Chris Knox Is A Splash Hit In The Continental Tire Sports Car Series

Budding endurance star Chris Knox took another massive step towards a full-time racing career in the United States with a stellar show in the rain at Lime Rock Park.




Former British MINI Challenge champ Chris, from Elderslie, Renfrewshire in Scotland, carved his way through the Continental Tire Sports Car Series field twice as he gave the RSR Motorsports R53 MINI Cooper S a swansong to remember.



The car won’t be out next year due to Grand-Am regulations and Chris, RSR Motorsports boss Randy Smalley and team-mate Sarah Cattaneo were determined to make sure the Connecticut crowd had something to cheer. But Chris also wanted to make a name for himself in the paddock – and that has also been a huge success.

He was the fastest RSR Motorsports driver on the track for the third time in a row – after his appearance at Daytona International Speedway in January and at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca last time out.

His heroics in California even earned him a check for $500 because he had made the biggest improvement from his starting position – when he began the race in last place and battled through to finish ninth.

He said: “It was a tough race, but I was able to showcase what I can do in the wet at a track I had never seen before. Again, I was the highest placed RSR driver which was a good feeling.

“Hopefully, people have noticed what I can do because that is what we set out to do. I have already been told to keep in touch because there could well be opportunities.â€

But, while the impact of the result and the drive has been positive, Chris knows he had to do it the hard way. In practice on a circuit he had only ever driven before on the iRacing.com simulator, Chris was straight on the pace and paddled his way through the puddles to clock the second fastest time before pitting to save tires. As the session dried, his wet lap was still good enough for 14th place.

He added: “Lime Rock Park is very similar to some British circuits. It is a combination of Knockhill and Brands Hatch Indy because it is short and sweet with lots of elevation changes.

“It was a really cool circuit. It was easy to learn but you knew it could bite you pretty hard whenever it wanted.â€

Sarah did the second practice session, but RSR Motorsports’ chances of getting to the front of the ST field for the race were hampered when qualifying was cancelled because of the wet track. That also meant Chris missed out on valuable track time.

The #198 MINI started with Sarah, from Scottsdale in Arizona, in 22nd place, but she was caught in a collision that dropped the car to 30th and she also struggled with the windscreen misting up, which cost the team a lap.

After the change Chris was also having problems with the windscreen but persevered until the team could clear it.

He said: “I was almost driving blind, all I had for reference was the brake lights of the cars in front. I just had to hope he was taking the correct racing line. I went on the radio and told my crew chief that I was going to pit to get my windscreen cleared as it was too dangerous. I didn’t want to damage the car.â€

Then he produced a string of blistering laps, overtaking at least one rival a lap. He tried to unlap himself but an accidental collision with Eric Curran resulted in a stop-go penalty and he had to do all the hard work over again.

He stormed through the field again, but the excitement wasn’t over.

Chris takes up the story: “There were about ten minutes to go and I got a radio message to say the car ahead was on the same lap and we were racing for position. I got a great drift from him down the straight. He tried to defend going into turn one, but I feinted one way then went inside. We touched and tried to force him to give up the corner but he stayed with me. As we went into turn two, he got on the power too early and pushed me flying off track. I hit the biggest puddle I have ever seen.

“The car disappeared in a wave of water. I must have hit it at about 60mph. I came out the other side but the water had short-circuited the power steering. So I had to go to the end with no power steering. I was shattered but we still got back into 19th place.â€

The MINI R53 swansong at Laguna Seca and Lime Rock Park proved a massive hit with hundreds of fans turning out to see the iconic motor. MINI USA once again brought their pre-production MINI GP II for the MINI corral at Lime Rock Park. MINI USA also presented RSR Motorsports owner Randy Smalley with a trophy to thank the team for their success with the R53 Cooper S.



Thanks to CruiseAmerica, RSR Motorsports, Motorwerks Magazine and Norman Nelson of Shasta MINIS, Chris helped give the car the perfect send-off.

 

I had to edit that Norm, Facebook sourced video does not embed.