The MINI John Cooper Works Team has found a new home in the SRO World Challenge TC America series, where it will run a car in the TCA class. The team won a Manufacturers’ title for MINI in 2018 in the Street Tuner class in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Series, but with the class phased out this year the team had to find a new place to race the Mini JCW.
Mini will continue to partner with Luis Perocarpi’s Indianapolis-based LAP Motorsports team. Patrick McKenna, head of MINI’s Product Planning and Consumer events department, said, “As we enter into our fifth year partnering with Luis Perocarpi and LAP Motorsports, we’re thrilled to take the MINI JCW team into TC America for 2019. Given the incredibly hard work and success the team has achieved over the last few years, John Cooper can rest easy knowing his namesake racing team continues to exemplify the racing spirit he started almost 60 years ago.”
As part of the effort, technicians from MINI dealerships across the country will continue to help support the team as part of the MINI Service Technicians Education Program (STEP).
Perocarpi said, “The entire LAP Motorsports team is incredibly excited to continue our partnership with MINI. I used to race Classic Minis with my father and uncle, so owning and running this race team has been an absolute dream come true. We can’t wait to tackle the challenges that await us in 2019.”
The new season begins at Circuit of the Americas on March 1.—Brian Morgan
[Photo courtesy BMW AG.]
