Nothing yet on IMSA.
Arrrrrgggha!

I can’t believe that they have waited so long to post that race. They seem to loosing interest in promoting that part of the series.

Yes, the #73 is about 16 points out of 1st place.....this is why Matt Pombo was trying so hard to stay ahead of the #81 BMW. A win is worth 35 points. It’s still possible, but only one race left.

It’s on the IMSA website now if you want to watch it. Enjoy the #73 “save” near the end of the race! ;-)

Thanks!

Just finished watching it. What an exciting race for all three classes. I was blown away by that save that 73 pulled off. I was also glad for the 15 - 20 min that the 73 spent fighting off the BMW as that put the spotlight on the ST class and the MINI in particular. This was one race that had me yelling at the TV right up to the end. And I noted that the announcers are lamenting the loss of the MINI Cooper from racing. They surely are fun to watch. I am looking for to the next race. Hopefully, the MINI team has the half shaft problem fixed. It is a shame that was an issue early on as they DNFed in the last few laps on several race that they were doing well in. If they had finished those races they might have been in first now. Oh well....

Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, the JCW Team has been saddled with problems from the get go it seems. At first the brakes were too weak because they only had Cooper S brakes or similar....when they were finally permitted to actually run the JCW brakes did the MINIs really start performing, then as I recall they had a weight penalty so had to add weight to the cars, now the half shaft problems....all a part of racing though. It’s just a shame the rules changed that killed the ST Class! You are correct that the announcers actually lamented the loss next year of the MINIs and they seemed to really enjoy the battle between the #73 JCW & the #81 Bimmerworld BMW...Thats racing at its best! Gonna miss it next season! ;-(. At least I have my Team JCW Jerseys to wear!👍

Looking forward to watching the race. Perfect timing on posting the race as I just finished watching the 10 hr race (over the last few day... )

l like the looks of Road Atlanta. It looks like it has a nice flow and rhythm to it. It looks to be a track for me to try out some day, if I ever get that far south.

Just finished watching the race. Great race. I didn’t realize before watching that MINI actually WON THE RACE!. And that they had to win to get the manufacturer’s championship. This must have doubly PO’ed BMW. What a great way for this team to end thee season and the series as a whole. The announcers woke up at the end of the race to acknowledge this fact and MINI’s accomplishments in general. Congratulations to LAP motors for this accomplishment and for showcasing the MINIs as a whole. The announcers said that this was all done with out Corporate sponsorship; even more impressive of LAP.

Congratulations to MINI on their win and putting on such a great show for these past few years. You will be missed in the racing world. My wife and I will forever be fans!

That said, I will warn you that this was the worst production that IMSA has put on. Whoever was producing/directing this didn’t know what they were doing. Throughout this race and the Weathertech race the video would have little to do with whatever action the announcers were talking about. A lot of times they would be showing video of some 8th or 12th place car doing laps; maybe because it was a pretty looking car. But, while that was being shown, the announcers would be describing some 3 car pass going into T1 for a change of lead. They did this throughout both races. Uggggha, the worst.

As a result, they showed little of the ST class. This is a shame because the MINIs wer running hard throughout the race and doing well. They had a great battle with the Porsche towards the end that they didn’t show. Very disappointing.

Another note - It seems that there will be an encore race at Sebring. Hopefully the MINIs will be at that.

I usually like the announcers for IMSA. They are always very excited about what is going on, even if it is only moderately exciting, whether it is up front or fighting for position elsewhere in the pack. My wife watches with me because of that enthusiasm they have. She’s not a car person, and yet, because of them, she has learned to enjoy and understand the races. She is, however, a fan of MINIs as that was the first new car she ever had; all her’s, even paid for it herself. This was the attaction for her when we start watching these races.

The worst I have seen are the NASCAR announcers. I like watching stock cars on the road tracks (WGI in particular as I have had many years of doing track days there and know both courses pretty well). On the road courses those drivers really have to drive and can’t just play bumper cars and some are really good at it (better than watching the current version of TransAM). However the announcers pick favorites for winning the race from the start of the race and then spend the whole race explaining why they are going to win. With 3 announcers you get to listen to them argue over it for the 3 hrs of the race.

Oh well....Hope you enjoy the race.

I finally watched the 120...at least the last part when the cameras focused on the MINIs....the #73 was awesome fast! And it has a manual trans too! The MINIs were probably one of it not the only cars with a clutch! Congrats the the JCW Team!

I hear you on the BMW mismanaging thing. My local MINI dealer is placed 150 ft off the road with no curbside presence and a curbside BMW dealer on on side and a curbside Mercedes dealer on the other side. If you didn’t know the MINI dealer is there, you will never see it. Do you think they are really trying to sell MINIs on that lot? You can understand the frustration that anyone has who tries to do anything with these car when Corporate does those sort of things.

That is disappointing.

But, would they accommodate MINI JCWs built to IMSA requirements for the ST class? It might just be that is more cost effective for LAP to just start over.