Behind every team there are a number of people who stay in the background - the unsung heroes. There are number these unsung heroes who have helped Mini Road Runner Rallying to the point where they are today, out competing on the stages. Whilst photos of the 'team behind the team' are thin on the ground we will be saluting all those who have helped the team out on this page.
Louise Astbury - Nev's wife has never once moaned (not publicly anyway) about the hours spent in the garage working on the car and has supported the team with endless cups of coffee. On events Louise is also the master of the bacon butty and hotdogs.
Samantha Astbury - Samantha fitted the roll cage into the mini and has been responsible for a fair amount of the painting of the car to. Samantha like her mum is also great with the kettle. Recently Samantha has got her own mini for the grand sum of nothing - in fact she is £1 up thanks to the money under the rear seat.
Julie Creer - Andy's wife has been very supportive of his latest hobby (Andy has a long history of hobbies) and has the patience of a saint - just ask her how long she has been waiting for the bathroom to be finished.
Keith Newey - It's all Keith's fault!!! Keith was the one who said that a mini would be great for cheap motorsports and has provided invaluable help with his knowledge of minis and has also built the engines with Nev and serviced for the team on a couple of events. Keith is also the owner of the little known Irby Motor Museum and the spotter for the Cheerios pick-up racing team.
Mike Sparke - Sparky as he is affectionately known is responsible for all the technical wiring of the car (air horns, auxiliary lighting, kill switch etc.). Sparky was called in to help as Nev and Andy struggled to wire up the air horns - to be fair to them they did work very well but they wouldn't turn off!
Mark Skillicorn
Mark or Skilly as he is known, has provided a wealth of technical help and a huge amount of laughs - although he does possibly tell the worst jokes in the world. Mark runs his own business and until recently was a regular competitor in his very quick Escort Cosworth on the stages. He also takes part in sprints and rumour has it that a single seater will appear from his garage in the near future. He is also able to replicate all the poses from the film Zoolander as the photos above prove.
Mike Quinn
Mike has also provided a huge amount of help with the mini. Mike a great deal of experience in rallying and has been Keith's co-driver for a number of years so his knowledge of minis is second to none. Mike is the technical expert with the Cheerios pick-up truck racing team. As the photos show, Mike hasn't quite mastered the Zoolander poses yet.
Drew McKay - Drew is another mini nut who is a fantastic guy to have on the service crew and can sleep for England.
