Wow . . . what can I say, a great weekend and a long time coming. 198 FIRST Randy Smalley & Owen Trinkler 197 7th Sarah Cattaneo & VJ Mirzayan 196 25th (DNF) Craig Conway and BJ Zacharias This is the first win EVER for a Mini in Grand Am racing and our second podium in 2010. 196 - Not certain what happened to the 196. The ECU was acting up in the heat and tripping into fault mode. A few band aid repair attempts resulted in the engine letting go. Craig was driving at the time. 197 - Sarah and VJ drove a GREAT race. Fast and consistent. The race was hot and humid so the factory ECU was in play. Their key to success was staying out of the draft and keeping the engine cool. When it mattered . . . on the last Lap . . . VJ stuck it to our 'favorite' competitor, Nic Johnson, and executed the perfect pass at the end of the main straight for 7th. Nic had nothing for him after that. 198 - Owen paced the field all weekend. Fastest lap on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The lap charts show another car, 64 BMW with fastest lap but it was an error. I drove the first 40 minutes with the goal of saving the car and staying out of trouble. Once Owen was in the car, we moved right to the front. A late stop was needed and we pitted the car under caution with 45 minutes to go. Owen came in while leading . . . he returned in 6th with fuel and a fresh set of front tires . . . within a few minutes he was back on top. Owen eventually cleared the field by 16 seconds. It was an amazing drive and proves again . . . Owen Trinkler is the best driver in the Continental Series. The weather and track conditions played into our hands. The track was hot and greasy causing trouble for everyone. The Mini's 'best in class' handling was the unfair advantage as Owen was reeling in the other cars by one to two seconds a lap. Thanks to the Mini owners and fans who stopped by. There was lots of celebrating in the paddocks. It's off to Three Rivers next. Last year at GP3R we won the pole, led 40 laps and lost the lead when the driver's seat rail jammed. It turned the pit stop into a 3 minute repair. We should be fast there again. Thanks to all the sponsors for their support. Thanks to fans as well. One extremely happy car owner Randy The race will be televised next Sunday at 1:00 Eastern on Speed. The Cameras were in our pit for the last 30 minutes so we will have plenty of coverage.
It's great to see the good guys win! Congrats Randy and the entire RSR team. You've deserved this one for a long time.
Wonderful result! Congrats and it's nice to see such a great result after all the hard work! Well, done, all! I'll look forward to seeing the race next weekend on speed, the DVR's already set just in case...
Awesome, you guys have worked FOREVER it seems to get where you are! Tivo is set, and I'll enjoy every second of the race!
i can't believe that I missed it. I had to work yesterday so I settled for Sunday with the kids at the track. We looked for you but you had gone. It must be seven or eight years since people have started trying to win in a MINI. What's more impressive is that when Nuzzo and team started trying years ago, the quality of competition in Grand Am was much weaker than it is now. Not only were you struggling to sort a car from scratch (not a lot of factory involvement from MINI), but you were chasing better and better competition. Well done.
Congratulations Randy and RSR!! It's been a long time coming and it's fantastic that a R53 got a win in Grand Am before the change over, the SC sound when you guys go by will be missed....
Congrats!!! Job well done guys. Is there somewhere I can read about the work done on these cars or just drool over a collection of pictures?
Go to the wedsite . . . RSR Motorsport / RSR Racing I will post pictures from New Jersey in the next day or so as they are processed. Thanks 'Rally' Randy
Awesome guys, congratulations!! It must be very rewarding to have sorted out the ecu issues on the 198. Do you plan on doing this change to the other cars, or is it to late and expensive at this point?
The Offical Press Release RSR Motorsports Victorious at New Jersey; First Series Win for MINI MILLVILLE, N.J.—RSR Motorsports had a weekend of firsts during round eight of the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Randall Smalley and Owen Trinkler earned the first series win for both RSR Motorsports and MINI, and they did it in the first car built entirely in-house by the RSR crew. Smalley and Trinkler gave the No. 198 RSR Motorsports MINI Cooper S its first shakedown run on Thursday, following a complete rebuild of the car. Under the guidance of chassis engineer Jim Haaser, the MINI was fitted with a Bosch engine management system and tuned for optimum performance in endurance racing. Smalley started the race on Saturday, and he pitted during a caution period to hand the MINI over to Trinkler. The green flag stayed out long enough for Trinkler to work his way to first. The team knew fuel mileage would be a close call, though, so Trinkler dashed to the pits during another caution for fresh tires and a splash of fuel. The pit strategy paid huge dividends: Trinkler re-entered the race in sixth and was able to re-take the lead. From there, he pulled away to a 16.071-second lead, taking the checkered flag first in the Street Tuner class. It is fitting that the first win for RSR Motorsports comes from team owner Smalley and team manager Trinkler. “This has been a long time coming and I couldn’t be more excited,†says Smalley. “It’s nice that Owen got our first win; he’s worked so hard to make this happen. I’m really happy for everyone on the team.†“This validates everything we’ve done over the past six months,†says Trinkler. “We’ve made the MINI competitive, and Randall has given us the tools to do it. We got a little taste of the future with this race, and now we know how competitive we can be.†Smalley and Trinkler weren’t the only RSR Motorsports drivers who had a successful weekend. Sarah Cattaneo and VJ Mirzayan finished seventh in the No. 197 MINI Cooper S. It marks the best finish to date for the co-drivers. Cattaneo started the race and ran in third before pitting to hand the No. 197 MINI to Mirzayan, who re-entered the track in 12th. “I was in a pack of six cars from the time I left the pits,†says Mirzayan. “I knew that was my race right there, and I tried to get around each car without wasting my tires.†Mirzayan did just that, crossing the finish line in seventh. He is quick to praise his co-driver Cattaneo, as well as Haaser. “Jim is a very good engineer, and his presence has been a turning point for us,†he says. “The team has come really far,†agrees Cattaneo. “Everyone has worked so hard to give us a great car. These guys worked all weekend to get us this finish.†Watch RSR Motorsports dominate the Street Tuner class during the race broadcast on SPEED. The New Jersey Motorsports Park round airs on Sunday, July 25 at 1:00 p.m. EDT. RSR Motorsports is sponsored by Cruise America, Four Winds International, MINI USA, Performance Friction Rotors, OS Giken Racing Clutches and Limited Slip Differentials, Midway Ford Truck Sales, Mini North Scottsdale, Motul USA, and Cobalt Racing Pads. Keep up with the team online at RSR Motorsport / RSR Racing.