News
MINI RETURNS 10 YEARS ON
A TEAM from Orange will mark a special anniversary at this weekend’s Hi-Tec Oils Bathurst 6 Hour. Keene Racing will enter their MINI Cooper in the race this weekend, 10 years after they initially built the car for Production Car racing at Mount Panorama.The mini debuted at Bathurst in the 2007 12 hour, with Andrew Bretherton, Trevor Keene and Tim Slade Driving, they finished 2nd in class that year in class E.Next weekend the car returns to the mountain with the same car, a new look, new sponsors, an improved car, a new event and different drivers, this year our driver lineup includes Dom Martens, Trevor Keene and his Son James Keene.Trevor, the team owner, has a wealth of experience, having been driving in production cars for many years, racing the Mini on and off for since its build – with numerous great results on and off the mountain in in the Mini and other cars including a Mazda 3 MPS, Toyota MR2, Toyota Celica and Toyota Corolla Sportivo.Dom has been racing pretty much since he was old enough to drive, bringing many years of experience to the team as well – running in many events throughout his career in pretty much anything with wheels and a roof very successfully, including his Porsche 944, Nissan Pulsars, Excels and the Mini last year in the 6 hour with us.James has been Racing in karts for many years, and in the last few years branched into cars, having been running in the Australian Pulsar Racing association series as well as experiencing the Mountain Last year on his 18th Birthday driving with Dom and Jack Atley – learning an immense amount from the other two drivers in the car.James transferred that knowledge and experience into his Pulsar racing, having racked up numerous podiums in the pulsar series and a pole position since – being the youngest driver of the team he is aiming to learn from the two more experienced drivers of Dom and his father Trevor.Trevor and James have been working on the car for nearly 12 months to get everything lined up and ready for this year’s event, with a number of test days yielding positive results with positive feedback and areas to improve on in both the car and the driver.After last year in the 6 hour the team and drivers have unfinished business at the mountain and we believe that our preparation, team, sponsors and driver line-up have given us a brilliant opportunity to excel in the event.We would like to thank everyone who has helped get the car back on track after the accident last year, and all our sponsors, supporters, family and friends, and all our crew who are travelling from all around Australia to help us out, we wouldn’t be running without you, Thank you.A huge thank-you goes out to our sponsors, Midwest Multimedia, Buttriss Smash and Mechanical Repairs, Unifi, Oils Plus Orange and MWM Racing.This year we decided that it was time to mix it up and change the look of our car, a change of colours in our design, some small changes to the details and feel of the car, especially fitting given its the 10th anniversary for its debut at Bathurst.James- “I have found this event to holds a very rare opportunity, a chance to team up and race with my Dad at mount panorama, he has a wealth of experience in motorsport as well as having done many laps at this track and in this car. In my short career Dad has taught me just about everything I know, and teaming up with him and Dom at the mountain I am sure I will learn a significant amount more over the weekend that I can take on board.”Dom- “Im really looking forward to getting out on track at the mountain this year with MWM Racing, last year didn’t really go to plan for us at all, however everyone put in the hours to sort the car and got us back out on track, the fire and drive from everyone was incredible, everyone pitched in as best they could and it got us out and racing again on Sunday. Trevor and James have since fixed the car from last year’s event and have done a number of test days, and the results have been very promising. Bring on the race!”Trevor- “After missing out on last year’s event due to health reasons, I am looking forward to reaching the mountain again for another crack with Dom and James.”Trevor has had a number of great results at mount panorama in the past with results including finishing 1st in class E in the 2003 24 hour, 2nd in class E in the 2007 12 hour and 1st in class B and 8th outright in the 2010 12 hour.(Team News)