MINI JCW Team Focuses On Fight to the Finish, Street Fight For Street Tuner Manufacturer's Title in Final Two Races

Woodcliff Lake, NJ,  September 7, 2018. The MINI JCW Team will head to Monterey, Calif., for the ninth round of the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Series. The team still maintains a one point lead in the manufacturers standings for MINI after the tough event at VIR. Not long after the champagne sprayed in celebration, Colin Mullan and Mark Pombo were notified that their #52 MINI JCW had failed IMSA’s post-race inspection due to a high boost infraction. Team engineers evaluated the internal programming of the production engine control unit to avoid additional boost infractions in the two remaining races.

The WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca 120 will feature two hours of intense racing around an 11-turn, 2.238 mile course situated in a dry lakebed. WeatherTech Raceway is highlighted by its signature cork-screw turn. The blind up-hill approach combined with the twisting 18 meter drop is a challenging feature that creates some exciting racing.

The MINI JCW Team will once again feature three MINIs on the track. The #52 of Mark Pombo and Colin Mullan will look to rebound after having their victory at VIR taken away post-race due to a technical infraction.

Mat Pombo and Mike LaMarra are still alive in the driver's championship after a third place finish at VIR in the #73. They've had good speed all season and a strong run at Laguna Seca would really help them in their championship hopes.

Nate Norenburg and Derek Jones round out the MINI JCW Team lineup in the #37. With two races to go they are still looking for their first victory of the season. They've had some promising runs lately and will look to build on them this week.

“It was a real disappointment to end the weekend at VIR with the results we had after everyone on the team battled so much adversity and still came across the finish line in first and third place,” said Luis Perocarpi, team owner, LAP Motorsports. “We took a closer look at the internal programming of our engines to make sure that we do not experience additional overboost situations in the two remaining races. We still have our eyes on the championship.”

Throughout the entire season, technicians from MINI dealerships all over the country help support the team as part of the MINI Service Technicians Education Program (STEP). This weekend at Laguna Seca the team is supported by three MINI technicians, one from MINI of Stevens Creek in Santa Clara, one from MINI of Valencia in Santa Clarita, and one from MINI of San Francisco.

The Indianapolis-based MINI JCW 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. For information about the MINI JCW Team visit 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 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 (@lapmotorsports), drives MINI's most powerful Hardtop ever in the two-door John Cooper Works. The team competes in the fiercely competitive IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge. 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.