MINI won the STX class at the SCCA National Championships. Craig Wilcox (He has won a national championship before) won by over a second. He beat a BRZ. I assume it is a third gen MINI. The first and second Gen can't compete with the Subaru / Toyota pair.
Carl, I believe that Craig won with a Gen2 MINI. The Gen 2 is probably 200 lbs lighter than Gen3 and while it is a smaller 1.6 L, it only suffers about 8 HP lower factory HP rating. STX vs. Street allows some weight savings in a few places (race seats and battery) as well as more suspension/rim/external engine mods. I've heard people say that Craig probably out drove the class as well as doing a superb job of setting the car up. He was still tweaking during his runs and even changed to wider rear tires part way through the event.
Steve, nice picture of Craig's car. It is a 2012 pictured with the17" rims + Michelin PSS radials for rain. He ran in the dry on 15" rims with Rival S 225/45/15 all the way around for his quickest time.
He beat my original instructor driving the BRZ. Supposedly Craig's car was Manic tuned which may or may not be legal in STX...
I bet the OS Giken Super Locker LSD did more that any tune to improve his times..... Why? ..... Gobs of traction.
Not as much as my suspension list below. Power is nothing if you can't drive or stop the car. Suspension Tires Light Rims Custom KW Coil Overs Swift Springs GP control arms Poly flex LCA bushings Larger Antii-sway bar White line adj. links Brake upgrades GP / JCW front brakes and rotors JCW larger rear brakes and rotors SS lines Drivetrain Stronger 500 hp RMW axels OS GIKEN LSD diff Power Mods RMW BVH RMW CAM RMW HEADER RMW custom tune Helix 15% pulley RMW / AQUAmist meth kit