MINI MOTORSPORTS TAKES 2nd IN TC AND 3rd IN TCA CLASSES FOR 2022 TC AMERICA SEASON.
MINI’s racing legacy dates back to 1964 and includes historic victories at Monte Carlo. Today, The MINI JCW RACE TEAM honors our racing heritage on the track and on the podium.
MINI MOTORSPORTS 2023 SCHEDULE
| DATE | LOCATION |
|---|---|
| March 30 - April 2 | Sonoma Raceway - Sonoma, California |
| April 28-30 | NOLA Motorsports Park - New Orleans, Louisiana |
| May 19-21 | Circuit of the Americas - Austin, Texas |
| June 16-18 | Virginia International Raceway - Alton, Virginia |
| August 18-20 | Road America - Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin |
| September 22-24 | Sebring International Raceway - Sebring, Florida |
| October 5-8 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Indianapolis, Indiana |
| SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE |
PRO TEAMS
RACING IS IN OUR DNA.
The MINI JCW RACE TEAM competed at 7 tracks across the US chasing John Cooper’s legacy. The team finished the season in 2nd place for the Touring Car (TC) class and 3rd place for the Touring Car A (TCA) class.
Driver, Clayton Williams, in the #60 car, finished 2nd in the TC class with Christian Perocarpi, in car #61, finishing in 4th place and PJ Groenke in 9th for the TCA class. Follow the 2023 season to see our MINI heritage and JCW performance in action.
RALLY DAKAR 2021 – SIXTH OVERALL WIN FOR MINI.
The MINI team took home the 2021 Dakar Rally win, this time it was record winner Stéphane Peterhansel (FRA) and his co-driver Edouard Boulanger (FRA) who topped the podium after twelve stages through the Saudi Arabian desert. It was Peterhansel’s 14th overall win at the Dakar, and his third for MINI following his wins in 2012 and 2013. MINI now has a total of six overall wins of the famous endurance rally to its name. Carlos Sainz (ESP) and his co-driver Victor Cruz (ESP), who won in 2020, crossed the finish line in third place with their MINI JCW Buggy this time around.
PRIVATEERS
MINI CHALLENGE & SCCA.
If you want to see a pack of ferociously race-tuned MINI models torching the track, check out MINI Challenge. Since its launch in 2004, the MINI clubsport racing series has expanded to Argentina, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the UK. If you’re looking to add a healthy dose of adrenaline to your weekends, the Sports Car Club of America will not only let you spectate – but participate. With events on multiple surfaces for amateurs and professionals, and a contingency dedicated to MINI Owners, it’s well worth checking out an SCCA event near you.
YOU RACE? GET REWARDS.
You can win cash prizes racing a MINI in amateur or professional competitions through the MINI Motoring Awards Program. It’s just a little extra incentive for MINI owners to get out there and give racing a go. Not that the sheer fun and adrenaline rush of pressing a MINI through a closed course isn’t already enough.
(Please Note: the MINI New Passenger Car Limited Warranty may not cover vehicles used in competitive events, and it specifically does not cover damage to the engine, transmission or any related components caused by improper operation of the vehicle or shifting.)
Learn More
DRIVE IT LIKE A PRO.
Motorsports prowess. It’s earned on the racetrack, but it’s learned at the MINI Performance Driving School, where professional instructors teach participants to unleash a MINI’s racing soul.
PERFORMANCE UPGRADES.
Every MINI is equipped with the tools and the attitude to tackle the track, but we’ve got a few special tune-ups for the committed. John Cooper Works performance parts, rims and tires heighten all of your MINI’s senses – improving stability, reducing shock, tightening handling – giving you more control over the glorious machine at your disposal.
Gallery
Racing Heritage
TRAILBLAZING ON THE TRACK.
It was 1961 when the humble little people-mover fell into the hands of British racing legend John Cooper. A more powerful engine, bigger brakes and a few tuning tweaks later, the Classic Mini Cooper 997 was introduced. And a rally demon was born.
Shortly after in 1962, when gender roles were thought to be defined, one woman chose a life of speed. Her name was Pat Moss and she wasn’t just ahead of the curve, she set it, by leading Mini to their first motorsport victory in the Netherlands Tulip Rally.
OUR KIND OF VICTORY LAP.
For the 50-year anniversary of his victory in the 1967 Monte Carlo Rally, 79-year-old racing legend Rauno Aaltonen didn’t just take a bow. He took the wheel of his classic Mini and relived the race, turn by razor-sharp turn.
RACING’S IN OUR BLOOD.
Son of a mechanic, pioneer of the rear-mounted engine and founder of the Cooper Car Company, John Cooper had three Monte Carlo Rally titles and 16 Grand Prix wins to his name. That name lives on in the MINI John Cooper Works models. Ferocious, street-legal racecars bred for the track and rigorously tuned to the most exacting performance standards. Because just as it was a half-century ago, racing is in our blood.
BIRTH OF A RACER.
In 1959, the first Classic Mini was introduced to Britain: an unassuming, inexpensive 4-person “saloon” that didn’t use up a lot of gas or take up much space. And though at first, some people didn’t quite know what to make of this quirky newcomer, other people began to get big ideas.
ICONOCLASTS ATTRACT.
One of the gentlemen most intrigued by the Classic Mini’s racing potential was the legendary F1 car builder, John Cooper. Already famous for his unique, extremely successful rear-engine F1 designs, it was only natural that an auto company bold enough to defy convention by placing its engine differently (sideways) would impress him.
ONE SPIN WAS ALL IT TOOK.
Cooper immediately recognized that the same features that made the Classic Mini such an innovative people mover – a transverse engine, four wheels pushed out to the corners and minimal size – also gave the car incredible balance, an extremely wide stance and amazing agility. Just the attributes needed to turn it into a small, but ferocious racer.
GENTLEMEN, START YOUR SIDEWAYS ENGINE.
And so, in 1961, with a few tweaks to the engine, a set of slightly bigger brakes, and a new contrasting roof to make it stand out in the pack, the Classic Mini emerged from the Cooper Car Company garages as the Mini Cooper.
A GIANT KILLER.
What happened next (much to the dismay of the competition) is that John Cooper’s grand hypothesis was proven correct. The Classic Mini Cooper and Cooper S went on to dominate the 1960’s race scene, winning almost every international competition imaginable, including historic wins at Monte Carlo in 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967.* And a car for the ages was born.