Press release

MINI USA AND THE MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS RACE TEAM HEAD TO NEW ORLEANS MOTORSPORTS PARK RIDING MOMENTUM OF SEASON OPENER

Team ready for first trip to world class 2.75-mile road course following two podiums by Clay Williams in season opener at Sonoma

Woodcliff Lake, NJ,  May 20, 2022. MINI USA and the MINI John Cooper Works Team are preparing to ride their momentum in the 2022 SRO TC America series when they head to New Orleans Motorsports Park in Avondale, La., for the first time this weekend. The series was initially scheduled to run at Ozarks International Raceway in Gravois Mills, Mo., but was moved last month due to weather related delays and supply chain issues. The team is coming off a solid weekend at the series opener back in April at Sonoma Raceway where Clay Williams landed two podiums in the #60 MINI JCW PRO.
 
The Brownsburg, Ind. -based LAP Motorsports team, which operates the MINI JCW Team, will once again field three cars this weekend, with Cristian Perocarpi in #61 MINI JCW and PJ Groenke in #62 MINI JCW in the Touring Car (TC) class joining Clay Williams in the #60 MINI JCW PRO in the Touring Car A (TCA) class.
 
“The team showed in the seasoner opener that we are here to compete,” said Luis Perocarpi, team owner, LAP Motorsports. “With everyone being relatively new to this track it’s going to make for a fun weekend of racing. The MINI JCW Team is ready.”
 
This weekend MINI USA will bring one qualified MINI Dealer technician to work alongside the LAP Motorsports team during practice, qualifying and race days as part of the MINI Technician Race Crew Program. The dealer technician from Baron MINI in Merriam, Kan., will support the team for the entire weekend at New Orleans Motorsports Park. 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.

2022 SRO TC America
  • April 15 – 17:                     Sonoma Raceway (COMPLETE)
  • May 20 – 22:                      New Orleans Motorsports Park
  • June 17 – 19:                     Virginia International Raceway 
  • July 22 – 24:                      Watkins Glen International
  • August 19 – 21:                 Road America
  • September 23 – 25:           Sebring International Raceway
  • October 7– 9:                     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 115 locations comprised of 105 MINI full passenger car sales and service dealers and 10 service exclusive outlets 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 www.miniusanews.com.