They finished 9th, 12th and 15th at LRP.

 

If I remember correctly LRP has never been kind to these MINIs. LRP demands a lot of respect and there is little time to think between turns. It is very hard on the left front tire. The MINIs tended to drift wide on T1 which others drivers could take advantage of. Then there were the bumps and grinds. Yes, not their best showing.

On the other hand there were 50+ MINIs in the MINI corral, a lot of whom got to do some parade laps. Thanks to Prestige MINI for hosting that.

Oh, also IMSA TV had some huge video screens setup so we could see what was going on elsewhere on the track. Great experience

 

Well, while watching the replay of the LRP race today, I heard the announcers talking about the MINI JCW's being required to dial back the turbo boost on their cars...to make it fair! Yea, like it was fair not letting the JCWs to run the stock Brembo brakes & transmission until this season! So, it's not just Lime Rock but the lower boost that slowed them down! Bummer!

 

The LRP race has been posted on YouTube and watched the race again. It really is a good race even though the MINIs didn't do well.

Power didn't seem to be the MINI's problem. A friend asked the team what kind of power they are making; the response was 260 hp. That seems like it should be enough. Coming out of T4 they could pull away from other cars. What they couldn't do was hold speed in the corners, especially Big Bend where they tended to drift a lot which really abuses the tires and plays into being passed there.

 

VIR continental tire race this weekend! You can watch it on IMSA.com. After the bad luck with the rain last race that screwed the Minis, they need a stellar finish this time, especially the #73!

 

A friend and I will be at VIR this Saturday. Hearing there is a good size MINI contingent coming from the Greensboro area as well.

 

Absolutely right ... they were in position to win and the red flag screwed everyone who did not pit ... I'm still amazed at that decision.

 

I'm planning to get there around 1100.

 

Root hard! It should be a stellar day weather-wise.

 

Not the best day for the JCWs, 2 DNFs and the only MINI running at the end came in 6th. The 73 went off the course and ended up through a tire wall. It was covered in the paddock when I walked over. The 52 had the front held on with tape when I saw it.

 

Hey Charlie !
Do you get a sense what the issues were, driver, tires, brake fluid boiling....
Guessing it was a dry track ?
Thanks!

 

I didn't see it but my bet is the #73 had some help leaving the track!

 

I did not see why the # 52 called it quits. On the #73, yes he went into Horseshoe from the front straight on the outside, got squeezed over and went down the hill into the tires. They could not keep up with the Nissan or BMWs down the straights. The Nissan won.

 

No rain, great weather. It took a long time to get the track back together after #73 went off. With his car covered in the paddocks, I am hoping he is not injured too bad.

 

I watched the MINIs race at Mazda Raceway last weekend. Much like VIR the MINIs had "help" with going off the track. They seem to run well with fresh tires but the car is just too hard on them when they are on a tighter track. You can see any lead they have when the tires are fresh just melt away with each lap. The Nissan has a similar issue but not as bad. The price of having a front wheel car. It looks like the Audi has the bugs worked out of it and it may be the car to beat.

 

Daytona is coming up!

 

 

Yes, yes it is!

Some media noted that the MINI's enjoyed a very successful ROAR as well.

Should be good!

 

I'm excited by the start of the new season too!

I saw the entry list and there are only 5 cars entered in the ST class. Three of them are from the MINI JCW Team. This is the last season for the ST class so it looks like a lot of teams left the class.

On the plus side the chance for the team to repeat at Daytona is good

 

 

What happened to the MINIs? Seriously, what put them so far down from the class leader? I missed that.

And what was with the IMSA coverage of the race? Watching the race, if you didn’t know better, you would have thought the GS cars were the only ones racing. They had a brand new class of cars and there was no mention of them and forget about the ST class. If I was one of those car owners I would be upset. There goes sponsorship right out the window.

 

 

This is the last season for the ST class. Knowing that a lot of the ST teams from last year moved to GS and TCR (and some like Mazda just dropped out completely). That's why there was on 6 cars in the class for this event. ST will probably be light the whole season.

Listening to the track radio they were interviewing someone (either from the team or MINI) that sad they will indeed be moving to TCR next year, and they will be doing it with the Clubman.

All three MINIs had issues, I'll have information on what happened to them probably tomorrow. I know the 52 had a busted radiator. Fluid was leaking all over the garage and I watched as they swapped out the radiator. It was pretty cool to see the team owner jumping right in there and working his *** off to get it changed quickly.

 

Hey, TrueEddie, is there any info about that white VW with the Frankenstein fender flares? I couldn’t find it in any of the IMSA class standings at the end of the race and the announcers said nothing about it even when it died out on the track and then again at the end of the pit road. Is this what the MINIs will be up against next year?

And the Clubman as the choice for a race car? That seems odd. It is a shame that they don’t have a Gen III version of the Coupe to race. The better aerodynamics over the hatch might have made them more competitive.

 

Well, I will not be watching MINIs race anymore if they go with the Clubman! Sad! I don’t think aerodynamics has as much impact as the regulations regulating weight, horsepower, turbo boost, etc. IMSA is not making good choices right now by alienating race fans!