All the Way from Switzerland for MTTS 2018

As the popularity of MINI TAKES THE STATES continues to grow, the reputation of the epic cross-country rally is spreading outside of the USA too.

The epic event attracts an increasing number of participants from other countries and one of those who is taking part in MTTS this year is Roger Merkle, who joined the start of the rally in Portland, Oregon.

He has teamed up on MTTS 2018 with fellow MINI enthusiast Chantelle Stallings from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Chantelle and Roger, who lives close to the Swiss the city of Basel, are both members of the LXM Club – the League of Extraordinary MINIacs – the international Facebook group of MINIacs from all over the world.

They had been chatting on LXM.com about the event for some time and Roger expressed an interest in finding out more about the phenomenon that is MTTS. So, Chantelle invited him to join her on MTTS 2016. He couldn’t be there in time for that event but he was able to make it this year, taking up an invitation to be Chantelle’s co-driver in her 2011 Clubman.

Chantelle completed an epic journey of her own just to reach the start of MTTS 2018 in Oregon. She drove 3500 miles from Florida over 62 days to reach the start line and after this year’s end-of-event party in Keystone, Colorado, is over, she will then drive all the way back to Florida in her Clubman.