The Chicago MINI Motoring Club will finally be able to formally stop at the Launching Pad, home of the Gemini Giant to sample their eats!!

WRAPUP: We had close to 30 MINIs participating from as far away as Rockford and Milwaukee area. The drive was a bit challenging due to construction on one of the bridges forces a re-route of directions.
The Launching Pad was not yet officially open but they did open their doors and parking lot to the Chicago MINI Motoring Club for a “soft” pre-open test run day. There was a large selection of menu items and the food was very tasty. We had a great time hanging around both inside and in the parking area checking out all the cool MINIs and getting the photo-ops under the Gemini Giant as well as other local area murals. Huge thanks to Holly and Tully from the Launching Pad and to Austin Coop from 2laneamerica.com for joining in and donating some Route 66 swag to our group!!

Photos by: Steve |

March 20th is the first official day of spring, so we will celebrate by taking a drive in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. This is a re-creation of a drive from almost 10 years ago, where club members Jim and Carrie first met. Ending destination will be the iconic Bristol 45 Diner for a late lunch.
WRAPUP: Perfect weather for a first day of spring drive!! We had about 40 MINIs participating from both Wisconsin and Illinois. Nice twisty roads and a tailgating parking lot lunch at the Bristol 45 Diner.
Huge thanks to Mark for setting up the Rallista app, and to Jim + Carrie for pre-driving the route (and for being together for 10 years, inspiring the idea to re-do the event in the first place)
Photos by: Steve |

UPDATE: 03/17/2021 We will additionally have the route available on the iPhone app called Rallista if you are interested in using that

Kart Racing Wrapup: Thrills, Chills, and Spills.. We had all that action and more.. We had 17 racers and a few spectators out to our first event of the season. A fun time was had by all! Overall winner (and fast time of the day) went to Evgeny K. , Sylvia H. was seconds, and Jim M. was third.Missed this event, or want more karting? We are looking into the possibility of an outdoor event later this year.
Send links to photos to steve@chicagominiclub.com and I will include them here

Photos by: Steve |

Kart Racing season for the Chicago MINI Motoring Club is back!!
To satisfy our winter time need for speed, we will again be racing at K1 Speed in Buffalo Grove with their electric karts in a 3 race Grand Prix series.
Read carefully below for important details for this year’s event

MINI of Glencoe has offered Chicago MINI Motoring Club members a 15% discount on regular service, and a 10% discount on Parts and Accessories!!

Flash your valid CMMC membership card to get the discount. 

Yet one more great reason to be part of the Chicago MINI Motoring Club!!

Huge thanks to MINI of Glencoe for offering this discount to our club.

Wrap-up: A really fun end of the season drive.. The weather was chilly but not too unpleasant. We had 27 MINIs participating, a few new people and lots of old friends. After our Meetup at MINI of Orland Park we headed out on the back roads. We made a stop off in Wilmington at the Launching Pad and a local park for some photos, and then the cruise on the twisty roads to Starved Rock state park.Huge thanks to Kevin at MINI of Orland Park for hosting our stop, and to Mark H. for the pre-drive testing and setup of Rallista iPhone routing application.

Photos by: Steve & Temple | Bob |

Our annual end of season drive to Starved Rock will be on Saturday November 14th.
This event was renamed the Road Warrior Rock Run in 2016 to honor longtime club and board member Conrad Alexander.

Details below

Enjoy a fall drive with MINI friends on some fun roads, ending with a bring-your-own picnic lunch at the Volo Bog!!

WRAPUP: A beautiful but chilly day brought out 35 MINIs for a fun drive in the northern suburbs.. Lots of first timers as well as manu MINI Club seasoned veterans. Patrick MINI hosted our starting location and went above and beyond by supplying some pre-drive snacks as well as gift baskets for our picnic and other goodies as well. We had a fun drive except when the leader missed a turn and many MINIs took a bit of a detour. We all regrouped at Volo Bog for a picnic lunch, hangout and chance to explore the park.
Thanks again to Patrick MINI as well as Mark H. for setting up the Rallista iPhone app routing directions.

Photos by: Jonathan | Steve | Bob |