Opening a thread for Barber.

http://www.grand-am.com/assets/2010B...mSchedule1.pdf

Three RSR Mini's will be there. The driver lineups are set for the three cars.

196 Randy Smalley and Owen Trinkler and BJ Zacharias
197 Sara Cattaneo and VJ Mirazyan
198 Craig Conway and Dicky Riegel

This race will be televised on Apr 17, 2:30 PM ET, SPEED

 

Great to see you guys are coming back to Barbers. I didn't know that your race was the same weekend that Indycar was coming to Barbers until just this morning.
That is going to be one jam pack weekend.

I'm going to try to make it out Friday but will not be able to make it Saturday. And I will be there Sunday. I hate that I will miss the race but I will make sure to check it out on TV.
Good Luck all season.

 

RSR and Indy Car....might be time for a road trip!!!

Can't wait, good luck and let's get another PODIUM!!!!

 

Since your race is late in the day I might just make it now. Got tickets so I'm going to try.
Hope to see you there.

 

Great! We look forward to seeing you!
Randy

 

Gee ... only 29 hours between qualifying and the race!

 

I guess we have have to restart the bowling team . . .

 

LOTS of time to work on driver-requested changes!

 

LOTS of time to work on driver-requested changes!

Untested changes to the cars for the race.......Haven't we learned anything in all these years?

Hopefully I will get back to the museum this time. Or I could always stand in line for 6 hours to get a Danica autograph.

 

Cattaneo Heads To Barber in a Mini Cooper

Mar. 29, 2010
Michael Harker

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 29, 2010) - The thought of a Mini Cooper usually evokes a compact car, dark forest green paint job and a Union Jack flag on the roof of the car.

However, that won't be exactly the scene for those cars competing in GRAND-AM's Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Street Tuner class on April 10 at Barber Motorsports Park. Drivers in a trio of Mini Cooper models will race against competitors in Chevrolet Cobalts, Mazda MX-5s and Honda Civics in a two-and-a-half hour race at the scenic 2.3-mile, 17-turn track in Birmingham, Ala.

Among those driving is 24-year-old Sarah Cattaneo, who, like prominent female driver Danica Patrick, calls Scottsdale, Ariz., home. Cattaneo is in her second full season competing in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, and recently won her first career ST class pole position at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Her team, RSR Motorsports, finished fourth at Barber Motorsports Park last season.

Cattaneo has been interested in speed, or more specifically horsepower, since she was young. Cattaneo began riding horses and at age 6 began participating in equestrian competition. Over a 12-year span, Cattaneo won numerous championships around the U.S.

While attending Arizona State University, where she later obtained a bachelor's degree in real estate, Cattaneo turned her focus to speed in a different form - cars. She participated in the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving near Phoenix in 2006, and won back-to-back amateur racing titles in 2007 and 2008. She made her Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge debut in October 2008 at Virginia International Raceway with RSR Motorsports, based in Mesa, Ariz., and founded by Randy Smalley, owner of the Cruise America RV chain.

Cattaneo spent the majority of the 2009 season with Freedom Autosport, a team fielding Mazda MX-5s, and earned a career-best finish of sixth at Barber. She returned to her former team, RSR, for the 2010 season opener at Daytona International Speedway, and came up with her first pole at Homestead-Miami, where she led a field of 31 cars to the green flag.
Now, Cattaneo heads back to Barber with confidence. She'll drive the supercharged No. 197 Cruise America/4 Winds RV Mini Cooper - which produces about 210 horsepower, weighs 2,300 pounds and has a wheelbase of 97 inches - with Fresno, Calif., co-driver VJ Mirzayan.

Cattaneo and Mirzayan's Mini Cooper is one of 65 cars entered for the two-and-a-half hour Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race at Barber at 4 p.m. CT on Saturday, April 10. The third round of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, the Porsche 250, precedes the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race, with the green flag flying around noon CT.

 

According to the track's website, all on-site spectator parking and camping is SOLD OUT!

Must be the "Danica Factor"!

 

Living in Birmingham has its positives when it comes to Barber's. I remember when Barber had a small motorcycle museum downtown, long before the Motosports Park came along. If you're anywhere close, make sure you visit the museum...unbeleivable! I've been fortunate enough to get on the track early on with my supercharged Miata, long before the MINI came along. Only trips on the track with the MINI have been with the local BMW club. I knew this was going to be a major race weekend with the Indy cars and the Porshe 250. Glad I decided to be a volunteer again. I'll be one of the Paddock Marshals. So cool being so close to the teams and cars. I hope many other MINI owners get a chance to make the race weekend. Maybe I'll see you there. Motor On.

 

Is Barber a Mini friendly track? Looking forward to Friday

 

YES!

 

Good luck to RSR in Hotbama!

 

We are here . . . P2 and P3 in practice today. 196 Seems to be fixed. All three cars are up to speed and ready to go tomorrow.

Local FOX affiliate in Birimgham will be interviewing Sarah tomorrow morning at 7:40 on the local news show . . . tune in !

Randy

 

good luck to all. glad that the 196 is up to speed.

 

http://www.grand-am.com/news/index.c...es=k&cid=35130

 

Sweet, good luck!!!

 

Nice work. Not surprising at this track, given your performances at tracks that are much less MINI-friendly. I think that the team will do well this weekend. Do ya hear me, racing gods?

 

I was on the track about three years ago with my 2004 Mini Cooper S. I had a blast out there. This was even before I did mods.
I having had a chance to get back on the track but want to really bad.

 

By the way I meet Sarah Cattaneo and she was very nice . Guy forget DP and go see Sarah.

 

Owen Trinkler sure put in some very fast laps today. Best of luck at VIR, Lime Rock & The Glen

 

Just saw the results and I'm bummed for RSR.

The MINIs are the fastest cars out there..

 

I, too, await randy's recap. Results don't match pre-race performance. I suspect racing god intervention.