In 2012, Stephane Peterhansel and co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret took an unproven Monster Energy X-Raid Team MINI to victory in the Dakar Rally. As if that feat weren’t impressive enough, the second place car, driven by Nani Roma and Michel Perin, was also a Monster Energy X-Raid Team MINI. Proving the MINI’s dominance, the third place car, a Toyota finished over an hour behind the second MINI.
In the 2013 running of the Dakar Rally, Peterhansel and Cottret again took first place honors, finishing 42 minutes ahead of the second-place Toyota. Two more Monster Energy X-Raid Team MINIs finished in third and fourth, with the final two MINI entries crossing the line in 12th and 48th place.
Of the win, MINI’s senior vice president of brand management, Dr. Kay Segler, said, “This is a magnificent triumph and I would like to offer our congratulations on behalf of MINI not only to Stéphane Peterhansel and Jean-Paul Cottret, but also to Sven Quandt’s entire X-raid Team. The victory of the MINI ALL4 Racing last year was without doubt a surprise for many people. But now it is clear to everyone that this was no fluke. Anyone who comes home first after 8,600 kilometres (approx. 5,300 miles) in the world’s toughest rally has achieved something amazing.”
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Just as in 2012, the MINI team dominated the rally almost from the start. Peterhansel and Cottret took the overall lead after only two stages, then spent the rest of the event defending their position. Last year’s second-place duo of Roma and Perin were ultimately relegated to a fourth-place finish, after being passed by teammates Leonid Novitskiy and Konstantin Zhiltsov, who finished third.
Kurt Ernst has been passionate about automobiles and driving nearly his entire life. His early years were shaped working in the family service station, though his real passion was auto racing. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Kurt spent a year club racing with the Sports Car Club of America, before focusing on a business career in marketing and project management. Later, his passion for writing and the automotive hobby found him freelancing for a variety of automotive news sites, including Automotive Addicts and Motor Authority, where his work was syndicated and appeared in several national publications. Recognized as an expert in the automotive field, Kurt joined Hemmings Motor News as an Associate Editor in 2013, and in the years since has progressed to Editor, Hemmings Daily; Managing Editor for Hemmings Motor News, Hemmings Classic Car, Hemmings Muscle Machines, and the Hemmings Daily; and now, Managing Editor, Hemmings Auctions. Kurt was instrumental in organizing the Hemmings Motor News Concours d’Elegance from 2013-2019, and has served as a judge at this event and The Vintage Racing Stable Concours d’Elegance. A Skip Barber Racing School graduate and prolific writer, Ernst is also skilled in copyediting, project management, brand development, and public relations.
