Press release

MINI USA AND THE MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS RACE TEAM HEAD TO NOLA MOTORSPORTS PARK AFTER TAKING THREE PODIUMS AT SONOMA KICKOFF WEEKEND

Woodcliff Lake, NJ,  April 28, 2023. MINI USA and the MINI John Cooper Works Team head to the second round of the 2023 SRO TC America series this weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, La., after securing three podiums at the season opener at Sonoma Raceway. Last season, Clay Williams piloted the #60 MINI JCW Pro to win at NOLA Motorsports Park.
 
The Brownsburg, Ind. -based LAP Motorsports team, which operates the MINI JCW Team, showed their depth and strength during the opening weekend at Sonomo Raceway, with Clay Williams finishing second in both races in the #60 MINI JCW Pro and Cristian Perocarpi captured a third-place finish in the #37 MINI JCW Pro – both in the Touring Car (TC) class. Williams and Perocarpi will be joined by full time teammate and driver PJ Groenke in the #62 MINI JCW – competing in the Touring Car A (TCA) class.
 
“We had a great start to the season in Sonoma and will look to continue to ride that momentum into this weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park,” said Luis Perocarpi, team owner, LAP Motorsports. “This team has great depth and have already demonstrated they will be fierce competitors in the field this season.”
 
The team finished last season as the runner up for the Manufacturer’s Championship in both the Touring Car (TC) and Touring Car A (TCA) classes. Clay Williams, driver of the #60 MINI JCW Pro, also finished the 2022 season in 2nd place in the Driver’s Championship in the TC class.
 
The MINI JCW team will be supported this weekend by five qualified MINI Dealer technicians, working alongside the team during practice, qualifying and race days as part of the MINI Technician Race Crew Program. The five dealer technicians are from dealers in the Southern Region, including one from MINI of Pensacola, one from MINI of Clear Lake, one from Roadshow MINI in Cordova, Tenn., and two from Momentum MINI in Houston, Texas. Each of them will support the team for the entire weekend at NOLA 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.

2023 SRO TC America
  • March 30 – April 2:            Sonoma Raceway - COMPLETE
  • April 28 - 30:                      NOLA Motorsports Park
  • May 19 – 21:                      Circuit of the Americas
  • June 16 – 18:                     Virginia International Raceway
  • August 18 – 20:                 Road America
  • September 22 – 24:           Sebring International Raceway
  • October 5 – 8:                    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 104 MINI full passenger car sales and service dealers 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.