Opening a thread for Mid Ohio

Schedule http://www.grand-am.com/assets/2010M...cialSched1.pdf


LEXINGTON, Ohio—RSR Motorsports heads to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course next weekend for round seven of the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series, and the RSR drivers are ready to tackle the tight corners that the 2.258-mile track offers. Mid-Ohio has proven to be a great venue for RSR Motorsports’ stable of MINI Cooper S race cars. In 2008, the team earned the Street Tuner class pole at the historic track.

“I know the MINIs are very good at Mid-Ohio,” says VJ Mirzayan, who will co-drive the No. 197 RSR Motorsports MINI with Sarah Cattaneo. Mirzayan has plenty of experience at Mid-Ohio, including driving an RSR MINI there last year. “The tight track suits the short wheelbase. Handing is everything at Mid-Ohio, so it will be crucial to have an excellent setup.”

The ideal setup shouldn’t be a problem for the RSR crew, as demonstrated by the prowess of the No. 197 MINI during last weekend’s race at Watkins Glen. “RSR and Cruise America gave us a really strong car. It couldn’t have handled any better than it did,” says Cattaneo. Unfortunately, a transmission problem dropped Mirzayan and Cattaneo out of the running for a top-five finish at Watkins Glen.

Mark Congleton will rejoin RSR Motorsports at Mid-Ohio, driving with BJ Zacharias in the No. 196 RSR Motorsports MINI sponsored by CaseTech. Congleton met RSR team owner Randall Smalley when they were competitors in the Spec MINI series in Arizona. When Smalley founded RSR Motorsports, the two drivers became teammates.

A clutch issue took the No. 196 MINI out of contention at Watkins Glen, so Congleton knows how important it is to see the checkered flag at Mid-Ohio. “MINIs have historically been quick at Mid-Ohio, and right now RSR is focused on getting a strong finish,” says Congleton. “The track will be busy with both classes on track, and passing is tough at Mid-Ohio. We’ll be looking for reliability and a top finish.”

Smalley will be behind the wheel of the No. 198 RSR Motorsports MINI along with Owen Trinkler, who earned the pole and led much of the race at Mid-Ohio in 2008. “Mid-Ohio’s twisty back side is well suited to the MINIs,” says Trinkler. “Madness and Thunder Valley are some of my favorite sections of the track, and those are the areas where our cars can really make up some time.”

The three RSR Motorsports MINI Cooper S entries will take to the curves of Mid-Ohio on Saturday, June 19 at 1:15 p.m. for the 2.5-hour GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race. The race will be broadcast on SPEED on Saturday, June 26 at 1:00 p.m.

RSR Motorsports is sponsored by Cruise America, Four Winds International, MINI USA, Performance Friction Rotors, OS Giken Racing Clutches and Limited Slip Differentials, Midway Ford Truck Sales, Mini North Scottsdale, Motul USA, and Cobalt Racing Pads.

Keep up with the team online at www.RSRMotorsports.com


Jun 26, 1:00 PM ET, SPEED Tape Delay

 

Randy, the Mid-Ohio Motoring MINI's will be there as always. I'll stop by on Friday to say heh!

 

Woo-Hoo! Good to see Congo back in the running! Good Luck RSR!

 

Good Luck!!

 

Good luck!

 

Transporter left this morning . . .

 

We will have the Factory, German Mini Challenge Car at Mid Ohio and will run it Wednesday night before the Grand Am week end.

If you are in the area . . .

 

The ST race is on Saturday and NOT on Sunday as previously posted!!!!

Sorry for the confusion.

 

Qualified 5th (196, Mark Congleton) and 8th (197, Sarah Cattaneo)

196 holds fast lap of the weekend in practice.

Racing tomorrow at 1:30 . . . hot and sunny!

Randy

 

It was great to meet you yesterday. Both cars looked strong during the practice sessions and qualifying. Good luck to the team in today's race!

 

Randy, great to see you yesterday and thanks for the time spent with all of us. Both cars looked good on track especially in the back portion of the track. We'll be standing in the "S"'s today cheering you to the podium.

Mark

 

Good luck today, Randy. Well done in qualifying!

 

Nice drive by BJ & VJ! Consistent lap times in traffic battling the Real Time Civic & passed the Prey Racing Boxter on lap 80. Take that Porsche!
Good luck in NJ

 

It's hard to be pleased with a 11th (197) and a 19th (196) . . . but I am.

We seem to have conquered the belt problem. Owen made an attempt to throw a belt on purpose and it did not come off.

We seem to have conquered the fuel pressure / delivery problem. We made some changes after Watkins Glen and that seems to be working as well. During practice we ran both cars out of fuel intentionally, switched to reserve and then pumped the remainder from the tanks. . . about 3/10th of a gallon in both cells. We are now confident in having 19+ usable gallons on race day.

Mark C started the race in 5th place. He ran there for 5 laps until our arch nemesis in the form of Nic Jonsen, hit and spun him. It flattened the left rear tire and he came to the pit. The 196 went down a lap. Jonsen also hit Sarah AGAIN at the start but no incident occurred.

Grand Am penalized Jonsen with a stop and go but the damage was done . . . we were now at the back of the pack down a lap. GA then gave us a 'go around' at the next caution to make up for the incident but we were out of contention for a podium at this point.

Later on, BJZ was in the car and he and the #29 Mustang (GS) got together. Some serious body work ensued but the car (with two new right side tires!) soldiered on in a 19th finish. .

The 197 with Sarah and VJ ran a great race but got caught off cycle on a yellow flag putting them back in the field. VJ picked off 10+ cars to finish 11th.

Our Bad luck continues but we have the reliability back. Lady Luck does not drive a Mini !

New Jersey is next in July and we expect to have the 198 (w/Bosch) back in action.

One last note . . . it was very hot and the water temps were in the 210-225 range. These engines bleed horsepower at temps over 200 so we were probably down 20+ HP in both cars the whole race. This problem will go away with the Bosch.

Randy

 

Nic Johnson = the new JC France. Congrats on the Fixes, that's very encouraging. Onwards & upwards!
Did you get a chance to drive the Challenge car & if so, how does it compare to the ST cars?

 

We drove the Challenge car on Wed night. It turned some 1:40's . . . the GA cars were turning 1:37's. It could be competitive with some rule changes.

The challenge car ran the Chicane . . . the GA cars did not. The challenge car has Hoosier R6's . . . the GA cars run the Cup tires. I think these two items cancel each other out.

Randy

 

LEXINGTON, Ohio

During round seven of the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race at Mid-Ohio, RSR Motorsports combined speed and reliability to give their MINI Cooper S entries an impressive showing The RSR Motorsports Minis have been fast all season, but reliability issues have resulted in a number of disappointing finishes. Now, with new chassis engineer Jim Haaser on board, the MINIs have the perfect combination of speed, agility and reliability

"Mid-Ohio was one of our best weekends so far," says team manager Owen Trinkler. "Jim has really helped resolve some issues with the cars. We saw major steps, and I think we'll make strides each time out."

Proving that Mid-Ohio is a great track for the MINI, BJ Zacharias and Mark Congleton were consistently fast in the No. 196 RSR Motorsports MINI Cooper S sponsored by CaseTech The car had the fastest lap in the second practice session, and Congleton followed that up by qualifying fifth.

VJ Mirzayan and Sarah Cattaneo were also quick in the No. 197 RSR Motorsports MINI Cooper S. Cattaneo qualified eighth in the Street Tuner class, and she and Mirzayan went on to finish 11th in the race. "We wanted a 1, but we got two of them instead!" says Mirzayan."The MINI was really consistent throughout the race. We couldnt have asked any more from the team or our cars. We found reliability and the team came together really well."

"Jim Haaser has been an amazing addition to our team and the crew worked so hard to get our car ready", says Cattaneo."The car felt incredible and this was one of the best races we've had all year."

After a solid start in the No. 196 MINI, Congleton was hit from behind by another car, resulting in a flat tire and a great deal of damage to the MINI. Congleton pitted for a new tire, and he and Zacharias soldiered on to finish 19th. "The results don't show the reliability and the great handling these MINIs have now", says team owner Randall Smalley. "Both cars finished, and the fuel and belt issues have been turned around."

The Mid-Ohio race will be televised on SPEED on Saturday, June 26 at 1:00 p.m. ET. The next GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race for RSR Motorsports will be at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Saturday, July 17.

RSR Motorsports is sponsored by Cruise America, Four Winds International, MINI USA, Performance Friction Rotors, OS Giken Racing Clutches and Limited Slip Differentials, Midway Ford Truck Sales, Mini North Scottsdale, Motul USA, and Cobalt Racing Pads.

Keep up with the team online at www.RSRMotorsports.com

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_WWU...layer_embedded

Here is the Nic Jonsen incident . . .

 

wow, thats BS... only a stop-n-go. must be good to drive a Kia.

 

Have spike strip & corner worker pass - will travel..


Thanks for the Challenge car info!