Team continues push toward top of the Manufacturer’s standings in
the Street Tuner class of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge
series following Vance’s podium
Woodcliff Lake, NJ – July 21, 2017 – The
MINI JCW Team and
MINI
USA are gearing up for another big race this weekend at
Lime Rock Park in their
quest to sit on top of the Manufacturer’s standings in the Street
Tuner class of the
Continental Tire
SportsCar Challenge series. After all three MINI JCW
Team cars finished inside the top five at
Watkins Glen
International, including the #73 and #52 MINI JCW’s in
victory lane, the team went on grab a podium finish at Canadian Tire
Motorsports Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, the following weekend, when
James Vance
piloted the #37 MINI JCW to a third place finish after an aggressive
battle to hold his lead against the race’s eventual winner for more
than an hour. Vance will be joined once again this weekend by
Mike LaMarra.
Team owner Luis Perocarpi, lead engineer Rob Ridgely and MINI
engineer Zdravko Miric have been hard at work piecing the #52 MINI JCW
back together after driver
Jay Salinsky
was pushed hard into the wall by an opponent at Canadian Tire
Motorsports Park on July 9th leaving the vehicle almost
unrecognizable. Nate Norenberg and
Mark
Pombo will be in the #52 this weekend.
The #73 MINI JCW will once again be driven by starting driver
Derek Jones and
closer
Mat Pombo
, who currently sit in
second place in the series championship points and have two
victories so far this season.
“Our team is fired up coming off the successful weekends we had at
both Watkins Glen and Mosport and we will continue our push to the top
of the standings,” said Luis Perocarpi, team owner, LAP Motorsports.
“We are the only team that has been able to challenge the top team in
the standings so far and even they have not outperformed us during the
first half of the season. Our MINI JCW race cars will be fast again
this weekend and we will be driving hard for the win.”
Throughout the entire season, technicians from MINI dealerships all
over the country help support the team as part of the MINI Service
Technicians Education Training Program. This weekend at Lime Rock the
team will be supported by technicians from New Country MINI in
Hartford, CT, Prestige MINI in Ramsey, NJ, Prestige MINI of Duchess
County in Wappingers Fall, NY and MINI of Allentown in Allentown, PA.
Perocarpi added, “I cannot be more proud of our drivers and crew so
far this season. They are as passionate and professional as any team
owner could ask for and we’re going to kick some butt this weekend.”
The MINI JCW Race Team is currently second in the Manufacturers
standings behind Porsche and ahead of Nissan, Mazda, Audi and BMW. Mat
Pombo and Derek Jones are ranked second in the Driver’s Championship.
The #73 MINI JCW is also ranked second in the Team standings. The team
also won the season opener at the famed Daytona International
Speedway in January.
The next race for the MINI JCW Racing Team in the Continental
Tires SportsCar Challenge Series is this Saturday at Lime Rock Park
in Lakeville, Connecticut. For information about meet and greet
times and locations visit
MINIJCWTeam.com.
The Indianapolis-based MINI JCW Racing Team competes with a fleet of
production-derived MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop race cars closely
related to the
John
Cooper Works Hardtops that are currently on sale at
MINI dealerships across the U.S.
About MINI in the US
MINI is an independent brand of the BMW Group. In the United States,
MINI USA operates as a business unit of BMW of North America, LLC,
located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey and includes the marketing and
sales organizations for the MINI brand. The MINI USA sales
organization is represented in the U.S. through a network of 128 MINI
passenger car dealers in 39 states. MINI USA began selling vehicles in
the U.S. in 2002 with the introduction of the MINI Cooper and MINI
Cooper S Hardtops. Since then, the MINI Brand in the U.S. has grown to
encompass a model range of four unique vehicles.
About the MINI JCW Team The MINI JCW Team, operated
by LAP Motorsports, drives the John Cooper Works Hardtop 2 Door–the
most powerful MINI ever built in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar
Challenge. Headquartered in Brownsburg, Indiana, the three car line-up
lives up the motto ‘Defy Labels’ as it takes on competitor
manufacturers typically associated with high-performance over value.
Utilizing unique marketing strategies, the MINI JCW Team provides
exciting motorsports experiences for fans and partners alike as they
promote North American sports car racing while consistently out
performing industry expectations. For additional information please
visit
minijcwteam.com or email
luis@minijcwteam.com
Journalist notes: Media information about MINI and its products is
available to journalists on-line at
www.miniusanews.com.
