MINI USA AND THE MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS RACE TEAM GEARS UP FOR 2023 SRO TC AMERICA SEASON AS RUNNER UP IN MANUFACTURERS CHAMPIONSHIP IN BOTH TC AND TCA CLASSES.

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – March 30, 2023 –MINI USA and the MINI John Cooper Works Team are geared for the opening weekend of the 2023 SRO TC America series this weekend at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. The team finished last season as the runner up for the Manufacturer’s Championship in both the Touring Car (TC) and Touring Car A (TCA) classes. Clay Williams, driver of the #60 MINI JCW Pro, also finished the 2022 season in 2^nd place in the Driver’s Championship in the TC class.

The Brownsburg, Ind. -based LAP Motorsports team, which operates the MINI JCW Team, showed their strength and talent throughout the 2022 season. Clay Williams piloted the #60 MINI JCW Pro to two podium finishes at last season‘s opening weekend at Sonoma and a win at NOLA Motorsports Park. The team also took two podiums at VIR, two wins at Watkins Glen and a full sweep of both TC and TCA classes at Road America. Williams also took two podiums at Sebring. Throughout the 2022 season, the team secured seven wins and a total of 14 podiums.

The MINI JCW team for the 2023 season will consist of four full time drivers, including Clayton Williams in the #60 MINI JCW Pro and Cristian Perocarpi in the #37 MINI JCW Pro in the TC class and PJ Groenke in the #62 MINI JCW and Landon Lewis in the #63 MINI JCW in the TCA class. The MINI JCW team regulars will be joined this weekend by MINI Canada’s Alain Lauziere in the #64 MINI JCW in the TCA class.

“We have a solid lined up of drivers returning this year to take another run at both the Manufacturers and Drivers Championships,” said Luis Perocarpi, team owner, LAP Motorsports. “We look forward to continuing to build on the rich MINI racing heritage that goes back to Monte Carlo in the 1960s.”

The MINI JCW team will be supported this weekend by four qualified MINI Dealer technicians, working alongside the team during practice, qualifying and race days as part of the MINI Technician Race Crew Program. The four dealer technicians are from dealers in the Western Region, including one from Tacoma MINI, one from MINI of Seattle and two from Crevier MINI in Santa Ana, Calif. Each of them will support the team for the entire weekend at Sonoma Raceway. The race team relies on the skill and knowledge of the technicians that work, day to day on MINI, to bring that expertise to the track.

2023 SRO TC America

• March 30 – April 2:         Sonoma Raceway
• April 28 - 30:                   New Orleans Motorsports Park
• May 19 – 21:                    Circuit of the Americas
• June 16 – 18:                   Virginia International Raceway
• August 18 – 20:               Road America
• September 22 – 24:         Sebring International Raceway
• October 5 – 8:                  Indianapolis Motor Speedway

About the MINI JCW Team
The MINI JCW Team, operated by LAP Motorsports, drives MINI’s most powerful Hardtop ever in the two-door MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop. The team competes in the fiercely competitive SRO TC America Series. For additional information please visit minijcwteam.com or email luis@minijcwteam.com.

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 authorized MINI USA dealer organization is represented by a network of 104 MINI full passenger car sales and service dealers located throughout the US.  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 five unique vehicles.

Journalist notes: Media information about MINI and its products is available to journalists on-line at MINIUSANEWS.com.

                                   #  #  #