MINI USA AND THE MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS TEAM CLOSE OUT TC AMERICA SEASON WITH STRONG PERFORMANCE AT INDIANAPOLIS FINALE

Woodcliff Lake, NJ,  October 19, 2021. MINI USA and the MINI John Cooper Works Team ended their racing season on a high note at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with two first-place finishes and a second place finish  in the final race weekend of the 2021 SRO TC America series. The Brownsburg, Ind. -based LAP Motorsports, which operates the MINI JCW Team, fielded three cars at their home track this past weekend, including the #60 MINI JCW PRO piloted by veteran driver Derek Jones in the Touring Car (TC) class, as well as the #62 MINI JCW driven by Clayton Williams and the #61 MINI JCW driven by Cristian Perocarpi, both in the Touring Car A (TCA) class.

Clayton Williams and teammate Cristian Perocarpi brought home a 1 -2 finish in the first race of the weekend, making it the first win for Williams and the third podium in a row for Perocarpi. Williams was able to sweep the top spot in Practice, Qualifying and both Races, following up with another win in Race 2. Perocarpi barely missed the podium on the second day with a fourth-place finish.

“We ended the season with a lot of momentum and having an exciting performance in front of our loved ones on our home track made it even more special,” said Luis Perocarpi, team owner, LAP Motorsports. “The strategic decision to race all three cars on slicks was a risk that came through for us in Race 1. The young team showed that they can drive under pressure and keep their cool all the way to victory. We now have some local hardware to show for it in the trophy cabinet.”

Veteran driver Derek Jones started off the weekend strong, performing well in practice and qualifying, however, damage suffered in early contact in Race 1 took out Jones and the #60 MINI JCW PRO for Race 1 and resulted in a mechanical failure in Race 2. 

The MINI JCW Team brought their usual fulltime race crew supported by five service technicians from three different MINI dealerships in the Central Region, including one from Cincinnati MINI in Cincinnati, Ohio, one from MINI of Ft Wayne in Ft. Wayne, Ind. and three from Dreyer & Reinbold MINI right down the road in Indianapolis. These are the same technicians that repair customer MINIs and have proven time and again that their knowledge transfers to the racing world.



 
About the MINI JCW PRO
Visually inspired by the third generation MINI John Cooper Works GP launched in 2020, the #60 MINI JCW PRO is a MINI John Cooper Works Hardtop that has been engineered and modified using both original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and components from across the MINI line up and aftermarket performance parts in order to meet the technical rules and regulations required to compete in the TC class. The GP-inspired visual cues presented on the #60 MINI JCW PRO, including the paint scheme and front grill and fender, also help to meet requirements of the series to differentiate the TC versus TCA race cars while on the track.

The MINI John Cooper Works team started the season taking three podiums at Sonoma Raceway and three additional podiums throughout the season in pursuit of the team’s third Manufacturer’s Championship in a row in the series. The MINI JCW Team also won Manufacturer’s Championship in 2018 in the final season of the Street Tuner class of the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Series, where the team finished ahead of BMW, Porsche and Mazda.
 
The SRO TC America schedule for 2022 has been announced.  MINI looks forward to racing in April 2022.

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 MINI USA sales organization is represented in the U.S. through a network of 112 MINI passenger car dealers. 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.