Prodrive and MINI to dissolve WRC partnership

The future for Prodrive and MINI partnership in World Rally Championship (WRC) is looking bleak. The team is reported to be in a complex situation with parent BMW, bugged by underlying funding issues.

According to reports from Autoweek, Prodrive experienced difficulty in raising sufficient funds for the 2012 season. The company has met with resistance when they approached BMW for assistance, whose motorsports budget was apparently blown by the return to DTM-series itself.

It is believed that BMW will let X-Raid, the company which was responsible for building the Dakar-winning MINI Countryman, to take over the WRC project. BMW sources have indicated an official announcement to be made within the next few days. Prodrive, however, reaffirms that the team will carry on with the race schedule later this week at Rally Sweden.