Classic Championship in 1997.

Denyer's first touring car race was the GTP 3-hour at Mt Panorama in a Mazda 626 where he finished second in class behind V8 stars Greg Murphy and Steven Richards.

In 2001, father Craig helped set up the V8 BRute Championship and Grant placed fourth and became the series' Rookie of the Year. The next year, Denyer won four rounds and two lap records.

Grant drove a Nissan 200SX in the 2002 Bathurst 24-hour and a Porsche GT3 the next year, coming second in class, and sixth overall.

Thanks to work commitments Denyer has never completed a full season of racing, and 2004 was no different, but his performance caught Dick Johnson's eye and in 2005 Grant became a V8 Supercar driver.

Last year, Grant represented Australia in a MINI Challenge car during a MINI United VIP race at Misano in Italy, which was won by former F1 and Indycar driver Alex Zanardi.

Grant's youthful looks, diminutive size, giant-slaying performance and depth of experience are a perfect match for those of his MINI Cooper S.

Chris Randell
Chris Randell is one of Australia's most accomplished co-drivers, having competed at World and Asia-Pacific Championship level in Australia and internationally.  He has competed in over 20 FIA international events, including 16 world championship rounds in Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. His best result was third in Group N in 2002 in Rally Australia, navigating for Spencer Lowndes.

A professional fitness instructor with a Bachelor's degree, Chris crewed with Spencer for Team Mitsubishi Ralliart from 2000 to 2003 in the Australian Rally Championship.

During 2004/5 Chris competed in Rally New Zealand and selected rounds of the New Zealand National Championship with Emma Gilmour in a Group N Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VI.

He also competed in 2004/5 with Team Subaru in their media car in the ARC with Neil Crompton and Dean Evans, both in their first rallies.

He was Western Australian Rally Champion in 1999 (and Group N in 1998) with John Farrell in a Subaru Impreza and New South Wales State Champion in 1993 with Ron Cremen in a Mitsubishi Galant VR4.
A board member of the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Chris started rallying about 20 years ago as a driver, but soon found he had the unique skills to sit in the other seat and relay a steady stream of instructions calmly and timeously. Teamed with Spencer Lowndes and the big-hearted MINI Cooper S, Chris will make a formidable contender.

Targa Tasmania Car 992

A thirty-year-old motor trader from Orange in NSW, Tim started racing 15 years ago, in karts and has contested rounds of many other categories, including V8 Supercars, Porsche Carrera Cup, Formula Ford, Formula Holden and the GT Performance class, scoring many points and podiums since.

Tim has contested various Endurance races with top teams and driven with several international aces. He was contracted as a V8 Supercar test driver for CAT racing and was a works driver for the VW team in the GTP Beetle entry, finishing third in class in 2001

With vast experience of different machines on virtually every track and course in Australia, Tim will be well-placed to harness the power of MINI.

Paul Flintoft
Away from his job as an IT manager, Paul Flintoft has participated in over 40 international rallies in a 15-year career as a co-driver, during which he was a member of teams such as Subaru Japan, TeinSport, Porsche Cars Australia and Ralliart New Zealand.

Paul's racing career started while at university, when he was TAUCC then Victorian Clubman Champion driver. He stepped up to Formula Ford and became state Formula Ford Champion -- then gave up Motorsport and went Gliding. He navigated for his wife in the Daihatsu Challenge, and kept getting fun rides after she retired to have their two sons.

Paul's resume includes one International, three national and state championship, with five outright wins and over twenty class wins at National or International level in classes from N1 to A4 cars

He lists his most memorable achievements as setting the eleventh-fastest time -- and first Group N -- in appalling weather in the 1996 Wellington Dam stage in Rally Australia, and winning the 2004 Mt Buller Sprint.

Paul's other interests -- Japanese Fencing and Archery -- plus his ability to speak "rally" Japanese, German, some Italian and French should mean that rivals and Team MINI team-mates alike, listen carefully and understand every word that the experienced co-driver utters.

TEAM MINI - The Sponsors
TEAM MINI is being affectionately supported by its proud troop of sponsors: