Most liked posts in thread: RSR at Mid Ohio June 18-19 2010

Factory Challenge Car

We will have the Factory, German Mini Challenge Car at Mid Ohio and will run it Wednesday night before the Grand Am week end.

If you are in the area . . . :cornut:

 

Qualified 5th (196, Mark Congleton) and 8th (197, Sarah Cattaneo)

196 holds fast lap of the weekend in practice.

Racing tomorrow at 1:30 . . . hot and sunny!

Randy

 

Mid Ohio wrap up

It's hard to be pleased with a 11th (197) and a 19th (196) . . . but I am.

We seem to have conquered the belt problem. Owen made an attempt to throw a belt on purpose and it did not come off.

We seem to have conquered the fuel pressure / delivery problem. We made some changes after Watkins Glen and that seems to be working as well. During practice we ran both cars out of fuel intentionally, switched to reserve and then pumped the remainder from the tanks. . . about 3/10th of a gallon in both cells. We are now confident in having 19+ usable gallons on race day.

Mark C started the race in 5th place. He ran there for 5 laps until our arch nemesis in the form of Nic Jonsen, hit and spun him. It flattened the left rear tire and he came to the pit. The 196 went down a lap. Jonsen also hit Sarah AGAIN at the start but no incident occurred.

Grand Am penalized Jonsen with a stop and go but the damage was done . . . we were now at the back of the pack down a lap. GA then gave us a 'go around' at the next caution to make up for the incident but we were out of contention for a podium at this point.

Later on, BJZ was in the car and he and the #29 Mustang (GS) got together. Some serious body work ensued but the car (with two new right side tires!) soldiered on in a 19th finish. .

The 197 with Sarah and VJ ran a great race but got caught off cycle on a yellow flag putting them back in the field. VJ picked off 10+ cars to finish 11th.

Our Bad luck continues but we have the reliability back. Lady Luck does not drive a Mini ! :mad2:

New Jersey is next in July and we expect to have the 198 (w/Bosch) back in action.

One last note . . . it was very hot and the water temps were in the 210-225 range. These engines bleed horsepower at temps over 200 so we were probably down 20+ HP in both cars the whole race. This problem will go away with the Bosch.

Randy

 

Post Race interviews

LEXINGTON, Ohio

During round seven of the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race at Mid-Ohio, RSR Motorsports combined speed and reliability to give their MINI Cooper S entries an impressive showing The RSR Motorsports Minis have been fast all season, but reliability issues have resulted in a number of disappointing finishes. Now, with new chassis engineer Jim Haaser on board, the MINIs have the perfect combination of speed, agility and reliability

"Mid-Ohio was one of our best weekends so far," says team manager Owen Trinkler. "Jim has really helped resolve some issues with the cars. We saw major steps, and I think we'll make strides each time out."

Proving that Mid-Ohio is a great track for the MINI, BJ Zacharias and Mark Congleton were consistently fast in the No. 196 RSR Motorsports MINI Cooper S sponsored by CaseTech The car had the fastest lap in the second practice session, and Congleton followed that up by qualifying fifth.

VJ Mirzayan and Sarah Cattaneo were also quick in the No. 197 RSR Motorsports MINI Cooper S. Cattaneo qualified eighth in the Street Tuner class, and she and Mirzayan went on to finish 11th in the race. "We wanted a 1, but we got two of them instead!" says Mirzayan."The MINI was really consistent throughout the race. We couldnt have asked any more from the team or our cars. We found reliability and the team came together really well."

"Jim Haaser has been an amazing addition to our team and the crew worked so hard to get our car ready", says Cattaneo."The car felt incredible and this was one of the best races we've had all year."

After a solid start in the No. 196 MINI, Congleton was hit from behind by another car, resulting in a flat tire and a great deal of damage to the MINI. Congleton pitted for a new tire, and he and Zacharias soldiered on to finish 19th. "The results don't show the reliability and the great handling these MINIs have now", says team owner Randall Smalley. "Both cars finished, and the fuel and belt issues have been turned around."

The Mid-Ohio race will be televised on SPEED on Saturday, June 26 at 1:00 p.m. ET. The next GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race for RSR Motorsports will be at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Saturday, July 17.

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

 

The Bosch will NOT make them run cooler . . . wish it would. The Bosch will not compensate for the heat like the factory ECU. The current ECU will add fuel to cool the engine when it runs too hot. . . the Bosch will not . . . the added fuel kills the horsepower, probably +20 hp at the temps we saw.

These are protective measures put in by the factory engineers for warranty and reliability reasons. Great for normal use . . . bad for racing.

Randy