Show report

Big in the Balkans

Serbia may seem an offbeat destination for a Mini Show, but as the 2010 Balkanska
Minijada proved, its right up there with the best of ‘em.
Words Jeff Ruggles Photography Jeff Ruggles & Georgios Donios

T
ruth be told, some of us are
a bit scared of Serbia. News of
conflict involving the former
Yugoslav republic has hit the
headlines plenty of times over
the last 20 years, gaining it a reputation
as the ‘bad boy of the Balkans’ and keeping
it off many people’s tourist map.
With such a perception, you’d be
forgiven for thinking Serbia is a pretty
crazy place to take your beloved car. But in
reality Serbia is nothing like certain people
would have you believe. I was lucky enough
to discover its misrepresented merits whilst
attending a friend’s wedding last year.
It instantly became one of my favourite
destinations. But never in a million years
did I think I’d be back there to attend a Mini
event. After all, I’d not seen a single Mini
during my first trip.
As it turned out, I was wrong. Thanks
to Mini Club Serbia, 2009 saw the region’s
first major Mini event take place in the
capital city of Belgrade, dubbed the ‘Balkan
IMM’ to commemorate the Mini’s 50th.
The inaugural Balkanska Minijada event
was a big hit, and buoyed by its success the
club decided to stage a similar bash again
this year. Keen to attend and without any
thought for the practicalities or expense,
I told everyone I would be there — and
so would my Mini.
With the Bavarian IMM conveniently
placed, I made arrangements with Gregor
and Jolanda Obronek of the Slovenian Mini
Club to leave my car at their home near
Maribor after the event, before flying home
and collecting it a month later. After
making some light preparation to my long-
suffering Mini Sprite (read: a massive
suspension and brake overhaul) I headed
for Germany and then off to Slovenia
as planned. Just under four weeks later
I was back, on the very day England played
Slovenia at the World Cup, to join Gregor,
his fellow club members and a healthy
quota of Croatian Mini fans on the 500km
route to Serbia. Many of these people
actually met in Serbia at last year’s event,
so its impact cannot be underestimated.
You can read all about the trails and
tribulations of our road trip, including
the infamous Serbian border controls,
in a future issue. But for now I’m delighted
to report we made it to Belgrade unscathed.
The Club had organised two hotels for us
all to stay in, including secure parking.
Happily mine was close to the centre,
so I joined forces with a few others and
visited the cool bohemian area of Belgrade,

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 A Yellow
Serb
Machine
Mirko Divac is joined
by pals Branko
Jankovic and Nebojsa
Vladzic alongside
his 1977 Mini 1100,
which has covered
just 40,000km from
new and remains
in great condition.

Skadarlija, for some food and drinks.

The following day was to be the big
one, which saw all the Minis line up around
a picturesque garden in the shadow of
the City Assembly. Last year there was
comfortably enough room, but this year it
was a struggle to fit all the cars in. Serbian,
Croatian, Slovenian and Greek Minis were
best represented. But there were also more
cars from Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland,
Bosnia, Montenegro, and, of course, one
from England — in fact, we’d brought the
first British Mini to ever attend a Serbian
Mini event. Several other classic British
cars were on display including an Austin
Healey 100/4, several classic Triumphs,
an MGB and a mint 1100/1300, together
with a MkII Jaguar and even a Reliant
Regal van in Only Fools and Horses livery!
Whilst the cars were parked up we
headed to a nearby car museum, where
we got a good look behind the scenes and
caught up on a bite to eat. Then it was off
to the Autokomerc Karting Centre just
outside the city, which is the only
professional kart circuit in the Balkans.
You’ve been
This would be the venue for a static show,
but not before we all stopped for the free
Vlad, mate
10-litres of fuel that the organisers had Mini Club Serbia president
kindly provided for us (can’t imagine that Vladimir Kovacevic and his
happening at an English event!). family with his 1971 Mini 1000.

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 Bostjan Lukezic’s Hayabusa Mini looked awesome on the kart track
Driving in convoy
through Belgrade.
Once at the kart centre, the cars were
lined up much in the style of a traditional
Mini event. There was a barbecue to keep
everyone fed, while the club were doing
a roaring trade selling some excellent
merchandise.
Our travel companion, Gregor, was also
having a busy time selling Mini parts with
friend Filip. You can imagine how difficult
it is to obtain spares in this part of the
world, so Gregor is seen as something
of a lifesaver.
Racing on the kart track was also
promised, which I thought meant racing
in karts. In the Balkans they do things
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differently though, and it soon transpired
it was the Minis that would be doing timed
runs around the twisty circuit! Mini Club
Slovenia president Ale Glavan was quickest
overall during a hugely entertaining
session, but my Mini also won an award
for fastest female driver. And no, it wasn’t
me driving...
The evening saw a return to Belgrade,
where the drinking and partying went on
until the early hours. But that wasn’t all,
for the following day we made our way to
a nice restaurant for a large group meal.
It was a fitting conclusion to a fantastic
weekend, which went largely without
a hitch. Sure, the local Police failed to
provide the expected convoy through the
city, but otherwise everything was great.
When you consider that it was organised
by just six people, it was a real credit
to Mini Club Serbia president Vladimir
Kovacevic and the rest of his team.
Best of all, politics were pushed
aside as the event united the former
Yugoslav nations in appreciation of
everything Mini. If you’re looking for
evidence of the power of our favourite
little car, then look no further than
this event. Here’s hoping we get to
see it all again next year.
 Show report

Getting interviewed
for Serbian TV.

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