Mini Takes The States Road Rally Postponed
by Tanya Gazdik , April 6, 2020
Another summer event is biting the dust thanks to COVID-19.
Mini USA is postponing its cross-country road rally of Mini owners. The event from the BMW Group brand was set to take place July 18-26, but has been rescheduled for summer 2021.
Mike Peyton, vice president, Mini of the Americas, recorded a three-minute video announcing the postponement.
"For the benefit of our Mini community and everyone that we'd come in contact with along the journey, in the cities and towns and on the back roads, we have made this very difficult and emotional decision." Peyton says in the video. "We know that this is truly disappointing news to many of you, as it is for the entire Mini USA team and to our partners who work tirelessly for months to make Mini Takes The States an amazing adventure for all of you."
The current plan for next summer calls for the event to rally along the same route initially planned for this summer, from Burlington, Vermont, to Spartanburg, South Carolina, sometime in July 2021.
"In light of the uncertainty we're all facing, it's the right thing to do to protect each other, our families, our neighbors and our future," Peyton says.
The 2018 event attracted more than 3,600 Mini owners who took part in the Rally to the Rockies. The two groups drove separate routes, one starting in Orlando, Florida., and the other in Portland, Oregon., converging in Keystone, Colorado, for a three-day festival.
Owners traveled a total of more than 5,000 miles through 15 cities and 14 states. At times the group swelled to more than 1,000 owners and 500 vehicles of all shapes, colors and sizes on each route.
automotive, covid-19, events, loyalty