The Australian Mini Challenge was a touring car racing

Touring car racing

Touring car racing is a general term for a number of distinct auto racing competitions in heavily-modified street cars. It is notably popular in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Scandinavia and Britain.-Characteristics of a touring car:...

 category in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. First held in 2008, the Mini Challenge supported both the V8 Supercar Championship Series and the Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series

Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series

The Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series is an Australian touring car competition, specifically the second tier series for V8 Supercar competitors. Competing vehicles are older than those utilised in the V8 Supercar Championship series and are run by smaller teams with lower budgets...

. The category is managed by Toleman Motorsport

Toleman

Toleman Motosport was a Formula One constructor based in the UK. It was active between 1981 and 1985 and attended 70 Grands Prix.-Origins:In the 1970s, businessmen and motorsport fans Ted Toleman and Alex Hawkridge began their involvement in various car racing formulae in the UK. Ted was also noted...

, who took over management rights following the demise of previous rights holder, Sherrin Motorsport. Late in 2010, BMW announced the withdrawal of its support of the series.

The car

The R56 Mini

MINI (BMW)

Mini is a British automotive marque owned by BMW which specialises in small cars.Mini originated as a specific vehicle, a small car originally known as the Morris Mini-Minor and the Austin Seven, launched by the British Motor Corporation in 1959, and developed into a brand encompassing a range of...

 hardtops were built by BMW

BMW

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...

 Motorsport in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and flown to Australia. The Mini Challenge cars were based on the road going John Cooper works models, with a 1.6 litre, four cylinder, turbocharged engine producing 155kW (208hp). Weighing 1150kg (2535lb), the cars could accelerate to 100km/h (62mph) in just over six seconds and reach a top speed of 240km/h (149mph).

Series Champions

Year	Driver	Team
2008 2008 Australian Mini Challenge The 2008 Australian Mini Challenge was the inaugural running of the Australian Mini Challenge. It began on 7 March at Eastern Creek Raceway and ended on 7 December at Oran Park Raceway.-Teams and drivers:...	Neil McFadyen	Doulman Automotive
2009 2009 Australian Mini Challenge The 2009 Australian Mini Challenge delivered by Pizza Capers was the second running of the one make championship. It began on 26 March at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit and ended on 2 December at the new Homebush Street Circuit...	Paul Stokell Paul Stokell Paul Stokell is an Australian racing driver. Despite never making a significant impact in touring car racing, Stokell has been a race and championship winning driver in open wheel and sportscar racing consistently since the early 1990s and remains so today have won the Australian Mini Challenge in...	DecoRug Racing
2010	Chris Alajajian Chris Alajajian Chris Alajajian is an Australian race car driver.In 2004 he won the Australian Production Car Championship, becoming the youngest ever driver to win an Australian championship...