Press release

MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS TEAM RETURNS TO CIRCUIT OF AMERICAS

Woodcliff Lake, NJ,  September 18, 2020.  MINI USA and the MINI John Cooper Works Team heads to the next 2020 SRO TC America series race at Circuit of Americas with confidence after a strong performance there at the start of the racing season. Returning to the track this weekend are Tomas Mejia in the #60 and Mark Pombo in the #61 for all three races. In the second to last race of the season, Mejia is currently in the lead by only three points and Pombo is in third place.
 
The MINI John Cooper Works race team will look to match their performance at the kickoff the season at Circuit of the Americas in March, where Pombo and Meija completed the 1-2 finish in Race 1 and Meija took the checkered flag in Race 2 with Pombo taking fifth position. The team followed up the kickoff with an outstanding race weekend at Virginia International Raceway in early July, where the team took home six podiums, including two wins by Mark Pombo and a 1 – 2 finish with teammate Tomas Mejia in Race 1 of the weekend. The team then took home five podium spots at Sonoma Raceway.
 
While there will be fans in attendance in the general admission area, all three races will be streamed live at YouTube.com/GTWorld. In addition, MINI John Cooper Works Team owner Luis Perocarpi and driver Mark Pombo will participate in live debriefings each session and also provide timing and scoring across MINI USA social media channels including Facebook and Instagram.
 
The MINI JCW Team have their usual fulltime race crew supported by five service technicians from MINI dealers, mostly in the Southern Region. As the race should have taken place in Watkins Glen, NY, one technician from MINI of Warwick in the Eastern Region secured a spot. Two technicians are supporting the team from Momentum MINI in Houston and one each from MINI of Plano and MINI of Austin. These are the same technicians that repair consumer MINIs and have proven time and again that their knowledge transfers to the racing world.
 
Following the season opener in Austin, the SRO TC America series took a break from the action to adhere to safety regulations put in place in response to the COVID19 pandemic. The series was forced to cancel two race weekends, one in St. Petersburg, Fla., and the other at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn. The four races will be made up by adding a third race to four race weekends, including past races at Virginia International RacewaySonoma Raceway and Road America, as well as this weekend’s race at Circuit of the Americas. The championship weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October will remain a two-race weekend. 
 
The MINI John Cooper Works team won Manufacturers’ title and five total race victories during the successful debut season in TC America in 2019.
 
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 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 117 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 five unique vehicles.

Journalist notes: Media information about MINI and its products is available to journalists on-line at www.miniusanews.com.