1969 MINI RACING

In 1969 British Leyland ordered its works team to race in the British saloon car championship and they found themselves up against the Cooper Car Companies 1275S's, now no longer backed by the factory. The works cars were red/white and driven by John Handley and John Rhodes. The Cooper car company now sponsored by Britax and Downton engineering were yellow/black and driven by Steve Neal and Gordon Spice. Competition was cutthroat and the 1300cc category was won by the Twin cam Ford Escort. However Equipe Arden ran a 970S Mini for Alec Poole in the 1 litre category and also won the overall title. The Works and Cooper cars ran 12 inch wheels, and fuel injected 8 port heads.