The 2026 Australian Hay Mini Nationals once again brought hundreds of classic and modern Mini enthusiasts to the Riverina town of Hay, New South Wales, over the King’s Birthday long weekend last month.

Held in Hay because of its central location between Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, the Mini Nationals continue to be one of Australia’s most distinctive grassroots motorsport festivals.

Regarded as Australia’s premier gathering for Mini owners, the event spans six decades and attracts competitors and spectators from every mainland state.

Festivities began with a welcome party on the Friday evening, before the iconic Mini parade through Hay’s main street on the Saturday morning.

The town then hosted one of Australia’s largest Mini Show & Shine displays, where everything featuring highly modified modern Minis and Mokes.

The Saturday night featured the crowd-favourite Hay Heroes challenge, a head-to-head motorkhana slalom competition run under lights – which has become one of the event’s signature attractions.

The Sunday’s Hay Mini Nationals Motorkhana was the centrepiece of the weekend, with drivers testing precision, car control and speed across a series of timed manoeuvring courses.

The competition catered for experienced competitors and newcomers alike, including junior drivers from 12 years of age.

The event concluded with a themed presentation dinner, where interstate clubs gathered to recognise the weekend’s winners.

It was the event’s 58th running, and consisted of high numbers of competitive entries.

In total there were 119 entries, just one of which was a non-Mini entry.

On the Sunday, six Motorkhana tests were run at the same time with Mini Club of South Australia officials offering their crucial time to make the competitive events possible.

Head to the Mini Club of South Australia website for more on the event.