MINI USA AND THE MINI JOHN COOPER WORKS RACE TEAM SECURE FOUR PODIUM FINISHES AT ROAD AMERICA

Woodcliff Lake, NJ,  August 23, 2023. MINI USA and the MINI John Cooper Works Team entered the back half of the 2023 SRO TC America season with a strong showing at Road America, netting four total podium finishes including one first place, one second place, and two third place finishes. Clay Williams continued his dominant run this season with a win driving the #60 MINI JCW PRO in Race 2 of the Touring Car (TC) class. Cristian Perocarpi, making bold moves in the #37 MINI JCW, saw the podium twice with a second place finish in Race 1 and a third place finish in Race 2 of the TC class. P.J. Groenke, driving the #62 MINI JCW, built on his success at VIR by coming in third place in Race 1 for the Touring Car A (TCA) class.

The Brownsburg, Ind. -based LAP Motorsports team, which operates the MINI JCW Team, was supported this weekend by one qualified MINI Dealer technician, working alongside the team during practice, qualifying and race days as part of the MINI Technician Race Crew Program. The dealer technician, Miguel Ponce de Leon from International MINI in Milwaukee, has supported the team for the past four races at Road America.  Ponce de Leon 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.

“The team overcame several challenges this weekend, and our resilience paid off with multiple podium finishes to keep us on top in the TC class,” said Luis Perocarpi, team owner, LAP Motorsports. “I’m incredibly proud of this team and our continued success this season. With just four races left in the season, we’re ready to face the pressure from our competitors and defend our spot at the top.”
 
While not the complete sweep seen last year from the team at Road America, last weekend’s results reinforce the MINI JCW team’s position as leaders in the 2023 standings of the TC class. Clay Williams, driver of the #60 MINI JCW Pro, also remains at the top of individual driver standings in the TC class with a strong points lead resulting from a streak of recent, consecutive wins. Williams also finished the 2022 season in 2nd place in the Driver’s Championship in the TC class.
 
The next race of the 2023 SRO TC America series is September 22 – 24 at Sebring International Raceway in Florida.
 
2023 SRO TC America

• March 30 – April 2:              Sonoma Raceway - COMPLETE
• April 28 - 30:                        NOLA Motorsports Park - COMPLETE
• May 19 – 21:                       Circuit of the Americas - COMPLETE
• June 16 – 18:                      Virginia International Raceway - COMPLETE
• August 18 – 20:                   Road America - COMPLETE
• 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.