Matt is still driving in IMSA. He has moved up to the TCR cars and, after 2 races, is ranked 9th. I guess that is what happens when you are good. You get asked to move up...

 

I went COTA that weekend...my girl booked the race for my birthday present (1/27) and booked a place for our travel trailer. I have raced since my last race of the first Spec Miata at The 24 hours of Moroso...we started on New Years Ever 1999 and ended on New Tears Day 2000. I drove the whole night for 9 hours...out other 5 team members split up the remaining 15 hours. So 19 years later I told my better half that if she booked the COTA EVENT...I would get the racing itch again!!! 10 days after the race at COTA I bought my 2019 Mini Cooper S JCW I.O.E. and started AutoXing again...I got a coupon for $1000 off for a Mini at Cota and used it quickly.

 

That had to be a blast to go to COTA!
And it sounds Ike your better is quite the person.

The JCW is a great car. I got mine 2 weeks ago today and doing my best to prove that the A/S RFTs are not worthy of a 400 wear rating ...

I like your wheels!
I assume those are for the autocross? What wheels do you have on it and what tire size are you running? And what are the chalk lines on them for?

 

They look like NM RSe05 wheels in Gunmetal finish.

 

Those pictured are the NM's 17x7.5 with 225/45/17s … below are pictures of first Stock Rims 18x7 with the run flats and second the Black Night Mini 18x7s with 215/40/18 (which are both for sale!!!) I'm keeping the stock wheels and runflats for everyday use. The Black wheels look even better IMO...they were $1359.00 new and I'm letting them go for $800.00. they have about 30 miles including two AutoXs on them.

 

Yup, the black wheels look great!
Thanks for the info...

 

Helps with figuring out air pressures needed...lets you know how far the tires are tracking on the outside...not too far and not too little.

 

 

Things have been quiet for a while... So, it seem like a good time to throw out a little speculation.

At the end of this article, it talks about MINI making a DCT available and some of the upcoming models having 300+ Hp. Could this be a precursor to MINI getting back into racing big time?
http://www.motoringfile.com/2019/05/...and+Podcast%29

 

Sadly no. The long and short of it is BMW won't allow them to, especially considering BMW is considering a TCR program of their own if rumors are to be believed.

 

It is unfortunate and a waste of the DCT in the car...

 

I agree, but for what it's worth, the JCW models with the 300+ horsepower won't ever get the DCT transmission as MINI has opted to only use the 8-speed auto or a manual transmission. I guess there's concerns that the DCT won't handle the torque levels of the new motor.

 

This is all very odd....
Over in the UK (and where else?) they race the MINIs a lot. I figured that they did the DCT for them and we were getting it just “because”. I forgot that it was just for the Base and S models, and didn’t even think that it might not be strong enough for the more powerful cars. IMHO this all comes with a big “WHY”? Why make it at all if not for racing? Are they making the DCT just to meet the EU mileage goals?

 

Double post

 

It's possible, but I don't know. The MINI Challenge is wholeheartedly endorsed by MINI UK and it's something I'd really love to see come stateside and run as a support series for Indycar or under the SRO banner. I was reading an article about the new BMW 1 series that will be FWD and share the same UKL platform as the Clubman and Countryman and thought to myself that it's the final nail in the coffin of ever seeing a MINI TCR car. BMW will use the 1 series as it already has a past history in touring car racing in the UK, so it'll build off that legacy with the new FWD 1er.

 

Well Matt Pombo continues to make a name for himself in TCR. He just won the 4 hr race at Watkins Glen today. This was after stuffing his car into the tire barrier just 15 min before the end of the race. The guy is a cool dude under pressure. They do credit his experience from driving the MINIs in ST.

 

That’s great! The tv coverage is poor though as I never know when to watch. Do you mean Matt or Mark Pombo? I didn’t think Matt was racing a MINI this season. I think Matt is the more experienced driver and he has shown his metal when racing ST last year!

 

Matt

He is driving a Honda TCR car in the IMSA Michelin Tire series. This series is for the GT4 and TCR cars. Sad that Matt isn’t driving a MINI, but this is good for him as the TCR cars are a big step up from the ST cars of last year. The broadcast that I watched was the IMSA TV live streaming from Watkins Glen. IMSA does a really good job of it. And yesterday turned in to being a beautiful day of sitting and eating out on the porch watching the race on the iPad for 4 hours. . I really didn’t want to mow the lawn...

And I know that this discussion is stepping away from the MINI racing discuss, but I like Matt and Mark and continue to support them.

I have been looking for more Blancpain TCR/TCA race uploads but haven’t found any. Mark is driving a MINI in the TCA class.

 

There are 2 Blancpain TC America Sonoma races posted to YouTube.
Race 1

and Race 2:

Mark Pombo took 2nd in both races in the TCA class. Nicely done.

 

Mark Pombo took first place in the TCA race yesterday at Watkins Glen, with another MINI in 4th (had third right up to the last few laps). There will be another race today, steamed live on YouTube, if interested. Great race yesterday with 4 MINI JCWs racing.

 

Mark took 1st in the second race at WGI also - So 2 races in a row the MINI won!
https://www.tcamerica.us/tca/news/10...o-again-in-tca

These races are up on YouTube if anyone is interested. Great races!.

 

We did a track day last week at New Jersey Motorsports Park with Skip Barber and one if the instructors was Ethan Lowe. He said he raced for Mini up until 2016 and then stayed in IMSA when they left.

Anyway, he gave us some great pointers on tracking our Minis and made us better trackers in just a few hours.

Its definitely different tracking a Mini vs a rear wheel car.

Thanks Ethan.

 

That’s the best, when you get an instructor who understands the car.

So, we expect a full write up, with picture and video. When can you have that done? Just kidding...
Glad you had a really good experience.

 

I'm curious... how tuned are the JCWs in the Watkins Glen, or is that a secret? Are they tuned to be 300+ hp? What kind of suspension? What kind of tires? I just want to know how much of a difference a showroom JCW is compared to a racing JCW.

 

I saw the JCWs at Lime Rock Park when they were in the IMSA ST class. They ran 225-45x17 Continental Race tires, the stock JCW Brembos with Carbotech race pads (XP24 I think). Not sure the wheel width, but I have to believe that it was 7.5” vs the stock 7” as the 7” is too small to effectively use the 225 wide Continentals. They had adjustable Competition KW coilovers and really big sway bars front and rear. The aerodynamic bits are the JCW Pro parts that MINI sells. I thought the HP was close to stock; maybe slightly over that. Sorry don’t remember for sure. I know that it wasn’t 300+ as that is TRC class car category and those car were a lot faster than the MINIs when they race together in that last year IMSA had the ST class. Maybe someone can chime in on that one. The cars were pretty much stock otherwise, except for being gutted and having a full roll cage. I believe the MINIs running in the Blancpain GT races are the same basic cars.

Hope that helps.

Mind if I ask - why are you looking to find out how the race JCW MINIs compare to the street version JCWs at WGI?



2016 MINIs at Lime Rock Park IMSA Races



MINI interior



MINI front suspension and brakes