This thread will have results from the recent KIA 200 from Homestead Miami Speedway, Homestead, FL. The race will be televised on March 12, 1:00 PM ET, SPEED If you do not want to see the results then click away from this thread now. You have been warned.
ST Class RSR results... 3rd in Class, 21st overall Car 198 Cattaneo / Trinkler in the Cruise America, Thor Motorcoach, Mini USA sponsored MINI. Contrats for the podium finish!! 16th in Class, 33rd overall Car 196 with the all Texan Farmer / Hart team driving the MINI sponsored by US Led, Cruise America, Thor Motorcoach 18th in Class, 36th overall Car 195 piloted by the Mirzayan / Smalley duo. Sponsored by Cruise America, Thor Motorcoach, Mini USA. More info later as the press releases come rolling in.
I said in another thread that the live timing indicated the closing minutes of this race being close and exciting. Fortunately, there was a MINI involved in that exciting finish. Unfortunately, it was a combined GS/ST race so the chance of good television coverage is slim. In fact, the 198 car started 15th and had to cut through the field to finish 3rd, so good coverage of the ST class would show all sorts of MINI goodness. Doesn't really matter though as it looks like there was plenty of other good action for them to cover so the broadcast this weekend should be fun to watch.
I, too, watched the wild late race position swings on live timing and scoring. Can't wait to hear randy's recap. Please don't make us wait. Those that don't want to know how the movie ends have been warned.
Owen was running in 2nd - but had to come in for a splash to make it to the end. :cryin: He went back out with a half hour or so left - in 10th?- but with fresh fronts, he was consistently lapping faster than the leaders. We needed one or two more laps!! [BTW: Speaking as the team's official "car cleaner" - the MA decals on the rear windows look nice! ]
Great job guys! I thought the Old Fart Motoring Club ones looked great. I may have to tag your MINIs with some again.
Cattaneo and Trinkler Third at Homestead in RSR Motorsports MINI HOMESTEAD, Fla.—The No. 198 RSR Motorsports MINI Cooper S started from the back of the field during Saturday’s GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but Sarah Cattaneo and Owen Trinkler gave the team a reason to celebrate after finishing third in the Street Tuner class. A motor swap on the morning of race day meant the No. 198 MINI—sponsored by Cruise America, Thor Motor Coach and US LED—had to go to the back of the starting grid. Cattaneo, who had the ST pole there in 2010, put the MINI’s prowess in the infield to good use: she was in the top 15 by the end of her stint. Trinkler drove the car to the checkered flag. He was in sixth when a late-race caution closed up the field. He went from sixth to third in the final eight minutes of the race to give RSR Motorsports a repeat of their podium finish at Homestead last year. “We hadn’t even thought a podium finish was in the cards,” says Cattaneo, who also carries sponsorship from Global Jet. “We were just hoping for a top-ten finish, but everything was spot-on and the car felt amazing. The infield was our greatest strength and I got a lot, if not all, of my passing done there.” “There were a lot of faster cars out there, but we worked the strategy right and things played into our favor,” says Trinkler. “The guys are making the right calls in the pits and we wound up having one of the best cars at the end of the race. We’ve got the best car under braking and the best-handling car at the end of the race, even though we don’t have the straight-line speed.” Trinkler also drove in the GRAND-AM Rolex Series race earlier in the day. He drove for two hours in the No. 63 Team Spencer Motorsports Mazda RX-8, finishing 13th in GT, before driving the No. 198 MINI for nearly two hours. Ron Farmer and Jason Hart finished 16th in the No. 196 RSR Motorsports US LED MINI Cooper S. The duo ran a consistent race, but the caution periods came at disadvantageous times for them. RSR Motorsports team owner Randy Smalley made his return to the track this weekend. He missed the season opener at Daytona because he was recovering from surgery to treat bladder cancer. In addition to his team owner duties, Smalley also teamed up with VJ Mirzayan in the No. 195 RSR Motorsports MINI Cooper S. “It was icing on the cake of my recovery to get back in the car, and I thought I did a pretty good job in qualifying considering it was my first time back in the car since my surgery, and my first time on that track in two years. I knew it would be a short stint because we didn’t want to push it,” says Smalley, who pitted at the first caution to give the car to Mirzayan. Mirzayan ran as high as fourth, but the No. 195 MINI placed 18th following a late-race stop for fuel. Fans can see Cattaneo and Trinkler’s podium finish at the Kia 200 during the race broadcast on SPEED. It airs Saturday, March 19 at 2:00p.m. ET. RSR Motorsports is sponsored by Cruise America, Thor Motor Coach, US LED, MINI USA, Performance Friction Rotors, OS Giken Racing Clutches and Limited Slip Differentials, Midway Ford Truck Sales, Mini North Scottsdale, Motul USA, Performance Speed Tech, and Carbotech Pads. Keep up with the team online at RSR Motorsport / RSR Racing.
First a very important reminder. I know these pics were actually taken at Daytona but figured I'd throw them into the most recent thread. Check out the M/A stickers, once again proudly displayed on the RSR MINIs!
UPDATE: This should be a tune-in alert...it isn't. Unfortunately, Speed moved the air date to next Sat, 19 Mar at 2PM ET. rrr:
Somehow I already had that on my calendar. Guess I wrote it down wrong, but now I'm right. One of the many joys of old fartdom.
That probably means you got the info from Randy's pre-Miami post which has the right date and time. They must have made the change a couple weeks ago and I missed it until today.