Press release

MINI USA AND THE MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS RACE TEAM SWEEP TC AND TCA CLASSES IN TC AMERCA SERIES AT ROAD AMERICA

Nineteen-year-old racers Williams and Perocarpi each take home two first place trophies heading into final two race weekends of the season

Woodcliff Lake, NJ,  August 22, 2022. MINI USA and the MINI John Cooper Works Team left nothing on the track, or the podium, this weekend at Road America for the fifth race weekend of the 2022 SRO TC America series. After bringing home two victories last month at Watkins Glen International, the team doubled up and captured four first places finishes and one second place finish at Road America.
 
Clay Williams raced the #60 MINI JCW Pro hard early on to get ahead of the pole sitter in Race 1. With tough competition in his rearview mirror, Williams drove a calculated race in order to maintain the lead all the way through to the end, taking home the first-place finish in the Touring Car (TC) on Saturday. Race 2 on Sunday was a true nailbiter for Williams and the LAP crew, after they successfully addressed electrical issues with a system reboot while on the track to keep the #60 MINI JCW PRO in contention. Williams went on to push the car to its limits, passing both the class leader and class points leader in the final minutes of the race to take home the victory.
 
Cristian Perocarpi also found his way to the top of the podium on both Saturday and Sunday as well, masterfully racing the #61 MINI JCW through a three-way battle in the Touring Car A (TCA) that saw the top three drivers bumper to bumper though most of Race 1. Race 2 on Sunday was not much different, except for the fact that Perocarpi had teammate PJ Groenke in the #62 MINI JCW at the front of the pack with him when the checkered flag waved, bringing home a 1 – 2 finish to close out the weekend.
 
“You cannot ask for better results than what the team pulled off this weekend at Road America,” said Luis Perocarpi, team owner, LAP Motorsports. “This was not an easy race weekend by any means. I am so proud of them and the entire LAP team including our MINI dealer technicians with us this weekend.”
 
The Brownsburg, Ind. -based LAP Motorsports team, which operates the MINI JCW Team, was supported by two qualified MINI Dealer technicians this weekend, working alongside the team during practice, qualifying and race days as part of the MINI Technician Race Crew Program. The two dealer technicians were from dealers in the Eastern and Central Regions, including one from MINI of Burlington in Vermont and one from International MINI in West Allis, Wisconsin. Each of them supported the team for the entire weekend at Road America. 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 (COMPLETE)
  • June 17 – 19:                     Virginia International Raceway (COMPLETE)
  • July 22 – 24:                       Watkins Glen International (COMPLETE)
  • August 19 – 21:                  Road America (COMPLETE)
  • 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 MINIUSANEWS.com.