Scalextric is THE name in slot-car racing, a feature of so
many childhoods and a healthy outlet for grown-ups’ motorsport daydreams. For
Mini enthusiasts, it’s also a way of getting in one of the
great Minis and thrashing it to the limit, in a virtual sense, at least.
Scalextric is releasing a growing range of early Minis in famous and iconic
liveries, and currently has four models of important MkI Minis in its range.
These are the oldest surviving Morris Mini-Minor (621 AOK), the Paddy Hopkirk/Henry
Liddon 1964 Monte Carlo Rally winner (33 EJB), the Rauno Aaltonen/Henry Liddon Monte winner (LBL 6D), and Timo Makinen’s Cooper S from the 1966 1000 Lakes
Rally (JBL 493D). There’s also been a limited edition of the Minis from The
Italian Job.

Now you can help decide which MkI Mini should be next on the
Scalextric track, and in return you could win three Mini slot-racers
and a track to run them on. The cars are a limited edition boxed model of the
very first Morris Mini-Minor 621 AOK, plus the 1964 and 1967 Monte-winners.
Each model features ‘Magnatraction’ to help stick them to the track, and
working tail and headlights. They have a RRP £34.99 each. As well as the Minis,
you also get the ‘Need for Speed’ track set worth £99.99 to race them on. This
set is based on the popular video game, with over 5m of track and includes a
flying leap, crossover and chicane so that fans can recreate the famous chase
scenes from the game. It also includes a Lamborghini Gallardo and Nissan 350Z,
just in case your Minis are too precious to risk crashing.

Scalextric has one prize package to give away, with a total
value of £204.96 — but you could win it for FREE just for helping choose the
next Scalextric Mini. Just look at the shortlist of significant Works Minis,
then click HERE to go to the voting page.

The shortlist

First Works Minis, Set A: TMO 559, TMO 561 and TMO 560

This trio of 850 Mini-Minors made up the very first Works
Mini team, entered in the 1959 RAC Rally. The cars also formed part of the Mini’s
first assault on the Monte in 1960 along with the three ‘AOG’ cars listed
below, ‘TMO’ cars also contending the 1960 Tulip Rally, Alpine Rally, RAC
Rally, and the Monte Carlo, Lyons-Charbonnieres, Tulip and Acropolis rallies in
1961. The Works 850s proved the Mini’s potential in international rallying, and
also provided a valuable test-bed for development of the Mini Cooper. If
selected, these cars would be produced as a limited edition set.

First Works Minis, Set B: 617 AOG, 618 AOG and 619 AOG

618 AOG made its debut in the 1959 Portuguese Rally, before
all three cars formed part of Mini’s first assault on the Monte Carlo Rally in
1960. They also contested the Geneva Rally in the same year, where 618 AOG then
gave the Mini its first class win, and also the Acropolis Rally in 1960 and
1961. The Works 850s proved the Mini’s potential in international rallying, and
also provided a valuable test-bed for development of the Mini Cooper. If
selected, these cars would be produced as a limited edition set.

737 ABL: Pat Moss’s Mini Cooper 997

Pat Moss and Ann Wisdom gave the Mini its first Monte Carlo
‘win’ in 1962, winning the ladies trophy, as well as coming 7th in class and
26th overall, in one of the new 997cc Coopers. She then drove the car to
the Mini’s first major international outright victory in the Tulip Rally, and
also won the Baden-Baden Rally, and came 3rd overall and first in class in the
Geneva Rally.

AJB 66B: 1964 Tulip Rally winner

After winning the Monte with a 1071 Cooper S in January, BMC
debuted the 1275 S in April’s Tulip Rally in the Netherlands. The team of
Makinen and Ambrose won their class and won outright, repeating the 997
Cooper’s first victory two years ealier.

AJB 44B: 1965 Monte Carlo Winner

Driven by Timo Makinen with co-driver Paul Easter, AJB 44B
proved the previous year’s Monte win had been no fluke, the larger engined
1275cc car giving the Mini Cooper S two outright wins in as many years.

CRX 89B: Multiple rally winner in 1965

After retiring from its first event, the 1964 RAC Rally with
Rauno Aaltonen, CRX 89B went on to win three international rallies in 1965 —
the Circuit of Ireland driven by Paddy Hopkirk, and then the Polish Rally and
Three Cities Rally with Rauno Aaltonen.

EBL 55C: 1965 Geneva Rally winner

Rauno Aaltonen and Tony Ambrose formed a formidable
partnership in the 1275 Cooper S. With EBL 55C they won the Geneva Rally
outright in June of 1965, with the only Works Mini in the event.

EJB 55C: 1965 Czech Rally winner

Another outright win for Aaltonen and Ambrose, barely a
month after winning the Geneva Rally. The other Works Mini, piloted by Timo
Makinen and Paul Easter, was forced to retire.

AJB 33B: 1965 1000 Lakes winner

Timo Makinen teamed up with fellow Finn, Pekka Keskitalo,
and dominated the 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland for three years, winning outright
honours in 1965, 1966 and 1967. AJB 33B gave them the first of these wins.

DJB 93B: 1965 RAC Rally winner

Driven by Rauno Aaltonen and Tony Ambrose, DJB 93B gave the
Mini a perfect finish to what was arguably its greatest year in international
rallying, winning on home soil.

The ‘disqualified’ set: GRX 555D, GRX55D and GRX 5D

In 1966 BMC fielded four Works Minis, hoping to win the
Monte for a third time in a row. The team succeeded brilliantly, making a clean
sweep of 1st, 2nd and 3rd places — only to be disqualified on a technicality.
After an eight-hour technical inspection, French race officials decided the
spotlights mounted to the front of the Minis didn’t meet French homologation
rules, also disqualifying the fourth-placed Lotus Cortina on the same grounds.
This highly questionable decision handed victory to a French Citroen.

British and European Saloon Cars

In the 1960s, BMC’s Competitions Department ran its own
teams in rallying, but for racing it provided support to outsiders instead.
From 1962 BMC supported a Cooper Car Company team in the British Saloon Car
Championship, and later extended support to Broadspeed and Tyrell. The policy
was originally prompted by the negative publicity that followed high-profile
accidents in the 1950s. However, it proved to be a successful strategy for the
Mini, winning both British and European championships.

You can vote for these cars individually:

Cooper Car Company Mini Cooper S

Team Broadspeed Mini Cooper S

Tyrell Racing Organisation Mini Cooper S

1966 Bathurst 500 Winner

In 1966 Bob Holden and Rauno Aaltonen won what is generally
regarded as the most important race in the Australian motorsport calendar
outside of F1: The Bathurst 500 mile race. The gruelling race was the Mini’s
most significant motorsport win for the Cooper S down under, not only taking
first place but all top nine positions. It was a feat never seen before or
since in what Australian sports fans call ‘The Great Race’.

Now click HERE to register your vote.