MWM V6 Issue 1

THE ULTIMATE READING EXPERIENCE VOLUME 6 ISSUE 1 - SEPT 2016 Published by TreeFree Publishing a Division of Webtronic Enterprises

MEGA MINI ISSUE

© MotorWerks Magazine - 1

2 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Book Size:

P u b l i s h e d B y Tr e eF r e e P u b l i s h i n g a Division of Webtronic Enterprises

Ed i t or - i n - Chi e f / Pub l i s h e r Ian Rae EDI T ORIA L We s t C o a s t US A Ed i t o r Mi d We s t US A Ed i t o r

No r ma n Ne l s o n Da v i d L e w i s

E a s t C o a s t Ed i t o r

Cr a i g Ne l s o n

S o c i a l Me d i a D i r e c t o r

Je s s e Ne l s o n

S e n i o r Wr i t e r

C hr i s K n o x

S e n i o r Wr i t e r

A s h l e i g h Mo r r i s

S e n i o r Wr i t e r

Flor De Oro Cabrera

S e n i o r Wr i t e r

Mi c h a e l J. D e s c h a mp s

PHO T O GR A PH Y Director Photography

Ha l s t o n Pi t ma n

Photographer

No r ma n Ne l s o n

P h o t o gpage r a p hine r This is the first printable your book and will print on the Photogra pher right side.

Cr a i g Ne l s o n

These instructions P h o should tographer not appear in your exported Photographer pdf.

Photographer

A l i c y n Dr e w

Please be sure to P hcomplete otographer your Pages design prior

Ja n i s Ra e

Photographer

F o s t e r Pe t e r s Jo h n S c r o e d e r Ja k e G a l s t a d Di t o Mi l i a n

to creating your Cover HO W T O RE ACH US template. The Page Count

must be exact when creating Phone: your Cover template..

You’ll (905) 467-5148 need to upload a ianrae@motorwerksmag.com PDF for the pages and at least one cover type.

Remember, all books must be an even number of pages. The first page will be on the right side as you open the cover and the last page will be on the left side as you close the book.

Hardcover books include an end sheet on both the front and back of the inside pages for binding purposes.

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 3

CONTENTS

*** FEATURES 28

MINIs at The Glen

38

Going over the Fence

58

43 Years Strong

84

MINI Takes The States 2016 88 - Flor De Oro Cabrera 92 - Harry Gerwein 96 - Dorie Savage 100 - Jesse Nelson 110 - Tonine McGarvie 112 - Evan Ezewski 118 - Cindy Heinemann 120 - Craig Nelson 138 - Norm Nelson

144 New Parts, New Look 152 Introducing Shorty 178 The Little Car Show

4 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

REGULAR COLUMNS 6

On The Grid

RACING 40

A Coming of Age

10

On The Schedule

83

What friends are for!

18

Product News

153 Change coming for track day tires!

32

Behind The Lens with David Lewis

118

186

Featured Photographer - Sam Moore

170 Passing The Torch

190

Contact Point

No Snowkyo Drift

© MotorWerks Magazine - 5

ON THE GRID First M6 win for Turner Bowmanville (CA), 10th July 2016.

First win in North America in the sixth race: at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) event at the “Canadian Tire Motorsport Park“ near Bowmanville (CA), the new BMW M6 GT3 for the first time proved that it’s a true winner outside of Europe. Bret Curtis (US) and BMW works driver Jens Klingmann (DE) secured the first GTD victory of the season with the BMW M6 GT3 for Turner Motorsport.

After 116 laps, Klingmann crossed the line at the wheel of car number 96 as race winner. The pairing had started from fourth on the grid.

The number 97 sister car – driven

by Markus Palttala (FI) and Michael Marsal (US) – was forced to retire early in the race.

In the GTLM class, BMW Team RLL once again fielded two BMW M6 GTLMs. Dirk Werner (DE) and Bill Auberlen (US) finished fourth after 119 laps in the number 25 car, narrowly missing out on another podium finish. Due to a technical problem in the first stage of the race, the number 100 car with John Edwards (US) and Lucas Luhr (DE) at the wheel had dropped to the back of the field. The duo eventually finished ninth.

Klingmann and the Turner Motorsport squad, however, had every reason to celebrate after their triumph in Canada. “I am really proud to be part of the first victory for the BMW M6 GT3 in North America and the first victory

***

for me here. Although it is just one race of a long season, I shall never forget this one. I am proud of the Turner Motorsport team, of Bret and myself,” said Klingmann.

Curtis also was extremely satisfied with the team’s performance at this classic track. He commented: “We had a good qualifying session where I finally found a lot of confidence in the car and the track. I just tried to carry it through to the race and stay steady. I knew if I gave Jens the car in the top five that we had a very good chance today. The race, to some extent, fell to us, but the car was really solid. Jens did a great job in his stint and the team did a good

6 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

job. I am super happy.”

“It is awesome. Obviously we were cautiously optimistic about winning with a brand new car. We brought the BMW Z4 GT3 to the US and won with it. We gave it its first win in the US and now have done the same with the BMW M6 GT3. That alone is a big accomplishment for me, and it is also an accomplishment to win with the M6 mid season, because normally with a new car there are growing pains and teething problems, and we really haven’t had a lot of that,” was the reaction of Team Principal Will Turner following the biggest success of the BMW M6 GT3 in North America to date.

Handwerk takes MINI to title Bimmertools.com Racing had a banner year for the 2016 season.

Driver Taylor Handwerk was able to secure the SCCA Majors Tour Northeastern Division Championship in the B-spec category at the final round held at New Jersey Motorsports Park. “The competition was fierce throughout the season but the #117 MINI was able to come out on top,” said Handwerk.

The team is looking ahead to the SCCA Runoffs which will be held at Mid Ohio in September. They were able to manage a third place finish at Mid-Ohio earlier in the season which bodes well for their attempt at winning the national championship race. The team would like to thank all of their supporters as well as their

partners; without them, this wouldn’t be possible: Indian Summer Racing,

BimmerWorld, Carbotech Brakes, Red Line Fluids and Hoosier Tires.

for the Cattaneo family owned team. Cattaneo had to start from the rear of the field due to issues in qualifying. She drove a stellar race passing cars left and right before handing over to Trinkler who then drove to the win.

Since swapping to the Nissan Altima Cattaneo and Trinkler have been a force to be reckoned with. If it was not for unforseen issues with the new car they could have been championship contenders.

Former MINI duo back winning!

Former MINI racers Sarah Cattaneo and Owen Trinkler returned to their winning ways at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July. The duo who came close to winning a Grand Am ST championship for MINI when they raced for Randy Smalley’s RSR Motorsports team now race a Nissan © MotorWerks Magazine - 7

MINI Challenge joins British GT CHhampionship in 2017 Top-level JCW Championship moves to British GT race package for 2017 • Major championship expansion across all classes • MINI UK increases support for MINI Challenge in 2017 MINI Challenge will join the British GT Championship for the first time next year, cementing its place as one of Europe’s fastest-growing single-make racing championship.

The news marks the biggest step yet for the popular championship and follows a recent agreement between MINI Challenge and MINI UK which will see the brand provide increased support through the 2017 race season. Alongside technical

and parts support, MINI UK will also provide promotional support through funding a MINI UK guest car and mainstream television coverage.

Nicolas Griebner, head of product at MINI UK, said: “I am thrilled that MINI Challenge is supporting the well-established British GT Championship with exiting and close racing from 2017 onwards.

British GT has grown in the last 20 years to become the world foremost domestic sports car series, whilst MINI Challenge has also become one of the best one-make series in the UK since 2001.” “Supporting the MINI Challenge means we can also filter technology from racing down to our road car range, as evidenced by the new MINI John Cooper Works Challenge edition, which gives customers the purest

8 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

possible experience on the road.”

The MINI Challenge’s JCW category, which runs of the latest version of MINI’s powerful John Cooper Works Hatch, will hold a mixture of double and triple-header rounds during SRO-run race weekends, which are headlined by British GT and the BRDC Formula 3 Championship. The championship will run over eight rounds, with six alongside British GT and two headlining MotorSport Vision Racing’s MINI Festivals at Brands Hatch and Oulton Park.

MSVR will continue to administer the championship.

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 9

ON THE SCHEDULE You will notice that this issue of MotorWerks Magazine is full of MINI content, that is because of the many MINI events we had going on this year. BMW owners and fans may be disappointed but the next issue will be full of BMWs. The 100th anniversary of BMW had a pretty significant meaning and to that end we are going to bring out a Mega BMW issue with coverage from the Monterey Car Week, the Rolex Monterey Reunion, BMW CCA Oktoberfest and Canada’s own Bimmercruise/Berlin Klassik.

There will be coverage on BMW’s factory racecar the 235iR as well as an article on Michigan racer Michael Johnson who does not let a little thing like a broken back and paralysis from stopping him race.

10 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

***

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 11

2017 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge has surprises.

Two four-hour enduro races added to series As part of a “State of the Series” presentation that included the introduction of WeatherTech as new entitlement partner and the announcement of a 10-year extension of official partnerships with TUDOR and ROLEX, IMSA officials unveiled a 12-event schedule for the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The schedule opens with the 54th Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 3031, which will be the debut event at the new Daytona International Speedway motorsports stadium following the completion of the $400 million DAYTONA Rising project. The WeatherTech Championship Prototype (P) class will feature a 10-race schedule, while an 11-race calendar is planned for the Prototype Challenge (PC), GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes.

Every venue on the 2016 WeatherTech Championship schedule hosted the series in 2015. Notable modifications include the addition of the PC class alongside the P and GTLM classes at Long Beach on April 16, the inclusion of all four classes (addition of GTD) at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on July 10 and the addition of GTLM to the PC and GTD classes at Lime Rock Park on July 23.

“The schedule of world-class venues that host WeatherTech Championship events continue to be one of IMSA’s most significant

assets for our stakeholders and race fans,” said IMSA President Scott Atherton. “We’ve been able to confirm our following year’s schedule in August for the second consecutive year, which provides clear direction for our teams as they make their plans and speaks to the great relationships we’ve developed with our event promoters. Wherever possible, we’ve also preserved date equity and made strategic additions to the content at some venues, giving us 12 strong events in 2016. I’ve said it before, but our 2016 calendar provides our teams, marketing partners and most especially, our fans, with one of the best schedules in the industry – we couldn’t be more pleased.”

The WeatherTech Championship will continue to be anchored by four prestigious endurance events – also collectively known as the Tequila Patrόn North American Endurance Cup. Following the

12 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Rolex 24, the series moves to Sebring International Raceway on March 19 for the 64th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled

by Fresh From Florida. The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen moves back one week from its traditional date in 2016 to July 3, and the season will conclude on Oct. 1 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia with the Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda.

In addition to the endurance events and the previously mentioned event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, all four WeatherTech Championship classes also will be featured at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on May 1, Road America on Aug. 7 and Circuit of The Americas on Sept. 17.

Detroit’s Belle Isle Park again hosts the P, PC and GTD classes on June 4 as GTLM teams take their traditional break for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and VIRginia International Raceway will

LXM taking a spin for Charity The League of Extraordinary MINIacs is known for their camaraderie, willingness to help their members and for being one of the most active MINI groups in the world.

We also love to support charities.

This year we will be supporting the Speedway Children’s Charity in Charlotte, NC. The mission of Speedway Children’s Charities remains true to the ideals it was founded upon in 1982: To care for children in educational, financial, social and medical need in order to

help them lead productive lives.

SCC is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization and provides funding for hundreds of non-profit organizations throughout the nation that meet the direct needs of children. Our vision is that every child has the same opportunities no matter what obstacle they are facing.

The LXM Family will be turning on their engines on Friday November 25, 2016 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway at 10:30 am.

A donation to the Speedway

Children’s Charity of $25.00 will give you the extraordinary opportunity to drive three laps on the track. The laps be done in groups like we did on MTTS. After our wonderful experience we will be going for lunch at The Speedway Club. An all-you-can-eat buffet will be served for $17.95 plus tax and gratuity. Reservations are required by calling (704) 455-3216.

Thank you to the LXM family/ MINIacs for supporting the Speedway Children’s Charity. © MotorWerks Magazine - 13

Popular Automotive Podcast marks Eleven Years and almost Seven Million Downloads of White Roof Radio August 2016 marked the 11th anniversary of White Roof Radio, one of the internet’s most popular automotive podcasts.

The podcast focuses on the world of MINI Coopers and has consistently ranked in the top ten automotive podcasts on iTunes since the podcast’s inception in 2005.

Over their eleven years, the White Roof Radio team has posted more than 600 weekly episodes and filed dozens of special reports from MINI events and meets, including MINI Takes the States 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016; MINI United; the North American International Auto Show, and SEMA. The podcast team has also reported from several A MINI Vacation in Vegas (AMVIV) events, attended MINIs on the Dragon and made special appearances at the grand opening celebrations for several new MINI dealerships. They attract thousands of regular listeners, and the podcast’s cumulative episode downloads total nearly seven million.

“I can’t believe it’s been eleven years,” said Don Burnside, one of the hosts and founders of the popular podcast. “When I started White Roof Radio with Todd (Pearson) back in 2005, I did not expect it to be as successful as it has been or that it would provide us with the

experiences we have had. I have a passport because of the show.

I have visited the MINI plant (in Oxford, England), attended so many major MINI events and have met and have gotten to know some really awesome people and have made some great friends.”

The show was founded by host Burnside, a prominent MINI owner, blogger and respected MINI enthusiast and host Todd Pearson, a MINI owner, enthusiast and vehicle graphics expert who has personally applied custom graphics to more then 7,000 MINIs through his business, MotoringStripes.com.

regular contributions to the podcast over the years.

“Every show reflects our collective passion for MINIs and the MINI brand,” explains Burnside.

Listening to the show is like overhearing a casual conversation among friends. The tone is light and fun with discussions ranging from factual reporting to thoughtful opinion and informed speculation.

Often the participants don’t see eye to eye with each other, which only adds to the fun, but it’s clear how much they enjoy and respect each other. Regular features include “Ask Chad” where respected tuner Miller answers listeners’ questions about

The weekly shows feature regular appearances by Gabe Bridger, an automotive commentator and founder of MotoringFile.com; Chad Miller, owner of Detroit Tuned, one of the country’s oldest and most respected independently owned MINI tuning and repair shops and Alexandre Sitbon, a long-time MINI enthusiast and self-described technology geek. Others, include Michael Babischkin, MINI owner and blogger/podcaster and Nathaniel Salzman of Salzmoto making

their MINIs, and a weekly rundown of the MINI and key automotive news. Occasionally the group talks with guests from the MINI community, they’ve even scored interviews with top MINI executives.

Co-founder and co-host Todd Pearson said, “Looking back, we’ve done some great stuff — I especially have enjoyed meeting and interviewing some of my automotive heroes like Paddy Hopkirk, Rauno Aaltonen and Mike Cooper. I never thought after eleven years that

14 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

I would still have so much fun talking about MINIs with the White Roof Radio team but I’m as excited as ever to hang out and discuss the week’s topics. I’m honored to be part of the ongoing, rich history of MINI and the MINI enthusiast community.”

Weekly episodes of White Roof Radio are available at iTunes, Stitcher, Overcast, and wherever else podcasts are available.

Each episodes is independently recorded and produced by the White Roof Radio team: • Gabe Bridger — automotive writer, commentator and founder of the website MotoringFile.com • Don “DB” Burnside— co-founder of White Roof Radio, prominent MINI blogger and respected MINI enthusiast since 2002 • Chad Miller— owner of Detroit Tuned, one of the country’s oldest and most respected independent MINI tune and repair shops • Todd Pearson — co-founder of White Roof Radio, MINI owner and enthusiast and owner of the website MotoringStripes.com • Alexander Sitbon Contact: Todd Pearson or Don Burnside 816-590-8272 or 714-679-0863

© MotorWerks Magazine - 15

David Murry Motorsports presents “David Murry Seminars”.

Long famous for his ‘Track Days’ David Murry is now going to be sharing his thirty-five plus years of driving experience including being a factory driver for BMW, Porsche and Lotus through his new online seminar/webinars.

He will regularly present interactive online Seminar/Webinars focusing on unique subjects, with each covering a different topic such as data acquisition, how to read tires and tire wear, the correct suspension setup, shock absorbers, driving physics, how to drive specific tracks and much more!

David said, “The seminars/webinars are a logical extension to our track day business, students get quicker once they gain experience and with road cars now available with 500700 horsepower the same students

now need to be able to understand what exactly their car is doing out on the track. Our seminars will teach them what is going on with the car and more importantly allow them to use the right vocabulary to describe

it.

With the move away from faster students having a ride-along instructor it is important for them to understand data and what it tells them. These seminars/webinars are the perfect tool to make that learning curve shorter. And best of

16 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

all the participant no longer has to be present to view the seminar, they can participate from the comfort of their own home.

Register for the seminar/webinar of your choice and receive a confirmation e-mail right away, then receive an email with instructions on attending via online “Go To Meeting” approximately thirty minutes before the webinar.

David will conduct a Power Point Presentation on the topic for that webinar in detail with practical use applications. Once logged on, you will see and hear what David’s computer sees and hears including David talking, videos, PPT, etc. The webinar is interactive as participants will have the ability to ask questions via typing/chat and/or verbal questions.

David will periodically have guest co-presenters who are experts in the

field of the pertinent webinars.

The webinars will be recorded and be available to view after the initial seminar date; the archived seminar will be available at your convenience.

From the DE driver to accomplished racer, we all need our car and the driver to perform well; fast and be comfortable to drive. The most affordable improvement you can make is attending our range of seminars and then putting the knowledge gained to work on the track.

You can attend using a PC, Mac, iPad, Smartphone, etc. from anywhere in the world! There is no reason for you to miss these very affordable ninety-minute seminars.

David Murry Track Days is a forum for experienced drivers to explore the limits of their skill and equipment at some of the most famous race tracks in the United States.

If you’re a club instructor, racer or current open track participant (with verifiable credentials) we’re pleased to invite you to participate in a David Murry Track Days event.

With the on-site participation of sportscar legend David Murry, we offer dynamic, interactive classroom presentations, available personal coaching with current professional racers and the unparalleled opportunity to experience world -class racing venues in a true “open track” format.

Go to www.davidmurry.com for more details about ‘Track Day’s’, the schedule of webinars, and to register for either events.

© MotorWerks Magazine - 17

PRODUCT NEWS M7 Speed announces Bull bar with light mounts or MINI Countryman/Paceman!

Mooresville, NC, May 27, 2016 – M7 Speed announces a 100% bolt-on Bull Bar Kit with light mounts for the MINI Cooper Countryman platform. The 2” diameter steel mandrel bent bull bar is powder coated in a handsome matte black finish and includes a welded on bracket that will accommodate two 8” round driving lamps. Adaptors are available to expand to three or four lights which can be ordered separately at an additional cost.

The Bull Bar kit is 100% bolt-on and includes all of the mounting brackets and necessary hardware for an easy

A Mini Mania exclusive !

QuickSilver Exhaust Systems introduces a High Performance Lightweight California Spec CatBack Exhaust system. This system offers improved performance, a crisp sporting sound, with twin 3” Carbon

***

DIY project. Proudly made in the USA. M7 Speed is the world leader in MINI Cooper adventure motoring and ultimate performance products.

Priding itself in exceptional customer

service and product innovation, the company is focused on engineering and producing high quality, easy to install performance aftermarket parts. www.m7speed.com

Fiber Tips and a straight-through design for optimum efficiency.

QuickSilver designed this California Spec Exhaust specifically to address the tighter emissions requirements in California. This system does NOT remove the secondary

catalytic converter in the ‘B’ pipe, just downstream from the flange.

Instead, it splices in downstream from the cat and before the premuffler and offers reduced backpressure for improved performance.

More info at MiniMania.com

18 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

No stopping the Puskar Brothers Mooresville, NC, Aug, 2016 In fact that is far from the truth.

Danny and Chris Puskar have recently partnered with like-minded investors and created a new brake company called G-LOC. Located in the heart of NASCARland, Mooresville, NC, the company will manufacture brake pads and supply all other sorts of brake components such as brake fluid and braided hoses.

Back in 2003 they worked together with investors to create a brake pad company by racers for racers. By the end of 2005 the duo had moved to North Carolina from Northeast Ohio leaving their families behind as they worked long hours to establish the company which would eventually grow into a global brand. By 2014 business had doubled from the early days and the product choice had grown from five compounds to ten.

However, this impressive growth was not enough for the investors.

Unfortunately, over time, philosophical and business practice differences led the brothers to become quite frustrated in their roles in the business they had grown so soundly. This led Chris to leave the

company just after the PRI show in 2014; he went on to pursue other interests, including leading engineering efforts at a brake component company, where he gained even more expertise in the brake industry.

Chris and Danny often discussed how they would have done things differently, which led them to exploring how to start their own company from scratch. They were enamored with the notion of building it, running it, owning it, growing it, and combining their 20+ years of collective experience to make a new, different, and better mark on this industry. This led to the creation of G-LOC™ Brakes with Danny and Chris in the ownership seat along with partners with a similar vision. Looking back, it is all water under the bridge, and ten years of experience, engineering and good business lessons learned have instead become the foundation they will build G-LOC™ Brakes on.

The launch of G-LOC™ Brakes is great news for dealers, customers and all of the deep relationships both brothers have built in this industry over the years. It allows the Puskars to run a company like they

believe it should be run and service dealers and ultimately customers in a way that articulates their strong commitment to customer loyalty, coupled with their drive for innovation in an industry they both know so well.

How did all this happen? As stated above Chris and Danny’s idea of starting a new company led them to collaborate with like-minded business partners who have a unique combination of both racing experience and strong professional business backgrounds. So their new partnership was formed enabling Danny and Chris to realize their dream of owning a progressive and customer focused brake pad company and the coolest thing about the partnership is that it was formed from the start on Chris and Danny’s terms; leveraging a great recipe of industry experience, thirst for innovation, commitment to the customer and a business partnership that allows these talented brothers to do what they do best – and own the company as well.

More info can be found on the company website at www.glocbrakes.com

You can see MWM is a big fan of G-LOC Brakes, here are the R10 compound rear pads for CooperRSR and the front and rear GS-1 pads for Project 335.

© MotorWerks Magazine - 19

Forgeline Motorsports partners with CarBuff Network Forgeline is proud to announce our partnership with the CarBuff Network, an exciting new digital hub for connecting enthusiasts, shops, and manufacturers, within the automotive community.

It is not just another website for car stuff, the CarBuff Network is a thoughtfully-conceived, logicallyorganized, and well-engineered digital platform that provides an interconnected space for manufacturers, shops, & enthusiasts to document vehicles and establish real-world relationships. Thanks to

an intuitive tagging feature, CarBuff Network users can document their projects, create detailed build sheets, and establish two-way interactive connections with the brands, products, and services that are utilized on each project. The resulting network of “endorsements” allows members across the automotive community to create a system of mutual connections

while building a powerful database through which site users can discover the best builds, find the ideal parts, and connect with the right people.

Forgeline is excited to be part of the CarBuff Network and we expect that it will serve as an integral tool in our effort to follow and promote the activities of our customers, partners, and peers. Whether you’re an industry professional or an enthusiast, we encourage you to join us on the CarBuff Network and put these powerful tools to work for you too!

So does MotorWerks Magazine After seeing this press release from Forgeline Motorsports I decided to do a bit of digging into the CarBuff Network and what they were about.

I contacted them with a question about where a magazine like MWM would be placed on their Network.

I was impressed by the response time and their willingness to call me and discuss my options. Trent

20 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Campbell, one of the owners made a point of calling me at 7:00 PST and that was another thing that impressed me. He explained that the Network is about connecting good companies so enthusiasts can make a more informed choice in what they purchase for their projects. He told me, “If you’re a hands on enthusiast, finding the product specs is easier said than done. How can you cut through the clutter to find the detailed parts and services you really want? As a business, how will you get noticed by the right audiences and build brand recognition? CarBuff rids the industry of this ambiguity by connecting people with verified businesses. Good people…good brands…and outstanding builds.”

He went on, “CarBuff Network is going to formally launch as a trusted community for auto builders and businesses alike at the SEMA show later this year. We’re here to inspire unique builds and gain support from both businesses and enthusiasts.

The CarBuff Network will serve as an authentic voice in the industry that will make networking and discovering the best options for the enthusiast, the manufacturers and the builders.”

The Network allows a company to post projects on the site, which is great considering all the cars we have when the Nelson’s stable is included. Press releases and videos can be posted by the owner of the page themselves, there is no need for the poster to have any specialized knowledge. You can endorse Organizations, Services, Manufacturers and even Events. And they in turn can endorse you.

It sounded like a good fit for

MotorWerks Magazine and our Social Media program, so I signed up on the spot.

Already in the works is an App that will update you whenever one of your selected manufacturers or services update their page or project.

I look forward to working with Trent and the CarBuff Network, I think we will see great things evolve from this part of the World Wide Web. View our page here: https://www. carbuffnetwork.com/shop-service/ motorwerks-magazine/

Projects here: https:// www.carbuffnetwork.com/ projects/?mid=12256 Forgeline Motorsports page can be viewed here: https://www. carbuffnetwork.com/manufacturer/ forgeline-motorsports/

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 21

LEAP Composites for Lilith LEAP Works is a company developing innovative new products for the MINI Community. Our Midwest editor, David Lewis, has been talking to Louis Suberville through various websites and was offered a chance to fit the Alpha V2 C wing extension and the Omicron hood scoop on his car.

Louis started working by hand on a wing extension for the MINI in the winter of 2014. After running into a few issues, Claudio Monterrubio came along with the knowledge needed to run work with computer aided design and CNC machines.

Together they have created some great products that keep getting

better.

A Facebook discussion with LEAP CEO Louis Suberville about his composite products for MINIs and other hot hatches evolved into a conversation where Lewis said, “Lilith is a bit of a devil and the new Omicron scoop and Alpha C wing extension is just going to enforce that fact.” LEAP’s Suberville agrees that the aggressive looking components make a MINI, “I am

looking forward to seeing Lilith dressed out with the new scoop and wing extension as well as getting David’s input on the fit and finish. I have to admit we have had issues with the first batch of scoops we built. That problem has been solved and I am confident that David will agree with me. If we make mistakes at LEAP we fix them and customer satisfaction is our premier concern, Dave will be pleased for sure.”

More goodies from LINK ECU

One of the nice things about working with LEAP Works is their willingness to listen to the owners input and tweak their products.

Being fully digital the CAN-Lambda’s powerful LSU 4.9 sensor will eliminate any loss of signal, risk, delays and errors that analogue alternatives cause. The CAN-Lambda never requires free air calibration.

They are also passionate MINI Cooper community members and it shows.

We will be posting another article in a future issue going through the prep, painting, and install of the two products. Stick around!

LEAP is based in Guadalajara, Mexico and builds composite components for MINI hot hatches but soon will add other brands such as VW and Renault. They can be found on Facebook at facebook.com/ leap.works, or at their website: www.leap.works

22 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

LINK Engine Management have come out with a tool to ensure your ECU makes decisions based on accurate data. The CAN-Lambda’s ability to measure the proportion of oxygen in exhaust gases makes it an essential tool for accurately tuning fuel mixtures as well allowing your ECU to make tuning adjustments on the fly.

LINK is also proud to announce our newest product to the market, the FORCE GDI wire-in ECU. The FORCE GDI is a high-performance ECU specifically built for four cylinder direct injection engines.

The new FORCE GDI ECU was officially launched at the Goodwood Festival of Speed on the 23rd June 2016.

The FORCE GDI is perfect for the line of direct injection engines used in the current BMW and MINI lineup.

Learn to Tune Performance EFI Learn online from anywhere in the world, whenever it suits you.

How can HP Academy help you?

Courses for your ability

Online Community

Learn Worldwide

Choose from a wide range of online training solutions

Get answers to your questions and support when you

It doesn’t matter where you are based. The lessons

for the aftermarket tuning industry. Take courses that

need it. HPA are commited to your learning and

are 100% online. HPA courses have been completed

concisely cover a wide range of EFI tuning topics.

provide specific help via the online forum. We also

by over 3701 students from over 52 countries all

These courses cater for enthusiasts with no prior

back up the the material taught in our courses with

around the world - If you have an internet connection,

knowledge of EFI through to experienced professional

weekly live lessons, delivered via live online

you can learn with the High Performance Academy.

tuners.

webinars.

How HP Academy can help you!

Sign up for a free six-part tuning course Sign up for a free six-part tuning course

http://bit.ly/1Wt3Z ht t p : // b i t.ly/ 1W t 3Z

Enter the above address into your Internet browser to sign up Enter the above address into your internet browser

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 23

World’s first four-lug Forgeline GS1R unveiled MotorWerks Magazine and Forgeline Motorsports unveiled the World’s first four-lug GS1R wheel recently during MINI-USAs MINI Takes The States event at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA. Editor-in-chief Ian Rae smiled as he said, “I am over the moon with the new Forgeline wheels, they are light, attractive and and bulletproof. Just what we needed for project Cooper RSR.” More info can be found at www. forgeline.com

EFI Tuning available Online With carburettors gone the way of the Dodo who is playing with their EFI system? There are lots of ways to hop up an EFI system, from chips to piggy-back boxes to plug-andplay or standalone ECUs. So how do you tune them? Do you have the knowledge to tune them or do you rely on the local EFI whiz.

We were presented with that problem when we ordered a 1800cc stroker motor from Revolution Motor Works for CooperRSR and then decided we would run it on E85.

I had no problem about the initial mapping, that would be developed

by Jan Brueggemann but I wanted to be able to understand it myself, so when we talked about adjustments I would have some understanding.

That was when I saw an interview of a friend of mine, well known Motec tuner Shane Tecklenberg with Andre Simon of the High Performance Academy. That set me Googling and I found they have various programs suited to all levels of knowledge.

And what suits me is I can learn at my own pace. Summer is crazy for

24 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

me so I have stopped but once the dark nights come in I will be back learning EFI tuning. There will be an article in the MEGA BMW issue but in the meantime check them out. https://www.hpacademy.com

BMW extends its range of vehicles in customer racing with the BMW M4 GT4 from 2018 Munich (DE), 28th July 2016.

BMW Motorsport will send the successor of the popular BMW M3 GT4 into action as of the 2018 season: the BMW M4 GT4. This close-to-production car based on the BMW M4 Coupé adds a competitive entrant in the growing GT4 sector to BMW Motorsport’s range of products and continues the long and successful tradition of BMW in customer racing. The newly developed GT sports car will complete its first tests at the end of 2016 so that customers will have a technically perfected car available for the start of the 2018 season.

“The GT4 category is currently experiencing a boom,” said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt.

“It offers affordable motorsport with cars of technical high-quality and, therefore, attracts a wide target audience. We see enormous potential around the world for privateer BMW teams for whom the BMW M4 GT4 is an option.

Developing a classic customer racing

car such as this and offering it to privateer teams has always been one of BMW Motorsport’s core competencies. This also was the case with the predecessor model, the BMW M3 GT4, which is still in action in international race series today. The BMW M4 Coupé provides the ideal basis for our new GT4 model. This is a strong base for our engineers to close the gap between our customer racing spearhead, the BMW M6 GT3, and the BMW M235i Racing for newcomers with a car that is extremely sporty in its production version. The BMW M4 GT4 is designed perfectly for simple use by privateer teams, who can celebrate successes around the world as ambassadors for BMW Motorsport with this model.”

Top quality and safety standards, excellent driveability and low running costs were the premises at the start of the development of the BMW M4 GT4. The entire drivetrain, including electronics, will be taken from the BMW M4 Coupé. The carbon bonnet

comes from the BMW M4 GTS, and the BMW M4 GT4 has carbon-fibre doors, a special motorsport front splitter and rear wing, as well as a racing exhaust system. The seats, the brakes and the pedal box use solutions carried over from the BMW M6 GT3.The offer of contesting races in existing GT4 classes with the BMW M4 GT4 is open to customer teams around the world. Germany, Europe, North America and Asia all have ideal conditions for the car.

BMW Motorsport will also use the new challenger to bring talented young drivers closer to the GT3 class as part of the BMW Motorsport Junior Programme. The first cars are due to be delivered to customers in the second half of 2017. The first possible race appearance will be the 24 Hours of Dubai (AE) in January 2018.

Privateer teams can already register their interest in the BMW M4 GT4 using the following e-mail address: m4gt4@bmw-motorsport.com.

© MotorWerks Magazine - 25

AlloyGator NA expanding I spent some time with Patrick Fletch Director of Business Development, Alloygator North America a few weeks back as we fitted a set of their Silver rim protectors to our Forgeline GA1R wheels. Patrick is looking for qualified companies that can handle installation of the AlloyGator product as well as retail them.

He told me, “This is a product I believe in, it was the only reason I joined the company. Finally there is a product that can protect your expensive wheels and look good too.”

I agree and will have a photoshoot with Project 335 in the upcoming BMW Mega Issue.

For those of you who have not heard of AlloyGator they are a wheel protector that is made of a super tough nylon and inserts between the tire and the edge of your wheel. it then becomes the ‘contact’ point if you are unlucky enough to kerb a wheel.

The version now available has a better locating mechanism with small clips around the circumference of the ‘Gator’ and has better fitment with today’s growing number of alloy wheel designs and multiple tire fittments.

By all accounts the Gators are a far better than the other options that use adhesive to attach them to the rim.

They can be used with run flat tires and fit around 90% of the wheels on the market. The Gator was available in have 13 colours with the new Sky Blue with Gold and Bronze being added in the near future.

If you are buying them as a gift you

26 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

don’t need to worry about wheel size as they come in one size 13” up to 21”. They are cut to size during installation.

Although it’s not rocket science, Fletch prefers that customers find a dealer, “We train our dealers in installing Gators and that training along with the experience they gain as they install more of them allows them to know what is in store with various wheels. For the modest amount they charge for installation it gives you the piece of mind that the Gators are installed properly and will not fly off as you go down the highway.”

Fitting time for a set of four should be around an hour as long as there are no problems during installation.

Having been involved with a BMW dealership for over twenty years Fletch sees benefits to dealerships using Gators on their fleet of courtesy cars. “When you hand out loaners every day to customers you get all sorts of driving talent behind the wheel of your cars. That could mean trashed rims and before you sell that car the damage has to be fixed. Whether that is a rim repair or a replacement it is time and money.

Using the Alloygator will save on that money and the Gator can be used on another car with the same wheel size” Fletch says “We are not reinventing the wheel - Just protecting it” check out our web site www. thegatorgarage.com Does your Company offer first class, friendly and efficient service? Would you like to be a part of our growing network of retail partners and fitting centers. Please contact Patrick at pfletch@alloygatorna.com

“We are not reinventing the wheel - Just Protecting it” Protect all 4 rims for less than it normally costs to refinish just one!

PERSONALIZE Want to stand out from the crowd? Alloygator comes in a range of colours to suit all tastes.

Ask one of our retail partners for details or visit www.alloygatorna. com to view our current range.

You can even see what they’d look like by using our interactive colour selector.

Go on... Make it Personal!

WWW.THEGATORGARAGE.COM

DISCREET It’s a matter of personal taste; protect your rims with our discreet Alloygators produced in colours that blend into the tire or wheel. Our black, silver and graphite grey range are perfect for those who simply want discreet rim protection, and can live without the bling!

© MotorWerks Magazine - 27

April 17th 2016 was a great day for many reasons, the weather was great, not a cloud in the sky. It was Opening Day 2016 at Watkins Glen International Raceway and the track was freshly paved; MINIs at The Glen 2016 was revving up ready to take laps on the new billiard table smooth surface.

The MINI Clubs in Buffalo, Rochester

and Carlisle brought together last year under the Mini Mafia name, had what we thought was a great turnout in 2015. 103 Coopers turned out for Opening Day and as 2015 went on, the Mini Mafia added more clubs to the family. Clubs in Canada, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland,

28 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

West Virginia and others stretching as far south as Alabama came on board to get the word out about the event. The Mini Mafia had gone from being a local family to controlling much of the Eastern Seaboard. Not unlike the real Mafia, the bosses of all the clubs communicate behind the scenes to make sure the word gets out on events, both to pump

Above: In the paddock ready to take to the track Left: The meetup at Torrey Ridge Below: Wrapping up the day at Seneca Lodge

up attendance and to make the participating Motorers happy. Often, as in the case with Opening Day at the Glen they give back to the community through charitable contributions.

WGI doesn’t make a dime out of the entrance fees for Opening Day. The fee of $25 per carload for three laps is very affordable and if you

want more laps, you can pay $50 for 9. You really can’t refuse the deal, especially with all the proceeds going to local charities; it’s a winner all around. The track gets publicity about the upcoming events, the clubs get a lot of exposure and the Motorers all have a blast. It’s a great thing to do on a Sunday afternoon and most of all it helps families

throughout the area. This year the contributions were tied in with Feeding America, the same charity that was associated with MINI USA’s ‘Track to Track’ event MINI Takes The States.

Torrey Ridge Winery, home of Redneck Red, accidentally chosen last year, but officially chosen this year as the rendezvous for the clubs before cruising their way to the © MotorWerks Magazine - 29

former Formula 1 track nestled in the rolling hills above Watkins Glen Village. From North, South, East and West MINI after MINI poured in and spilled out over the lawn. Row after row formed until the front lawn and parking lots were full of the iconic British brand. The grand total of cars topped out at 206. Exactly double

worries. The staff at WGI were truly professional in every sense of the word, a big thank you goes out to Robbie Roessel and Jeff Nelson for helping to pull this job off.

After laps, the Motorers headed over to the Seneca Lodge for a great after party. Again, everything went off flawlessly. You’d think that it would

Andretti or even Paul Newman. It was a good choice, made possible by help from Towne MINI and MINI of Rochester, Mike Monteith and Jon Mariotti, respectively and MINI USA. Everything went off without a hitch.

So, what’s in store for next year?

The Mini Mafia doubled the attendees from last year, so who

A huge part of MATG is enticing MINIacs to come support the MINI JCW team when they come to town with IMSA

the number of the previous year.

Happy Motorers climbed out of their cars and began checking out other MINIs and talking to those already arrived. Once again, the Mini Mafia had got the job done.

After about a half an hour of pleasantries, engines were fired up and the Motorers headed to a 1:00 p.m. appointment at WGI, escorted by local Sheriffs, Police Departments and even a couple New York State Troopers. These guys did a great job of getting everybody there, not only in one piece, but with plenty of time left for staging. The guys in blue really came through for us, and they can’t be thanked enough.

Once at WGI, staging began.

Normally with such a huge number of cars, that could be a problem, but it wasn’t for the crew and volunteers at WGI, they performed their jobs flawlessly and our lapping went off without a hitch. No problems, no

be a problem with 206 cars and somewhere north of 320 people, but Jack...a fellow Motorer...and Brett and Gloria and the staff at the Lodge also performed flawlessly. the food was great, music was great, staff were great and the Lodge itself was such a perfect place for an event like this. The Seneca Lodge has a such a great history with racing, it’s really the best place to gather after any event at The Glen. You never know when you sit on a barstool there, if one of its prior occupants might have Stirling Moss, Andy Granatelli, Mario

30 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

knows? Will it be 300? 350? 400?

We’d like to see MATG grow into a national level event, not unlike MTTS, MOT and MOTD but the Mini Mafia would like to have MATG right up there with the rest of them.

We’d like to see it grow until those in power at WGI say we have too many MINIs coming. Join us there next year for WGI Opening Day and MINIs at The Glen.

For more information friend us on Facebook...MINIS at The Glen...

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 31

Behind The Lens with David Lewis at Raoad America

Above: #52 JCW MINI Cooper taking the hill during qualifying.

Below: These BMW M6 cars take up a lot of track with their size.

Below right: The #37 JCW MINI Cooper leads fellow ST competitors

32 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Left: A young fan inside one of the JCW MINI Coopers Above: Luis Perocapri and his drivers welcome MINI Cooper fans to the pits for the race day festivities.

Below: During a warm weekend, the best place to dry your racesuit is under the MINI tent.

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 33

Above: Turner Motorsport have adapted well to the new BMW M6 racecar.

Right: All three JCW MINI Coopers warming up their tires during practice.

34 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

EVERY DIGITAL ISSUE is

FREE

Now Available in

‘PRINT ON DEMAND’ Our Advertising Rates are

LOW Contact us at:

(905) 467-5148 or e-mail ianrae@motorwerksmag.com

© MotorWerks Magazine - 35

36 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Left: Fans check out the JCW MINI Coopers while the team discusses strategy

Right: BimmerWorld continue to run the only BMW F30 platforms in the series and tend to be the leading BMWs in the ST class.

Below: Follow the leader

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 37

Going over the Fence

by David Lewis It’s earie how quiet it can be at a race track early in the morning.

Looking out at all the trailers just being opened up, the odd golf cart zipping by, it’s strange that you know how different that’s going to be during the rest of the day.

Walking down pit lane in hushed tones is a different experience.

Today was going to be a different experience for me, also. Today I have my photographers vest and, gosh darn it, I’m going to use it!

The last time I was at the track, I photographed from outside the fence. Mind you, it was still a great time and I loved every minute of it, but I wanted to get over the fence, get up close to the action and really use my camera to its fullest extent.

Getting your bib from the staff is akin to joining a not-so-secret society. You have access to areas other people don’t. You wear your status symbol on your chest for everyone to see. Photographers without the vest look at you with a little bit of envy. I know I did before I got the vest.

Walking out of the media building along pit row, and putting the vest on for the first time, I felt a little giddy. This was the moment I’ve been waiting for; this was my moment to shine. Then the reality hit me, I was going to be getting REALLY close to the track. A track that had recently had a Ferrari leap into the fence that I could be standing behind. I would need to really keep my mind in the game and watch everything from every angle.

I was going to learn from the other

photographers where to stand and where it wasn’t that safe.

I stood by with a few videographers who were getting some tips and a map from a gentleman who appeared to know what he was doing. He pointed out a few spots to get interesting shots and a few more spots to keep away from. It was extremely helpful and I was glad to sneak in on that conversation. I just wish I had thought to grab a copy of the map before I walked away. Oh well, live and learn I guess.

Walking the track that day with all my gear was a great experience.

And made me think of a few things I need moving forward. One was a better backpack! The one that I was using was terrible and it broke as soon as I left the hotel!

Dragging around a backpack full of camera gear – that at one point was delicately and very specifically packed – is no fun at all. At the end of the first day, a new larger backpack would be purchased. But for now I’d have to work on carrying this thing and my camera gear all at once.

The first time I actually got a chance

38 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

to get out from behind the fence and closer to the track was at turn thirteen where the cars are coming up at you out of the shade. It was a beautiful spot that really gave me an opportunity to take a number of different shots. I was even in a great spot to photograph every moment of an accident when the #19 Porsche got loose and spun out.

He ended up being hit by the #54 BMW right in front of me.

It was interesting being there right in front of the action but like all the other shooters my first thoughts were on the drivers. Without them this sport is nothing, their bravado and skill is what makes fans line the fences. Sure there are those that want to see an accident but when you are ‘over the fence’ these guys become your friends, more than just a name on a Facebook page.

I loved the experience of being able to be behind the wall, instead of just behind the fence. To paraphrase my good buddy Ferris Bueller, we both live near Chicago - so of course I’ve met his garbage man’s girlfriend’s cousin’s friend, “It is so choice.

If you have the means, I highly recommend it.”

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 39

‘A Coming of Age’

Just one week ago the MINI John Cooper Works Race Team stamped their authority on Continental Tire Sportscar Championship by qualifying both cars on the front row at the famed Watkins Glen International race circuit in upstate New York. It truly was a great thing

to see for a MINI fan, but in my eyes the next weekend’s race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park was a truer indication of how far the Indianapolis, IN based team has come in just a year and a half.

Two of the team MINIs qualified in the top ten; Derek Jones in fifth

Words by Ian Rae, photos by author and Norman Nelson 40 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Words and photos by Ian Rae Š MotorWerks Magazine - 41

and local hero James Vance in seventh. The most important aspect of qualifying was the dry conditions where the MINIs showed a pace that put them firmly in the ball park with the traditional pacesetters in the class. This weekend it was not rain that helped the team to wrap up the front row or to their first podium as it has been in the past, it was pure pace and good driving talent. Friday was a coming of age for the team as far as I was concerned.

When MINI USA announced that LAP Motorsport was bringing the F56 JCW to the Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge I was under no illusions of them having an easy time

capitalize and move forward, at one point running second and third.

The cars looked perfectly at home up front and were consistently challenging any cars in front. That is not to say there were not issues, the Jones/Pombo car had a coming together with a Porsche Cayman and a limp mode episode where the reboot added eighteen seconds to that particular lap. But it was a hard charging Mat Pombo that picked up fourth, only wishing there were a few more laps left. It was a drive which proved to me MINI really can be a challenger going forward as long as there are not too many BoP changes in the near future.

‘No gimmees this weekend!’ of it, after all I have been involved with one form of racing or another for forty-seven years and I have seen many teams come and go.

Racing is not easy, because if it was everyone would be doing it.

So what makes me feel this way about the team and its efforts? Well, in the past when MINIs have been close to the front their pace was good but they have never really been able to maintain it. This was through a multitude of reasons and many of them had nothing to do with the team. Flooded tracks and errant race cars had a part in ending many a good run but on this Saturday the in the rolling hills north-east of Toronto, the fans witnessed something special, real special!

From the start of the race not only did Jones and Vance maintain their positions but they were able to

There were no gimmees this weekend, no wet weather advantage, this weekend was LAP Motorsports coming of age and telling the rest of the ST class watch out the MINIs are coming! The word around the paddock as I was leaving was about how tough the MINIs are going to be at Lime Rock Park.

Now THAT is something I am really looking forward to.

There were no gimmees this weekend, no wet weather advantage, this weekend was LAP Motorsports coming of age and telling the rest of the ST class watch out the MINIs are coming!

The word around the paddock as I was leaving was about how tough the MINIs are going to be at Lime Rock Park. Now THAT is something I am really looking forward to.

42 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 43

LAGUNA SECA ‘Now we got BRAKES’

Finally IMSA has given the MINI John Cooper Work Team the go ahead to run the Brembo brake caliper that the JCW comes from the factory with. This was in part because of the wild accident Mark Pombo had when he experienced brake failure at Sebring.

44 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

A

Lots of upgrades for 2016; air jack systems are now featured on the team cars as are new wheels from NM Engineering. And from Laguna on the Brembo brake calipers that the road going JCW comes with are legal.

Pombo/Jones were not playing with extra aero at Laguna Seca not matter what this looks like.

Results #37

Mark Pombo/Ethan Low - Qualified P8 Finished P

#52

James Vance/Ramin Abdolvahabi - Qualified P23 Finished P21

#73

Mat Pombo/Derek Jones - Qualified P18 - Finished P14

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 45

WATKINS GLEN The fact is the MINI is amazing in the rainI We saw the potential for rain in qualifying and we were obviously excited. Unfortunately we only had one set of fresh rain tires (not scrubs), which take a lap to break in. With our fifteen-minute qualifying format it really only allows for a few flying laps. After 46 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

the second lap we were well inside the top Ten, but I knew my delta to pole was seconds not 10ths. With two laps to go I dove into turn one and I out braked myself, blowing the corner and therefore blowing the lap. I radioed into Mat Pombo, my co-driver, who let me know exactly how much time was left so I could

N ON POLE cross start/finish to get one more flying lap. I cooled my tires for that lap making sure that I could get the best run on the final lap, while still crossing start/final prior to the end of the session. Coming out of T1 I knew I had the potential of a good lap so I set out to get to the rain/grip threshold of each corner.

In hindsight there was another half a second in the lap, but it was enough for pole, just clipping my teammate James Vance. Obviously we were all ecstatic and felt it was a turning point. From that point on our Qualifying efforts have been much better.

Derek Jones Š MotorWerks Magazine - 47

48 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 49

MINI FRONT RO 50 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

OW

Circuit Of The Americas: towards its fourth straight race It was a surprise Watkins win Glenfor was BMW full of cheering win in MINIacs! the GTThe LM class but both Team RLL only when thing Dirkthat Werner could make it itbetter and the was #912 a win but car lost out and Bill Auberlen that waswhen not tothe be. #25 The #27 stopping Mazda gotfor intofuel thewith less than BMW Z4 passed barriersthe at the twoEsses works not longfive after minutes the starttoand go in the race.

Porsches when that caused they had all sorts to of chaos.The At the Porsches end of had the been running stop for fuel. day The it was #911 the #17 Porsche Porsche Cayman one, two that uptook to that the point An 911 RSR looked win in the to be ST heading class. ecstatic Auberlen told “This win is

amazing. I’ve won here a couple of times and it just keeps getting better and better.”

The BMW Team RLL was not without some fuel issues of their own. They dialed back the fuel maps to save fuel from the last stop and the strategy worked. It © MotorWerks Magazine - 51

MINI CTMP Canadian Tire Motorsport Park was James Vance’s home race. That meant family and friends at a track he knows well. For Mat and Mark Pombo’s father Pepe it also was a homecoming. This time to one of his favorite tracks!

‘CTMP was a ’ ! e g A f o g n Comi

52 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Circuit Of The Americas: It was a surprise win for BMW Team RLL when Dirk Werner and Bill Auberlen when the #25 BMW Z4 passed the two works Porsches when they had to stop for fuel. The #911 Porsche 911 RSR looked to be heading

towards its fourth straight race win in the GT LM class but both it and the #912 car lost out stopping for fuel with less than five minutes to go in the race.

The Porsches had been running one, two up to that point An ecstatic Auberlen told “This win is

amazing. I’ve won here a couple of times and it just keeps getting better and better.”

The BMW Team RLL was not without some fuel issues of their own. They dialed back the fuel maps to save fuel from the last stop and the strategy worked. It © MotorWerks Magazine - 53

54 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 55

MINI CHALLENG A week later we raced in Canada. At CTMP we were quick. We went out for qualifying and thought for sure we could push for pole. Lap after lap I would lose 3/10 in the final sector because of lack of rotation. Having the never die attitude, I pushed each

56 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

lap even after the tires has gone past their “sweet spot�. Ultimately we finished with a P5, but my overzealous attempt at pole meant our tires would fall off early during our first stint of the race... again retrospect.

Derek Jones

GING Circuit Of The Americas: It was a surprise win for BMW Team RLL when Dirk Werner and Bill Auberlen when the #25 BMW Z4 passed the two works Porsches when they had to stop for fuel. The #911 Porsche 911 RSR looked to be heading

towards its fourth straight race win in the GT LM class but both it and the #912 car lost out stopping for fuel with less than five minutes to go in the race.

The Porsches had been running one, two up to that point An ecstatic Auberlen told “This win is

amazing. I’ve won here a couple of times and it just keeps getting better and better.”

The BMW Team RLL was not without some fuel issues of their own. They dialed back the fuel maps to save fuel from the last stop and the strategy worked. It © MotorWerks Magazine - 57

43 Years STRONG Mini Meet West 2016

‘A Diamond in the Rough’, that is how I describe it!

Although Mini Meet West is the longest continuous running Mini event in North America, some fortythree years; it may very well be the least known. This annual event began back in May 1973 in Reno Nevada and was named the US Mini Meet until Mini Meet East was formed in 1975, the western event would then be renamed Mini Meet West.

MMW is held every year four years and then on the fifth year there is a combined Mini Meet East/West. The event moves to a different city each year and is hosted by the local Mini club(s).

Generally the event is held in May or June and is a three day, mid-week event, starting on a Tuesday and concluding with an awards Banquet

on Thursday Night. The event itself encompasses a car show, road rally, an auto cross and a funkhana with plenty of other optional activities during the week.

With the massive popularity of the MINI/Mini events around the USA, Canada, and the world, Mini Meet West remains one the least publicized and I don’t really know why, it is quite amazing as this is one of the largest gatherings of classic Minis in North America. It is immensely popular in the Classic Mini Community and is now growing with the newer BMW MINI owners joining us as well.

This photo coverage is from the recent 2016 Mini Meet West held at the Crowne Plaza Resort in San Diego CA, earlier this year on June 6-9, 2016. The Car Show was held at the lovely Spanish Bay Park on

58 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

the harborfront, the Auto-cross and Funkhana ran on the huge parking lots at Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley and the Road Rallies took us all on a great 135-mile scenic trek through the mountains just east of San Diego.

There was something for everyone and part of the fun was just getting there. Jesse & I joined up with our fellow Miniac friends from Vancouver BC Canada, Seattle WA, Portland OR, and the San Francisco Bay area and caravanned down the Pacific Coast Highway. Giving the event a true international flavor was the arrival of a distant friend, Dimitris Fragos from Athens Greece who joined us at SFO as we headed south.

And was it fun? Sure was! Check out the photos and see what we got up to. And Dimitris? I think he still has a grin as wide as the Atlantic!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 59

60 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Top Left: The MMW event is divided into two parts, getting there and the venue. Here we are taking a photo op with San Francisco’s most famous landmark, the Golden Gate Bridge.

Below: Generations apart but Doug Bennett (R53) and xx still enjoy AutoX in a tricked out Cooper.

# 37 Š MotorWerks Magazine - 61

62 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 63

64 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 65

66 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 67

68 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 69

Going for

7

This past Valentine’s Day Norman Nelson pulled off something many promoters of HPDE organizers could only hope for, perfect weather! Stormin’ Norman’s MINI Thunder VII ran under sunny skies and in mid-seventies temperatures for the seventh year in a row. “I guess somebody up there likes me and what we

Words by Ian Rae, photos by author and Dito Milian, G 70 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

are doing for the MINIacs”, said Nelson who admitted to being more than a little worried about the weather two weeks prior to the event.

This year the organizing duo decided on making a change in the Casino Night program that is normally held in the Thunderhill Raceway clubhouse on the

GotBlueMilk.com

Saturday night. Nelson explained, “This was not about an issue with Thunderhill but more about not stepping on David Ray of Hooked on Driving’s toes. David runs a HPDE event on the Saturday that gives our attendees a good discount, MINI Thunder has also grown and we felt bad about hovering over him trying to move

Mania, Cravenspeed” 2016 would see regular supporter Neillo MINI of Sacramento step it up and take on the presenting sponsor role. This entitled them to some prime real estate right in front of the Clubhouse where they had three MINI models and a booth showcasing MINI parts. Also on hand with a booth

into the clubhouse. By moving to the Willows Roadhouse we were able to move all our Registration paraphernalia in earlier and when Registration opened it was in a more relaxed atmosphere. The guys at the Roadhouse closed down their facility and handed it over entirely to the MINI Thunder crew giving us a bunch of extra space to set up eating areas, casino and registration areas and of course the bar had all sorts of choices. From all the feedback we got, everyone enjoyed the evening, especially those walking away with prizes donated by people like Neillo MINI, Mini

was the BMW Performance School based out of Thermal, CA who had brought along an M3 and MINI JCW to give rides. A miscommunication between the corner workers and organizers outlawed the normal drifting style of the M3 drivers but those who got one of the drifting rides came out of the car with wide grins.

There were quite a few new attendees who had never been on track before. I don’t think any of them were as excited before or after than Nina Papadopoulis. She almost set the Internet alight with all her posts prior to and after the event. © MotorWerks Magazine - 71

She was good enough to give us a write up about her first MINI Thunder experience.

The smell of asphalt and oil, the sight of several hundred new and classic Minis buzzing around the paddock and the sounds of them racing around Thunderhill Raceway is what I had imagined, but it did nothing to compare to living the experience of the Stormin’ Norman’s MINI Thunder event.

It was an event I’d never been to, but had heard so much about from other MINI enthusiasts as ‘the best Bay Area event’ to attend. I’d missed it the previous two years and couldn’t help but feel jealous as I saw the pictures stream through my news feed on Facebook and hear everyone regale their stories of how great it was.

This time I was determined to go no matter what, and to sweeten the pot I was getting on that track, mods or no mods. Ah yes, this would be a good time to tell you my MINI is as basic as they come having started its life as a commuter car in San Francisco- it’s a Justa and an automatic at that with zero mods,

unless you’re counting stickers, because we all know stickers add horsepower.

So I registered in the beginner class at the time I purchased track time for the day and I purchased the ever important track insurance. Knowing my zeal for speed and my excitement to push my car to its limits on the track the insurance was important. Just as important as the track insurance was the pre-track inspection provided

by Steven’s Creek MINI. They inspected my MINI to be sure it was in tip top shape before getting on the track. It was a good thing I took advantage of

72 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

their services, they found my valve cover was leaking and my rear engine bushing needing replacing.

So with that maintenance done the excitement of the day finally came around, I was at the Thunderhill gates before they opened, waiting like a kid on Christmas morning to open presents. I watched the most incredible sunrise come up over the track then the pearly white gates to heaven opened and I drove through to the rendezvous point.

Even with all my anticipation, it still didn’t prepare me for the actual experience of it all as I sat

on the paddock with my coach waiting my turn to tear up the rubber on the track.

Once I got the thumbs up I eased out onto the track trying to contain my excitement. As instructed I went a bit easy the first lap to get a feel for the track and turns, but by the second lap I was ready to push it and myself.

What an absolute thrill it was to press the gas pedal down to the

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 73

74 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

floorboard and listen to the car respond while navigating turns as you’re receiving professional instruction from your coach and learning about physics and mechanics of driving fast, this is what MINIs were designed for.

Turn 5 is my favorite turn on that track. Absolutely terrifying because you speed up the hill to a corner and can’t see down the other side, you just know you will have to take the corner as crest the hill. Terrifying, but completely thrilling. Seeing as how that was one of the most difficult corners on the track I made it my mission to nail it, and I did.

As a first timer to Stormin’

Norman’s MINI Thunder I can’t stress enough how well organized this event is from the registration process, with lots of communication through e-mails leading up to the day of the event, links to the Thunderhill Raceway to purchase track time and the necessary track insurance, to the Casino Night (the evening event) the night before with fantastic swag in a terrific bag made from recycled MINI billboard advertising signs.

The check in process was easy and organized and the coaches were extremely helpful in their track advice.

The experience I had was well

worth all the prep work I did to attend the event and get on the track. It certainly wet my appetite for more track time and it turned me into the one who was posting pics on my Facebook timeline and regaling my track stories to all my friends.

Cheers to Norman & Jesse Nelson, and everyone else who make this event such a successful event and a memorable experience for the rest of us. I’m already looking forward to next year’s!

Nina Papadopoulos

© MotorWerks Magazine - 75

76 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

MINI Press Release MINI USA is proud to partner with Feeding America® in the fight to #DefyHunger. Every two years, MINI Owners come together to motor across the country on MINI TAKES THE STATES. From May 4 to July 30, they’re making their motoring matter by raising money for Feeding America. In addition to the minimum $10,000 MINI USA donation, every dollar raised

by MINI Owners will help provide 11 meals to families in need.* Each motorist can set up their own fundraising page and earn achievement badges to proudly display on their MINI when they reach donation milestones. The more money raised, the more badges they’ll collect, and the more MINI will help #DefyHunger.

MotorWerks Magazine congratulates MINI USA and the thousands of MINIacs that contibuted to help Feed America during MINI Takes The States.

1,000,000 + Meals!!

Help #DefyHunger www.feedingamerica.org © MotorWerks Magazine - 77

CHANGES Are Coming Located elsewhere in this issue is an advert for MINI Thunder VIII. It does not look similar to the one I have designed over the past few years since Norm Nelson and I became friends. But it will look familiar to many of you on the West Coast familiar with David Ray’s Hooked On Driving. That’s right, MT8 willn be running as a HOD event in 2017. It will be on the same weekend with the same format, including the Casino Night on the Saturday evening. So why the change?

Our conversations over a glass or two right after MT7 had Norm soul searching about the event. Things had gone down that made him wonder if he wanted to continue organizing MINI Thunder. Norm, Jesse and their great band of helpers put a lot of effort into making the event happen and when it grows as big as it is now, that is a lot of work.

I could see the Nelson’s did not have fun that weekend and as I had hoped for he called later in the year and told me, “I have done a deal with David Ray to take care of the track side of things, we work closely with him as he runs on the Saturday before MT and even offers our students a deal to run both events. I was not happy with certain aspects of MT7 and was ready to walk away if changes could not be made and to that end I truly believe joining forces with David and HOD is the way forward. Thunderhill did not want the event to go away and the messages from students who had enjoyed themselves and could not

wait for next year made it a tough decision to quit. So MINI Thunder VIII is happening and I will still be involved with the promotional side of things and hope to have the time to actually run Pooper there myself, something I have not been able to do over the past few years.

I thank everyone who supported the event over the years and look forward to many more enjoyable track days partnered with Hooked On Driving.

78 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 79

Our Editor Ian Rae at the wheel Rich Peterson gets seat time in his own racecar

80 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 81

82 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

What friends are for!

Rich Peterson is a MINI racer, one that I have known for a few years but never met. That is the beauty abouty Facebook, you meet and become friends with people all over the World.

This year at MINI Thunder VII Rich and I would finally get to meet face to face and during one of our Facebook encounters just before the event our friendly joking turned into an opportunity for me to test his United States Touring Car Championship MINI Cooper.

I am not going to say what was said but my joking turned into a “Well bring your gear” from Rich.

And so it was I packed up my LEAF Racewear, suit, boots and gloves, my Arai GP 5W helmet and I headed West.

Our first opportunity to get together was at the Casino night at the Willows Roadhouse and the first words that came into my head was “Crap” you see Rich is a big boy, not saying I am not but he stands 6 feet 6 inches tall and has eighty pounds on me and I had visions of me floating around in the seat or not being able to reach the wheel or pedals properly. Years of racing have taught me you have to be properly positioned in the car to be able to drive it safely. So you can imagine after the pleasantaries were over the converstion turned to seating position and whether I could fit or not. Rich was confident and I was happy.

First order of the day on arrival at Thunderhill was a seat fitting, The Racetech seat was perfect and

being on a slider made it easy for me to slide it forward to where the wheel and pedals felt comfortable. Then it was on to the belts and adjusting them to fit my scrawny frame (yeah right). The CAE shifter (same as I have for Cooper RSR) fell perfectly to hand, so I had sorted out my office for the day. The only other thing to do was position a couple of RePlay XD cameras in the car to record my first trip around the 4.6 miles/7.403 km ‘Thunderschliefe’ course in a full out race car.

The outing would also be a test for the 17” Nitto NT01 tires that are the only approved tires for USTCC competition. Peterson had lobbied to go to 17” from the 15” he had run previously and this was his first opportunity to try them out.

The ‘Big’ track at Thunderhill combines the East and West courses, both being unique and different from the other. The original East track favors more power and has the straights to use it whereas the West course has elevation changes with lots of curves that would benefit Rich’s MINI. As Rich was running the MINI in the instructors group I went out with the advanced students.

The Nitto NT01 tires did not take long to come up to temperature.

With recent tuning by Jan Bruggemann of Revolution Motor Works, Peterson had said he was happy with the improvement and from where I sat the car pulled well throughout the rev range and definately hauled ass!

How was the handling? I could put the car anywhere on track (intentionally or otherwise) and there was no drama. Getting into a rhythm on the West track made for a big smile on my face. Some people think it is too slow, too Mickey Mouse but I think it allows you to use the MINI to its maximum and a good run through it geta a big YES from me!

I have to give a HUGE thanks to Rich for trusting me with his car before race season and along with Rich would like to thank the people that make it possible to represent MINI in such a good way in the USTCC, the driver this year Andy Chittum Jan Bruggemann, OS Giken for LSD and clutch, Team Dynamics for wheels, Ractech for my halo seat , Todd at TCA for great brakes and KW Suspension. © MotorWerks Magazine - 83

84 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

For those MINIacs who have travelled Coast to Coast on a MINI Takes The States the end of one event just signals that there is only another two years until the next MTTS. 2016 was no different, the Internet was buzzing on the lead-up to the event. Our West Coast Editor Norman Nelson and his wife Jesse

shipped their ‘04 Cooper S Pooper cross-country so they could drive home East to West and complete their second ‘Coast to Coast’ MTTS. And our East Coast Editor, Craig Nelson was going to not only drive West he was also going to drive back to his Dundee, New York home.

We thought we would have you the readers tell us your story and relate the things you loved or hated about the event.

So sit back and read the stories from our readers, read all about their experiences, both good and bad.

So how would we tell the story of MINI Takes The States 2016 best?

‘ Reader’s stories from MTTS 2016 ’ © MotorWerks Magazine - 85

86 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Jesse Nelson wanted to show just how many people from all over had travelled to be part of the ‘Track to Track’ experience and what better way to do than take photos of licence plates, tags or whatever you call them.

© MotorWerks Magazine - 87

First Timer Flor De Oro Cabrera is well known to members of the League of Extraordinary Miniacs but before the 2016 version of MINI Takes The States she never managed to attend the event. This is her story.

When I saw the MINI Takes The States route posted I got really excited, especially when Charlotte, NC was one of the cities the MINIacs would visit. It would work out being perfect for me since the Queen City is only four and half hours from where I live.

What a joy to know that I was going to attend. I was driving my coworkers crazy talking about it.

I have been a MINIac since 2003 when I acquired my R50 that I call Black Beauty. Being an active member of The League Of Extraordinary MINIacs group I have never been able to attend previous MTTS. But I made sure I was going to enjoy these two days to the

fullest.

When I started planing for the event it included bringing my four canine co-pilots but unforeseen circumstances didn’t allow me to take them. After that setback my dear LXM family Lizzy Reyes and Jynie Wyatt took action and invited me to stay with them. At the same hotel across from our room was another LXM family member Tonya Carroll. We were all excited to meet for the first time in person and that was the beginning of a beautiful journey.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte allowed us to have an amazing LXM/MINI family reunion.

What a glorious night it was, all

88 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

together in the same room. Even my love, Donald Bram, made it to from Florida, joining us on FaceTime. We were all so happy, laughing, taking pictures and trying to make the most of those hours together.

The next morning we woke up before the roosters, so we could go to the Charlotte Speedway.

The sunrise that morning had the most beautiful red and yellow color hidden behind big white clouds.

The temperature was perfect; it felt like Mother Nature was gifting us another glorious day. That morning was filled again with more happiness meeting even more LXM family that I didn’t get to meet the previous night. I had the honor of

meeting Jesse and Norman Nelson from MotorWerks Magazine. They are a beautiful and lovely couple and love their MINIs/Minis. I was so happy to finally meet them.

At breakfast I heard through the speakers information and advice about the track. Specially the twenty-four degree banking in turns. We were called to start our engines to enter the track to drive our lap. I was in the first group. Everything was fine until I reached the banking. Now I understood the emphasis about this twenty-four degree banking in turns adventure that I was about to experience.

My heart was racing like a Classic Mini in the Monte Carlo Rally. I immediately reassure myself that Black Beauty was ready for it. It was amazing driving on that track. Black Beauty and I made it.

After finishing at the track the bittersweet moment arrived; saying goodbye to all my LXM family. It was really full of emotions, but we were grateful that we had the extraordinary opportunity to meet and spend two beautiful days together.

Last but not least. I believe we all can relate to this, I call it the MTTS Credo.

1. Enjoy to the fullest this wonderful adventure with the positive and and not so positive. This is an unforgettable unique lifetime experience. And a beautiful one.

2. Do not expect anything, instead enjoy the unexpected. We all live the NOT NOR MAL Life.

3. Improvise and embrace any changes on the trip.

Those are the best memories that stay with you for a lifetime.

4. Enjoy every single minute of it. Laugh, dance and share those beautiful moments with friends that you are not sure when you will see them again.

5. Last but not least. Life is short, it can change in a blink of an eye, so enjoy that we have been bless to attend such an extraordinary event.

Flor De Oro Cabrera, Jacksonville, NC

Top: Sunrise at Charlotte Speedway, Middle: Meeting up with Jesse Nelson, Bottom: It says it all Š MotorWerks Magazine - 89

Top Left: Left to right ,Joseph Susanke, Marietta Susanke, myself, Tony Coutcher Bottom Left: Cindy Heinemann, myself holding Godfrey Above Top: Left to right, Lizzy Reyes, Nancy Homer, myself, Jesse Nelson Above: Mary Miller, myself

90 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Top: Left to right, myself, Jynie Wyatt, Tonya Carroll Middle: Michelle Vargo Resos, myself Bottom: Ryan G. Snyder, Lisa Therien, myself, Karen Quave Š MotorWerks Magazine - 91

2016 MTTS

Harry takes the States

During the past sixty-eight years of my life I have been able to live a life that most would consider a bucket list of fun. I have traveled to fifty-nine countries; I have been on expeditions to the North and South Poles. I got to spelunk the Ice caves of Antarctica. I have been run over by a 1600 pound bull, that wasn’t fun,I have skydived and experienced free fall from 14,000 feet, that was a blast, and I purchased a MINI Cooper.

Ian Rae asked me for my favorite part of this years MINI Takes the States. Since he has asked the question I have had a hard time summing up the best part of the event but I have to say the

camaraderie of my ever growing MINI family is something quite special. It seems that at every MINI event, the MINI’s on the Dragon, MINI’s on the Mack and of course MTTS I love seeing the faces and exchanging of true friendship that comes with owning a MINI. From my first exposure to MTTS in 2008, when the group that had started in Miami and was headed to Boston, via Virginia Beach VA. That year I met Rauno Aaltonen “The original Flying Finn” and I tagged along with the group as they crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel to the Eastern Shore of Virginia. I did a whole 35-miles. It was 2012 that I got to do five days, and in

92 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

2014 I spent ten days meeting the group in Wendover Utah and leaving them in Memphis, TN. This summer I was able to get the time off from work and can now boast I went all the way.

Above: Flying with the Red Barron Squadron.

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 93

I keep skipping around deciding which was the best experience, there are so many to choose from.

MINI and their Mobile Assistance team responded to a minor repair call I put in and in less than fifteen minutes from my request to fixing my problem was awesome. My MINI with then 260,000 miles on the odometer needed a small screw to hold on a part on the bumper.

In the days of leaving my home in Virginia Beach VA. to the return on 27 July we logged over 8,000 miles and the screw was the only mechanical problem for me. THat says a lot for a high mileage MINI. The Track experience at Charlotte

Motor Speedway ranks with many of my “bucket list accomplishments” I hope that the antics of a few Jerks won’t curtail this experience with future MTTS visits to tracks. Many times during the drive I would look out the windshield and just feel awe for the incredible beauty of our country. Mount Rushmore was great; the run from Kingman AZ on Route 66 was just the tops. With all of those wonderful experiences, I have to say the best was meeting non-MINI owners on the way.

Usually, while getting gas, or at a rest stop people would approach me, smiling and all with the same question “We have seen a ton of

94 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

MINI’s on the road what is going on?” I always loved the look of Wow in their eyes, and the little bit of envy wishing they could be part of something like this. I always imparted my opinion of the MINI and the fun of owning one.. I tell them no other car company would have the head of the company on a trip like this, and that MINI’s keep us young. “My MINI is a Mechanical Fountain of Youth. Counting the days to the next Dragon, MINI’s on the Mack and now MTTS 2018.

Harry Gerwien, Virginia Beach, VA

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 95

Summer

VACATION

Dorie and Diane hit the road 96 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Words by Dorie Savage, M7 Speed Brand Manager, photos by Ian Rae Š MotorWerks Magazine - 97

I have been on many road trips in my life and have crossed the United States a few times, but the MTTS road trip was an adventure like no other!

Diane, one of the owners of M7 Speed, and I left M7 Speed Headquarters in Mooresville NC and headed to Atlanta Motor Speed way to join one thousand other MINI’s on the track. We drove Diane’s car which is the M7 Speed technology demonstration car this year (Project IRONMAN). The IRONMAN is no ordinary Countryman, it has been lifted two inches, has HELLA Lights mounted to the M7 roof basket and M7 front bull bar, it is riding on Yokohama Geolandar tires mounted on Rimz One supplied XD Wheels.

It has an M7 Speed exclusive spare tire carrier on the back that swings out of the way making access in the rear easy. We were satisfied when we headed out on this adventure that we were driving one BAD ASS MINI; but we had no idea that so many other people would think the very same thing! As we walked through the crowds and whenever we stood near the IRONMAN we repeatedly heard people say “That car is Bad ASS!” Even a large group of young men that waved us down in a parking lot said Ironman is “BAD ASS” and that it was so cool even they would drive it!

I’m pretty sure Ironman was the tallest MINI at MTTS. On the first day, cars were lined up as far as the eye could see at Atlanta Motor Speedway. When we parked the car and headed to check-in, Diane started to count the rows so we could find IRONMAN when we came back. She had counted about three

rows when we both realized that THE IRONMAN towered above the other MINI’s, because it is lifted and has a roof rack with HELLA lights!

Row counting was not necessary the rest of the trip!

I had the privilege of driving on the track the first day. IRONMAN is also outfitted with the M7 Speed MAXX-G rear anti-roll bar, end links, camber links, and strut tower brace as well as with the MAXX-FLO intake system and pre-intercooler charge

met us in Charlotte on the second day. Mark drove IRONMAN on the Charlotte track. Now if you think I felt the need for speed… you should have been there when Mark was driving! Mark and our buddy Kyle C. had it floored on the track and were mixing it up and passing each other.

Thankfully, Mark didn’t get M7 Speed in trouble either, but our buddy Kyle C. was banned from driving on the other race tracks for the rest of the event after that. Poor Kyle C. and

pipe. It handles so well and moves so fast I couldn’t wait to take it for a lap! I missed the part of the driver meeting that said to go slowly and stay off the banks, so I fell back as far as I could, floored it and went high on the bank. Thankfully I didn’t get M7 Speed in trouble for that!

Mark, the other owner of M7 Speed,

Lucky M7!

Diane finally got her turn to drive the track at Richmond. We didn’t get to go super-fast, but as we were approaching the track exit Diane noticed there were no cones blocking Victory Lane so she zoomed in and parked. I jumped out and took pictures. MINI’s were honking

98 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

and people were whooping and hollering! So much for sneaking a quick picture! Amazingly, Diane managed not to get M7 Speed in trouble for that one either!

The rest of the track experiences were pretty mellow, because they started to send MINIs onto the track closer together and insisted they travel at a parade pace.

HmmmmM7…

We did have quite an exciting visit in Lisbon Ohio! When we first pulled up to park, people surrounded the IRONMAN to the point we couldn’t get out of the car. Once we got out of the car, we answered questions about this amazing car for hours!

It was great to pop open the hood and let people see and feel the high quality M7 Speed products! When the crowd finally cleared and we were able to leave Lisbon Ohio we realized we were a bit behind our group. I was driving a little fast to catch up (ok… a lot fast) and Diane was talking to Mark on her phone.

When I passed the Sheriff on the side of the road I had a pretty good idea I was going to get pulled over.

When the Sheriff lit us up, Diane told Mark I was getting pulled over and she hung up on him. The Sheriff was a really nice guy and after I chatted with him about his career, what kind of cars he liked, his family, his pets, and the weather, he agreed with me that we were driving one BAD ASS MINI. He didn’t ticket me, but sent me on my way with a smile and a warning not to tell all my MINI friends he cut me loose! As we drove away, Diane called Mark back and told him that I had been arrested and the police had impounded the car. I still chuckle when I think about

that!

Lisbon wasn’t our only run in with the law! When we were at the Baltimore Railroad Museum, the cops pulled us over in the parking lot. We weren’t speeding this time, and they didn’t use lights and sirens either. They just waived us over because they wanted to check out the car! They had us turn the lights

out to our awesome customers. It was great to finally meet up with Ian Rae of MotorWerks Magazine who had his project MINI on display. CooperRSR has lots of M7 components and it was great to have IRONMAN and CooperRSR siting close together showcasing what M7 Speed can do for your MINI. Next time we plan to go ALL THE WAY!

on to see how bright they were. The HELLA lights are operated by remote control, so Diane was standing in

This trip was packed full of MINI adventure and we made so many MINI friends that it was amazing!

the parking lot putting on a “Close Encounters” style light show for the Baltimore Police! IRONMAN makes friends everywhere he goes!

We only went as far as Detroit this year, because we needed to get back to M7 Speed headquarters and get to work shipping great products

I can only imagine what it will be like to go from coast to coast and experience the entire event! Until then… keep your eye out for M7 Speed and IRONMAN… you never know where we might show up next!

Adventure ON!

© MotorWerks Magazine - 99

Words by Ian Rae, photos by Norman and Jesse Nelson

100 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

The MEDIA

Maestro

Jesse Nelson was one of the many people who could not understand why people enjoyed Social Media. That was until a life changing moment had her understanding the benefits. With that, she has now became a Social Media maestro.

It all started on MINI Takes The States where Jesse is not a MTTS rookie, along with hubby Norman she had gone Coast to Coast in 2014 and the first two legs of the original MTTS 2006 that left from Laguna Seca Part way through this trip we surprised Jesse by announcing her new position with MotorWerks Magazine. Editor Ian Rae explained,

“Jesse has been a huge supporter of MWM since husband Norman joined the staff and we value that. Since she became social media savvy (see seperate article) she has become quite well known in social media circles. It just made sense that we include her in the whole MWM experience.” He went on, “Anyone who saw her posts during MTTS know we made the right choice.”

Her husband Norm was saw a big change in his wife, “Just after Jesse was caught by surprise by Ian’s announcement at the M1 Concourse during MTTS about being named Motorwerks Magazine Social Media Director, I saw an immediate transformation. In an instant we gained a full-fledged dedicated reporter and I had lost a co-pilot/ navigator. As we walked back to our © MotorWerks Magazine - 101

MINI to depart on our next leg of the journey, Jesse was already clicking away with her camera. From there on her concentration was glued on news and photos. When she wasn’t clicking, she was reviewing, editing, and posting. I did get a chance to talk with her every few hours after that as we drove the rest of the way across country. So enjoy a selction of Jesse’s posts while she was travelling ‘Track to Track’ on MINI Takes The States.

102 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Top Left: Todd Pearson and Deanne Belshe were Motoring in the MotoringStripes.com MINI Top Right: MINI FINI’s Russell Roth must be a Cheesehead?

Main: Seems logical that the car owner and BOTH Bulldogs are Nebraska Cornhuskers fans.

Below Top: And a huge shout out to Ralph Choate who collected a grand total of $5684.63 to be the top participant. That equals 62524 meals! Well done Ralph!

Below Bottom: So tell me what they were thinking when they designed the AMVIV 11 decals. It seems to escape me.

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 103

104 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Main: Talk about stone-faced; one of Norman and Jesse’s high points of the trip was Mt Rushmore Left: Shasta MINIs were well represented, here Laverne, Pooper and Sprout take a rest Top: Kim and Jeff Misner pose at St. Ignace, MI Š MotorWerks Magazine - 105

106 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 107

108 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 109

Behind The Scenes Tonine McGarvie Rocks Words and photos by Ian Rae

The first time I crossed paths with MINI USA’s Tonine McGarvie was in Indianapolis at the Miles Ahead MINI Driving school, only I did not realize it at the time. However during the lead up to MotorWerks Magazine working with MINI USA on the Continental Tire Sportscar Challenge Car Corrals I realized she was the young lady from MINI who loved the event but was pipped that her name on the MINI Cooper S was spelled McGarvey instead of McGarvie.

The laugh we had about that continues to this day. And not just about that incident. Tonine is a people person, she is perfectly suited

for her job; one that has her interact with many MINI owners at the various events she co-ordinates.

During the many miles travelled Norm Nelson and myself traded knowledge with Tonine. She taught us how MINI works and in return we taught her about racing and some of it’s ins and outs. Having never been to a racetrack Tonine was literally thrown in the deep end when she took on the post of being liason between Luis Perocarpi’s LAP Motorsport team and MINI USA. It was a task she was up to and I would like to think that Norm and I did our little bit to help her.

110 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

In 2016 we relinquished our primary involvment with the Corrals but Tonine did what she always does and stepped up again. With minor help from us this year’s Corrals have been bigger and better than before.

West Coast Editor Norm Nelson agrees, “Tonine is tireless, a dynamo, she never rests, she is contantly working either on the phone, texting, talking or reading emails. Plus she is hands on and OCD when it comes to setting up the Corrals to perfection. I love working with her and always get a big smile and a hug on my arrival. It was great seeing her on MTTS where she

was doing just as good a job as she does with the motorsport program.”

Jeff Wallace who is a MINI Area Manager agreed, “Tonine provides

a one of a kind experience for the MINI family and auto enthusiast.

Her support of the raceteam and dedication to keep the dealer body informed have continued to keep us pumped and engaged with the JCW Team. She is a one of a kind asset to our brand and her uplifting attitude is infectious.

MOTOR ON!”

ALWAYS smiling!

© MotorWerks Magazine - 111

A ROAD TRIP Plus What to do when you have to drive 1,533 km just to get to the starting line of an epic road trip like MINI Takes the States? And what if your route takes you through Kentucky and the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee? The answer is obvious, take your time and enjoy what those places have to offer. So my wife and I booked some extra time off before the start of MTTS 2016 so that we could meander around Bourbon country and the Tail of the Dragon at Deals Gap. I’m a young guy, but I’ve been tasting and collecting whiskey’s since I graduated college and landed a job that paid well enough to support the habit. So to make the most of our time in Kentucky we got up early and blitzed the 1000 km drive from Toronto to

Lexington in time to enjoy some southern cooking and cocktails at Chatham’s on High in downtown Lexington. My wife and I had agreed before we left that we would take turns during the trip being each other’s designated driver, tomorrow would be her day to drive.

We set out the next morning with our tummies full of ‘Hot Brown’ (official breakfast of Kentucky) and rolled down the drive into Buffalo Trace Distillery for a tour. If you can make it there for 10 AM, Freddie Johnson is a third generation Buffalo Trace man and the best tour guide I have had for anything ever. Freddie has his script down, “When my grandfather came here,

112 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Words and photos by Evan Ezewski

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 113

this warehouse was full of whiskey.

When he left, it was still full of whiskey. When my father came here, this warehouse was full of whiskey. When he left, it was still full of whiskey. When I came here, this warehouse was full of whiskey. And when I leave, this warehouse will still be full of whiskey.” It’s a compelling story for something as time intensive as whiskey making, especially when you’re standing in a barrel

All alone at Fontana Dam 114 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

warehouse surrounded by whiskies that would be old enough to vote if they were people.

The tour, like most, ended with a tasting. The expressions on offer were the softer, sweeter and younger Buffalo Trace, Blanton’s Original with it’s refined vanilla, sweet toffee and spicy rye, and the more complex Eagle Rare 10 Year Old. Of the three I have to say I’d take the Eagle Rare because I’m a sucker for any product that manifests flavours of cherries, chocolate, vanilla and spice. For dessert, Freddie poured us a float of craft root beer topped with Buffalo Trace Bourbon Cream. Before he sent us on our way, I asked him if I

could take some pictures of the car around the distillery grounds and he said “Sure, just stay on the service roads and if anyone asks, tell em Freddie Johnson sent you.” Great guy that Freddie.

From here, my wife took the wheel and motored over to the oftoverlooked Wild Turkey Distillery where literally everything they make is on offer, but you’re restricted to three samples,, so choose wisely. I chose the Russell’s Reserve Small Batch, Rare Breed, and after the tour bus crowd had gone, I coaxed the girl behind the bar into letting me sample the Wild Turkey Diamond Anniversary.

Rich vanilla and buttery popcorn greet the nose alongside peanut brittle, pipe tobacco and flares of rye spice. Dry oaky vanilla leaps out at first taste before being joined by clove, cinnamon, dried orange

peel and wood char. The finish is dry, but doesn’t fade as abruptly as other dry whiskies, instead the spice notes fade away leaving vanilla and caramel while the char mellows into pipe smoke and leather. This is not a sweet bourbon; instead, the corn takes a backseat to the rye grain and the barrel.

It’s pretty well established from the interviews that he’s given that Jimmy Russell doesn’t like old bourbon. This is made pretty obvious by a lineup of where the oldest spirits have spent 12 years in single use oak and the majority are 7-9 years old and proofs ranging from 101 to cask strength.

So I’m not sure why Eddie Russell would hand pick thirteen and sixteen year casks to honour his father’s

© MotorWerks Magazine - 115

60th year making bourbon, but it sure is a classy spirit. So I left with a bottle.

Despite its Spanish mission-style architecture dating to 1910, I found the Four Roses distillery to be the most modern facility of the three.

At the distillery, Four Roses sell a limited run barrel proof release which lets you try a hand selected example of one of the ten Four Roses whiskey recipes before it is blended. It is called, perhaps

unsurprisingly, Four Roses Single Barrel Private Selection and the bottle I wound up with uses recipe OBSK (60% corn, 35% rye, 5% malted barley), aged for 8 years and 6 months. This rye heavy whiskey is dominated by oak, spice and rye bread; it’s sweetness manifests more akin to maple than caramel or molasses. Also, when they heard that my wife was my designated driver, they gave her four red roses.

It was our plan to be on US-129 well

116 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

before dark, but a storm had rolled in and it took us so long to get to Maryville that night had fallen and I had long since sobered up. We decided over dinner that I would be the one facing the prospect of slaying The Dragon in the dark during a thunderstorm. What followed was one of the most epic drives of my entire life. The road was empty, and the radio was off, the only soundtrack I needed was the one provided by the rain, the

thunder, the engine, and my copilot calling out the direction and the difficulty of the turns ahead.

The twists and turns prevented any standing water from gathering but, but the JCW just clung to the road in a way that gave me the confidence to attack the bends. In any other car it would have been a white knuckle drive, but the MINI got us to our lodge safely.

The next morning was perfect, the rain had given way to the sun and

the smoky mountains lived up to their name. We cruised the national forests on the Great Smoky Mountain Loop and the Cherohala Loop, driving the The Tail of the Dragon twice more before finally heading to the MTTS starting line in Atlanta, Georgia. It was an epic road trip, but that stormy night in Deal’s Gap was the drive of a lifetime.

Photos Page 75 Main: Below The Buffalo Trace Water Tower Left: Barrels peeking out of Warehouse C Middle:A gorgeous drive down to the Trace Right: Surrounded by 17-19 year old whiskey Above Main: Bonded warehouse H Top Left: Four Roses, literally Bottom Left: Barrel Crossing Š MotorWerks Magazine - 117

When I ordered my car online ten years ago, little did I know that I was buying a piece of historical joy.

Classic to modern, “Justa” to JCW, arctic white to black, daily driver to track toy...a MINI brings a smile to everyone’s face!

MINI Takes the States is an awesome event for everyone who loves the MINI brand, we call it drinking the “Koolaid”. I had participated in many in and out of state Mini events and drives, but had my first exposure to MTTS in 2014, where I stood proudly representing our state and Metroplex Mini Club at the New Mexico - Texas border welcoming all of my fellow Miniacs into my great state of Texas. Those memories left an indelible mark on my heart, getting to know other Mini drivers from across the country who felt the same special feeling of friendship.

As I marked calendar days off, one by one, in anticipation of MTTS 2016, and now remembering all of the Mini friends I met, all of the cities I visited, and all of the events I experienced….overwhelming! I did so much in a short amount of time, my memory is a blur of driving into events with well wishing from all of the Mini event staff. We would arrive in our groups of cars coming from all directions just to meld into a single line formation with one goal...to be first into the event! As we passed the Mini event staff, we were welcomed with an array of good mornings, smiles and waves. Then we entered the sea of Minis where we became one in a sea of many MINIs, where even the most stickered and graphic laden cars became unrecognizable from the others, I would glance back as I was leaving my car unsure if I would be able to locate my colorful car again.

As we started each day the people who I recognized from Facebook and other Internet club posts would filter past me, smiling at their friends and enjoying the food, 118 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

fun and activities so graciously provided for us by MINI corporate. We took to the road for the real fun of seeing all of the other cars look at us with wonder at the sheer number of our unique cars on the road. All along the driving route, people would stop their cars or come out of their homes their faces with large smiles, pointing, waving and taking pictures as if we were giving them their own private parade.

At the gas stations and other stops people would come up to us and ask us about our cars and the event, which we eagerly gushed about everything MINI. The evening events were a whirlwind of eating and reliving the events of the day, always seeing new faces.

After MTTS ended, for several days I felt as if I are running late and was sorrowful for the lost company of my friends. I would truly be in mourning if it weren’t for the pictures and news feeds reminding me of my fleeting days of joy!

Cindy Heinemann - Austin, TX.

Above: Godfrey was flying the MTTS flag! Below: A typical Cindy Facebook photo involves relaxing with her feet up, this one against her wrapped MINI POSH.

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 119

IT’S A

FAMILY

Words and photos by Craig Nelson

Words by Craig Nelson, photos by author and Ian Rae Wow, is this a dream? Nope, I just pinched myself! It’s taken months of planning, looking at routes, talking to friends, wondering what the full MINI Takes The States would be like, finding places to stay, finding a place for my dog Sam to stay, wondering if I should go (of course I should go), can I afford to go, I’m not going, hooray, I’m going. I’m ready to participate in MTTS 2016, an epic trip across the USA with nine hundred of my closest MINI friends (my MINI family), traveling 4,397 miles from ‘Track to Track’.

Leaving Dundee, NY, I’m traveling with friends Tanya & Ian Loomis heading down to the famous Tail of the Dragon in North Carolina. As I’m swiftly turning from right to left and left to right on the 318 curves of this 11-mile stretch, I’m thinking back to 2011 when my grandmother (NANDY) and I bought our first MINI (Rutgrr). Who would have thought that that MINI 120 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Affai

ir

Track to Track with my MINI family

would open the door to so many fun outings, new friends and Nandy saying every morning as she looked out the window, “There’s our MINI, we should go for a ride” (and that’s just what we did). Our MINI was our life, it was all we thought about, even my license plate says MINI4EVR. Upon finishing our drive thru the Dragon we met up with another eight MINIs. As I’m taking a group photo in front of the Dragon Sculpture with all of these smiling and waving MINI owners, I think about the I LOVE LUCY episode “California, Here We Come,” with Lucy, Ethel, Desi, and Fred singing as they drive across the George Washington Bridge out of NY. As we leave the Dragon our group of two MINIs has grown to ten MINIs and we are singing our way to Atlanta, Georgia!

I know Nandy would have loved to make this exciting trip so I brought her © MotorWerks Magazine - 121

and her twin sister, Leta along – one on each of the back seat windows so they could enjoy the trip across the USA with me.

Pulling into the Ponce Market in Atlanta with, Tanya & Ian Loomis, Ryan Snyder, Bill Wende, Dale & Mary Lynn Desjardins, Rob & Linda Weldon, Craig Harvey and his daughter Rebecca was totally amazing. There were hundreds of MINIs already there, people were cheering and waving as we went by. Once we parked, we registered and got our MINI goody bags. I connected with my travel partner, Jacques Côté. We enjoyed the market but most exciting was meeting new MINI friends, 122 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

including Gerhard and Paula (ironically he lived in Ithaca, NY as a boy and that is where I was born) and watching the opening performance by Collectif Coins “Child Hood” (those LED Helium musical balloons were incredible). By the time we arrived at our motel we were ready for a little relaxation and excited to begin our journey the next morning.

The alarm clock sounds, we collect our belongings and say goodbye to the first of many motels on our trip.

Time to wake up Stella (Jacques’ MINI) and Cooey, my new MINI (Cooey is a British/Aborigine word my Grandmother used to call out when she was trying to

attract our attention. How fitting, as that is just what MINIs do, they attract attention). Here we go, MTTS has officially started.

Photos Main: Ten MINIs meet up at The Dragon for the final run to Atlanta.

Top: Myself with fellow Towne MINI customer Tanya Loomis Middle: And the Best MINI Pit Crew Smiles for 2016 goes to Gubby Beckenstein and Anna Johnson!

Bottom: Steve Rosenblum will never lose his MINI, he has a photo on his cap, he asks have you seen my MINI

Above: Following my MINI family Jacques Côté and Tanya Loomis onto Charlotte Motor Speedway for our family history making laps, thank you MINI! © MotorWerks Magazine - 123

HELPING GRADS GET REAL-WORLD READY. Upcoming or recent grads can save $500 on a new or CPO MINI with the College Graduate Program from MINI Financial Services.1 Because standing out starts by not blending in.

For program details, talk to your MINI Dealer or visit MINIUSA.com/collegegrad.

MINI FINANCIAL SERVICES

1. Available exclusively through MINI Financial Services. Applicants must finance through MINI Financial Services and meet all requirements of the program to qualify for incentive. To qualify, applicants must have graduated from an accredited college or university with a doctorate, graduate, undergraduate or associate’s degree within the past 24 months, or be eligible for graduation within the next four months with verifiable offer of employment. Subject to credit approval. Rate based on credit scores. Offer may be combined with certain other offers. All new 2016 MINI models and all model CPO MINI Certified Pre-Owned models are included in this program. Program is also applicable to lease contract, under the same terms and conditions. Program subject to change without notice. Š 2016 MINI Financial Services, a division of BMW Financial Services NA, LLC. The MINI wordmark and logo are registered trademarks of BMW AG.

124 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

While driving to the Atlanta Motor Speedway we are joined by MINIs coming from all directions. It is crazy! Loved stopping for gas and having someone ask,” What’s going on with all the MINIs, is there a convention in town?”. Entering the track, there are MINIs in front of me, looking in my side mirror there’s a line of MINIs behind me, led by Blaze; driven by Kelli Creighton! The MINI Pit Crew is there greeting us with smiles, enthusiasm and flags directing us to Pit Row Parking.

Note to self; remember where you left Cooey since you are parked next to hundreds of MINIs. Steve had a photo of his MINI attached to his ball cap, what an ingenious idea.

Ok, the morning event - so much to do, so little time - register, remember route sheets, eat breakfast, hope they have MINI swag that will fit me, enter raffles, look for friends to

plan our route, take photos, find the bathroom, never mind, the line is too long, meet new people and then see what MINI has planned for us.

Breathe… What an amazing feeling to be part of such a HUGE MINI event. So much to do, so much to remember! What were their names?

EVERYONE to your MINIs!! In the distance, I hear a familiar voice say, “Hey Cuz”, so I turn and it’s my friends Norman and Jesse Nelson.

I met them back in 2014 on MTTS and we became great friends. Since we share the same last name, I said “good-bye Cuz”, as we left Boston in 2014 and they responded “See you again soon Cuz”. Got to love this MINI family.

While sitting in my MINI, I turned on my 2-way radio and hooked up a video camera to capture the excitement of the departure. Enjoyed talking to Colby and Mary Smith

next to me in a Countryman. They were asking about my grandmother’s photo; so nice to be able to share her story. Got out to ask Jacques a question and meet another nice couple, Ed and Camille Venners, they ask about my grandmothers photo from the other side of the MINI. MINIs start your engines.

Rolling past the MINI Crew and Execs as they give us a wonderful send off, I hear them comment about my license plate MINI4EVR and then my sponsor Towne MINI, saying they had the best event for MTTS 2014. Driving around Atlanta Motor Speedway and imagining the fans in the grand stands cheering you on, what an amazing feeling and honor to have the chance to drive a lap on this track. Leaving the track and city with a police escort and going straight through traffic lights is a crazy feeling. We all waved a

Grannie hanging with Jesse and the Nelson Boys in the Distillery parking lot with their MINIs © MotorWerks Magazine - 125

126 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Grannie and I are getting some inspirations before our trip, checking out the mural of the I LOVE LUCY episode ͞California, Here We Come,͟ with Lucy, Ethel, Desi, and Fred singing as they drive across the George Washington Bridge out of NY.This mural is in Jamestown, NY, Lucille Ball’s hometown. © MotorWerks Magazine - 127

thank you as we passed our escort.

Pulling over to wait for Jacques, Tanya, and Deborah, I discover there is a line for the bathroom here too!

We quickly zig-zagged across the backroads of America in a line of MINIs a mile long to destinations chosen by MINI. We stopped in the town where the Movie “My Cousin Vinnie” was filmed. While we were there I talked with Debbie Kosiba (glad to finally meet her in person) and her grandson Dominick gave us a nice friendship bracelet that he made to wear on our trip. Next we stopped in Ridgeway, SC, home to the world’s smallest police station and our Surprise and Delight, Laura’s Tea Room, took a great photo of

Laura and our favorite German friend Thomas Felbermair, Vice President, MINI Region of America.

Then we got great iced tea in MINI Value Services Cups. Oh, wait, I had this amazing piece of chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting, very yummy, thank you Laura.

At the NASCAR Hall of Fame event registration, I was greeted by Anna Johnson with “Hello Mr. Nelson”, I can’t believe she remembered me from 2014. She commented that she loved meeting me and my grandmother and then getting to hold her hand while taking pictures at the World’s Largest Pancake Griddle in Penn Yan, NY; that was one of her favorite memories from

128 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

2014. Wow, my MTTS is complete, thank you so much Anna for the wonderful memory to hang on too.

That’s why I love MINI, it brings so many people together in to one big happy family.

Now, the B&O Railroad Museum was super cool with the turnabout room for the trains of years gone by, making you feel like you just stepped back in time. It was great

#1 car at the NASCAR Hall of Fame was the MINI Value Services

to see our friends Tony and Barb from Canada there. Walking into the food area I suddenly had a feeling of being at MTTS 2014 Buffalo, similar setup and shelter area, felt like home for a minute.

People were laughing, dancing and telling stories of their day’s trip.

The food was delicious. Big Thank you to Raoul L. Frevel and his son from Atlantic Caterers, Inc. for feeding us so well at the evening event and then again at the

Camden Yards morning event, your food was fabulous.

A big thank you to the city of Baltimore for closing the highway for us so that we could leave your wonderful city in MINI style.

Heading to Pittsburgh, we found the amazing Mr. Ed’s Elephant & Candy Emporium and once again MINI Value Services outdid themselves by handing us an empty Chinese quart container to go and fill with candy from the store. All the candies from your childhood were here and

the store was full of candy crazed MINI enthusiasts. Over near the Big Elephant in the room were Sue and Ray Mosher, nice to see them. After walking out of there feeling like a kid again, we were off to Hallmark Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA. Wow, what an amazing view of the city of Pittsburgh. Here we caught up with friends from NY, Patti West, David Heath, Joe Amato, Rob & Diana Bond, Michele Brown, rumor has it, Ian Rae my new boss is here too.

Wonder if he is checking up on me? © MotorWerks Magazine - 129

Got a great photo of the MINI Pit Crew, Gubby Beckenstein and Anna Johnson after I registered.

We are at the Rise and Shine at the Meadows Racetrack & Casino in Washington, PA and hey, check out that horse on the track, his rider has an I Love NY t-shirt on! That’s

the Straw company and the cool soda straw. After leaving Lisbon, we traveled on the very exciting Route OH164; it felt like it was designed by the same people that made the soda straw that I received from Rob, of MINI Value Services, twist, turns and sharp curves. Hey can we do that

I thought those mirrors were to reflect what’s around the next corner, ha, I like this mirror, as it reflected Jacques, Craig and Jim very cool!

Photos Top: Luis Perocarpi was giving rides at M1 Concourse in Pontiac Ian Rae had Cooper RSR on the grid at M1 Concourse Tanya Loomis Bottom: Canada’s Chris Jav wants to tell people he is not cute? What else could it be?

so cool, if I were a betting man, I’d be betting on him. Great venue!

Got a photo of Lizzy Reyes wearing her Micky Mouse ears. Our MINIs took a over the small community of Lisbon, OH for the Surprise & Delight. There were MINIs parked everywhere, along the street, between trees, on sidewalks, and even in people’s lawns. The people of Lisbon where very happy to see us. Thanks to MINI Value Services for the nice history sheet about

130 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

again, just one more time, please!

Hey there goes Janet Hickman Ford and Bruce & Sue Nelson… they are going to do it again…. Go MINI….

MINI you sure outdid yourselves with our routes. At Food Truck Heaven at the Eastern Market in Detroit, my friend Ed and three others won Hot Lap rides around the M1 Concourse in Pontiac, MI with Luis A. Perocarpi in his LAP Motorsports MINI. Hey, look over there its Ian Rae, he’s here in Pontiac, what a huge

turnout of MINIs we have here.

This morning they showed us the fantastic new MINI se7en. Now we off for a lap on this new race track and then to St. Ignace for a night off to relax and reflect on all we have done so far. I stopped in Mackinaw City and Jacques went

Get The G-LOC

ADVANTAGE

as used by Team Octane, North America’s most successful MINI race team MotorWerks Magazine’s Project 335 and Cooper RSR James Houghton’s record setting and CSCS Championship winning Acura Integra Type R

to the Motel. When I got there I met Roger Miller who was washing his MINI during the rain storm and offered to do mine for forty bucks, Jacques and Pat Miller were on the balcony of the motel chuckling at our conversation. St. Ignace was very restful.

Rise and Shine at the Little Bear Arena was awesome! You want to know why? MINI Value Services was collecting the laundry from the track to track folks and cleaning it

© MotorWerks Magazine - 131

for us at no charge! Thank you very much. Now, you all remember that fun road we were on called OH164, well it wasn’t all fun for my friend Randy McNew because he received a Motoring Certificate and his wife Beth was not thrilled about that.

When they got to the arena, she put

him in the Penalty Box. This was the last photo he had taken on MTTS since they were going home that day. As we were leaving St Ignace Randy and Beth were taking photos us.

Hey, Mark Huber from Towne MINI, on our way to Green Bay, WI our surprise and delight was at

132 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

the Top of the Lake Snowmobile Museum in Naubinway, you would love this place! It is full of all kinds of snowmobiles, from kiddy snowmobiles to racing snowmobiles, looks like a possible vacation spot for you and your family. Thank you to MINI Value Services for the cool ice scrapper.

Arriving at Titletown Brewing Company in Green Bay, WI and

receiving the cool glass, seeing all the MINIs, watching our friends dancing and enjoying everything about the venue was a great experience. The food was really good and so was the beer from what I hear. Going to the roof and hanging with new friend John and overlooking the Green Bay view was great too.

Today, at the Brown County Fairgrounds Rise and Shine Grannie and I got our photographs taken along with Cooey by the MINI

Photographer. I spoke to a MINI writer and loved talking about my copilot, whom I miss greatly. It will be interesting to see where they use the photographs and story.

Another great drive and a very cool stop at Kathy’s Drive-In (or thru) ice cream shop. Kudos to MINI Crew Members, especially Matt, for directing all those MINIs in dual lines in that hot sun. Glad I had an ice cold bottle of water I could share with you. Hey, there are Marcia and Alan Rosner in the

MINI next to me waiting for their ice cream treat. Back on the road with Jacques, Deborah Kutch and Bill Wende we drive thru the town of Nelson (good name) and stopped for a photo with the town sign, thanks everyone, big smile! Next stop is the International Market Square Atrium in Minneapolis, MN. What an amazing architectural venue we are in. The food is a trip, everything is on a STICK, mac & cheese, meatloaf,

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 133

fruit, chocolate dipped rice crispy treats, chocolate covered bacon, and s’mores. The entertainment is

by Kat Perkins and everyone loved her performance. Caught up with friends Mary and Colby Smith and the Loomis family. Excuse me while I get another meatloaf on a stick, they are awesome!

The next morning at Canterbury Park the skies are amazing after the thunderstorms from the night before. Today the track to track group received our fresh clean laundry, thank you so, so much MINI Value Services, you are all AWESOME! On our drive today towards Sioux Falls, SD we found the prairie and a lot of large grain silos. Had the night to ourselves so we visited the sculptures downtown, met with Tanya, Ian and Steve Loomis for dinner and then went to Sioux Falls Park.

After leaving Sioux Falls we came across the strange world at Porters Sculpture Park; now I know where those scary and bizarre characters come from in my dreams… thank you, moving on. Down the road we

find the Corn Palace and meet up with Thelma and Louise, cool place, popcorn anyone? We are on the road again! Stopping at Al’s Oasis, Jacques gets his photo taken with a rather large Buffalo before we go inside to check out things and get something to eat. Our next stop is the 1880’s Town. This place is really cool, Jacques and I went into the saloon and while I was reading a poster I turned to say something to Jacques and he wasn’t there.

Now where did he go? There was a fake table a gamblers and he was sitting with them holding cards and fit right in! Funny! We got a drink, I got a Ginger Beer called Cock & Bull, should have just had a shot of Whiskey it would have been smoother. We came stumbling out of the saloon and made our way back to our MINIs. Hit the road again, destined for the Badlands and on the way Thelma and Louise joined us! Upon entering the Badlands, we stopped to read about the area and take some photos. I got a good photo of Thelma and Louise out on some incredible rocky formations

134 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

CONFIDENCE.

PureContactTM

ExtremeContactTM DWS ExtremeContactTM DW

Continental has engineered over 30 Original Equipment performance tires that specifically meet the world class standards of BMW.

ContiSportContactTM 3 ContiSportContactTM 5

CONTINENTALTIRE.CA © MotorWerks Magazine - 135

and we hopped in our MINIs and drove the wonderful twisty roads through the Badlands. We saw a lot of wildlife, including prairie dogs and great horned goats. Driving to the top of the Badlands I passed Christina Kroner and Nick Grisanti and got a good wave and smile as I went by. We could see a storm in the distance so we decided to get moving. We drove through heavy horizontal rain that reminded me of snow storms in NY. Finally got to Sturgis, got great souvenirs and food here, met Nancy Homer and took a lot of good photos outside. Too bad our drive was so long today with the storm because Sturgis was the one place I really wanted to check out. Just too many fun places to see today and not enough time to do everything. I’m finding that a lot on this trip. This sure is a learning tool

for 2018.

Going to Mount Rushmore was awesome. I’ve always wanted to go see it and to see it up close is awe inspiring. And now, since cousin Norman Nelson took my photo with the presidents it’s even better. We had a nice breakfast at the Mt Rushmore Café and the manager came over and thanked Jacques and I for visiting all the way from NY. She was a very nice lady and I got a great picture of her and Jacques.

On our way out to the garage I met Veronica Young and she was going to Deadwood (that’s another place I had hoped to see). I talked to Jacques and he thought it was a great idea, so we were off to see Deadwood. We visited there a while then got back on the road to go to CarHenge, great place and story.

At the Rise and Shine at Cheyenne’s

136 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Depot we found our ring leader decked out in cowboy gear, that’s right our German friend Thomas Felbermair, Vice President, MINI Region of America, is the all-German American Cowboy! He announced that we have passed our 800,000 meal goal for #defyHunger, we are actually over 1,000,000, now isn’t that truly awesome. Let’s try to make it to 1,300,000 meals by Palms Springs. Our morning announcer, Desiree Ramos, was dressed in her cowgirl gear and posed next to the big cowboy boot for me.

The Rocky Mountain Raceway Rise and Shine was pretty warm, pun intended, nothing like burning up a perfectly good vehicle for the entertainment of 1000 of MINI owners. I think I got a suntan from the heat that Jet Powered rocket car put out and was glad I was standing

with my non driving side directed towards the car. Next we travelled through the beautiful Zion National Park. Boy, if you had the time you could spend days here; maybe for MTTS 2018 we can just do laps around this beautiful park. It’s Heavenly here. Saw so many things I’ve only seen in books or on TV. Thank you MTTS for bringing us past this piece of the earths beauty.

Getting to Vegas just in time to see my friends get married and eighteen other couples from our group renew

their vows was priceless. They had their services at the Little White Wedding Chapel Drive Thru, when it was time for the 18 couples to renew their vows they all drove their MINIs thru the chapel. Jacques and I stayed at the Excalibur and were hoping to go to their show but we didn’t have enough time.

We left Vegas in MINI style, a line of MINIs miles long, waving all the way. Travelling on old Route 66 and stopping at Cools Springs was quite picturesque. Then we

continued on for the drive of a life time… scary, crazy, and exciting all at the same time with twists, turns and the high elevation. When it finally plateaus and you step out of your MINI you aren’t sure if you jump for joy because you made it alive or because you want to do it again. Traveling across the desert I found myself on a sometimes lonely highway. At one time I thought I caught a glimpse of a MINI in the distance but it was a mirage. Coming into Lake Havasu, I caught up with

my fellow MINIacs and stopped off for lunch at Topock 66. Next, we were off towards Palm Springs as the temperature reached a scorching 120 degrees!

Well, it’s a bittersweet morning knowing that MTTS was ending at the Thermal Raceway. I was reflecting back on all the amazing parts of this trip, people met, places seen and most importantly the sense of family within this wonderful group of MINI enthusiasts. Thanks to all that I had the chance to meet the

memories will last a lifetime. Thanks to Mike Bober from That MINI Show for all the amazing aerial shots of our MINIs at the Rise and Shines, you are awesome my brother and I enjoyed sharing the twisty roads of America with you. It’s my last lap of MTTS 2016. As I’m getting on this amazing track the flagger says “try to keep all 4 wheels on the pavement, I don’t want to see any dirt in the sky”.

“Alright!” Jacques and I went out together following a professional driver. Thank you very much, it was a great fun drive. Super way to end an amazing MTTS track to track adventure with 900 of my MINI friends and family.

MINI is my life, as my license plate says… MINI4EVR. Thank you MINI for opening the door to these wonderful events and bringing new friends and family into my life. I can’t wait for MTTS 2018!

Craig Nelson is the newest member of staff at MotorWerks Magzine as the East Coast Editor. This was his first start to finish MTTS and he thouroughly enjoyed it as can be seen by his article.

Craig lives in Dundee, NY, almost within shouting distance of the famed Watkins Glen International racetrack and is a huge part of organizing the MINIs at The Glen event which celebrates the opening day at the former Formula 1 track located in the New York Finger Lakes Region.

Craig will be bringing us articles from the East Coast specializing in MINI events. © MotorWerks Magazine - 137

Gotta Say Thanks!

When Ian Rae asked me to write something about MTTS that stuck in my mind it was really quite an easy choice. Although we had driven over 5000 miles and had seen so many wonderful places, the one thing that sticks out the most is when my 2004 Cooper S, Pooper blew out the number two spark plug on our way from Cheyenne WY to Park City UT. This was the third MTTS for Pooper and the second time crossing the whole country. We had done a partial drive on the first MTTS back in 2006 and then went all the way in 2014 and 2016. Pooper had performed flawlessly every time even with several performance modifications and being lowered. He has been a real trooper. We had him completely checked out at our local MINI Dealer, Niello MINI in Sacramento before we shipped him back to Atlanta, so we were confident he was in “tip-top” condition.

Pooper performed great along the journey

Words by Norman Nelson, photos by Jesse Nelson, Peter Iannaco with any issues, that is until we left Cheyenne WY. It was Day 12, July 20 2016. We had just had our morning Rise & Shine at the Depot Plaza in Cheyenne and set out for our 420 mile journey to Park City, UT along I-80. Cheyenne sits at 6062 feet altitude and we would be climbing as we headed west. The speed limit was 75 mph and we were driving in a group of six Minis. Without saying too much, we try to keep to within five to seven mph over the limit so that we don’t

MINI owners are family!

138 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

have any troubles with the highway patrol. Just was we left Cheyenne and started our climb, I could feel I little intermittent misfire. My service engine light was on, but that was nothing new for us. But soon that slight intermittent miss became more noticeable and I started having troubles keeping speed.

It was only a few miles on the road, near Buford at about 8000 feet altitude when the Service Engine light started flashing and we went into limp mode. We found an exit

and a place to park. I got out my code reader and checked codes, cleared them and thought we were good to go. I started Pooper back up but as I was accelerating up the ramp onto the freeway I felt the problem again. We re-checked codes and all but wasn’t able to clear the problem.

That is when I called the MINI Roadside Service 800#. MINI USA had done some great planning for all of our service needs. They had service techs following the group and they were dispatched to come help us. I really have to hand it to MINI for this. We were stuck out in a remote part of Wyoming. Buford has a population of one and its claim to fame is that it is “the highest populated settlement along the First Transcontinental Railroad”. When they say “highest populated” that doesn’t mean the most people but the highest altitude at 8,000 ft.

I soon got a call from the service tech who was in route and he told me where he was and how long he thought it would take to get there.

We discussed what was wrong. As I learned many years ago, I had written down all the code numbers so I was able to give him that data and a pretty good description of what I had experienced what engine mods Pooper had. This gave him a pretty good picture of what was going on. It wasn’t but a few short minutes and he arrived. Pulled out

his laptop, plugged it into Pooper and went to work. He explained to me what he was doing, what he was finding, and how he was correcting the problem As it ended up, we had done most of the correct things with our code reader. But he told me that we needed to shut down Pooper and

let him sit for at least ten minutes and then restart. That was like “rebooting” him. Well we did that and the problem cleared.

Back on the road we went. He had said that because of my performance mods and “chipping” the DME, I should keep Pooper at a lower speed as the altitude could affect him again. I told the rest of our group to “motor-on” and we would catchup along the way. All was going smoothly as we passed Laramie which sits at 7165 feet and we kept plugging along at about seventy mph.

Soon though we were getting low on fuel and hungry so we stopped at the Love’s Truck Stop in Wamsutter, WY for fuel and got a Subway sandwich to munch on. We were now 189 miles outside of Cheyenne and about 231 miles from our next

stop in Park City, UT. As we accelerated up the on ramp getting back onto I-80…..”POP” and Pooper just lost most all power. I knew instantly we had a problem. I pulled over to the side and jumped out to investigate. Popped the bonnet and there was the #2 spark plug sitting on top of the valve cover with the lead wire still attached. I hoped for the best but figured the worst.

I again called MINI Roadside Service. This time they were about 100 miles away so we knew it would take some time. As we sat roadside, I inspected the plug and it didn’t look too bad. The threads were not badly damaged. I tried to get the plug rethreaded back into the head but was unable to do it. I tried several times, but with no success. I then thought that I would pull #1 plug and see if I could get that to thread into the #2 spark plug hole. Didn’t work either and that’s when I knew we had a more serious problem. The thread had given out and blown the plug right out of the head. This was not going to be a roadside repair.

We must have had nearly one hundred fellow MINIacs stop and ask if we needed help while we waited at the roadside. That was a great feeling. MINI folks are the BEST. Some stopped and offered tools.

Our good friends TJ and Kris Matsuba stopped. When they realized what the situation was they © MotorWerks Magazine - 139

offered to drive us the next 240+ miles to our hotel. So we emptied Pooper of all the stuff we would need that night and put in their Minis. Luckily they were driving two Minis so there was enough room.

This time both MINI Service techs arrived to help. It did not take long for them to come to the same diagnosis and order out a tow truck.

They called and had a truck on its way telling us to get on our way and they would stay with Pooper. I thought that was above and beyond and told them I would stay, but they insisted. When the tow truck arrived they got Pooper loaded but the tow truck driver wanted to take Pooper to the “nearest” dealer, which meant back to Cheyenne some 190 miles in the wrong direction. Our MINI techs said NO that we were headed to Park City and directed them to take Pooper MINI of Murray in Murray UT just outside Salt Lake City. This was 300 miles in the RIGHT direction.

MINI USA and the service techs took care of everything.

From TJ’s Mini I called ahead to let MINI of Murry know that Pooper was on his way and what the problem was. They were great. They kept in contact and took down my number and knew where we were staying.

Pooper ended up arriving sometime after 9:00 p.m. that night. The MINI of Murray service crews were still working taking care of others who had experienced misfortunes.

TJ & Kris dropped us off at our hotel and we walked to a local store and then got dinner. We awoke early and called MINI of Murray for an update.

They had called in one of their service techs that had experience in fixing this type of damage. He came in early and got right to work on Pooper. I had feared that I would need a new cylinder head and that would take a long time, that we would need to rent a car, finish MTTS and then return back to MINI of Murray at a later date to pick up Pooper. We also feared what this would cost.

Well we got a call around 11:00 am

that Pooper was fixed and ready to pick up. We called Uber and got a ride to MINI of Murray. Its about 60 miles and we were there by 12:00 am. Pooper was just being pulled out of the service bay. Jesse & I were thrilled and relieved.

We left MINI of Murray about 1:00 p.m. and headed for Las Vegas, about four hundred miles down the road. Pooper ran great and we were able to catch up with everyone that evening.

We ended up putting on about 1200 more miles on Pooper before reaching home in Shasta CA. Now all is good and he is running fine.

I am proud to say that if it wasn’t for MINI USA, its Roadside Service, the travelling Service Techs and MINI of Murray we would had been in big trouble. They all went out of their way to make sure we were back on the road again. MINI USA did a great job planning the entire event, but having Roadside Service available was a life saver. Thanks guys!

Pooper is seen here on his 2014 MTTS adventure is now back to normal and firing on all cylinders!

140 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 141

‘K how m

www.hea

‘Fresh from SEMA' STREET SMARTWIRE POWER MODULE Add the electronic automation of late model vehicles to your early model BMW or MINI untilizing the programming and flexibility of the Street SmartWire.

Pro labeled wiring harness and pre-programmed for street functions. 30 Outputs, 12 Hard Wired Inputs, 125 Amps total output.

500-KT-SWST

IQ3S STREET DASH More than a digital dash, the IQ3S is a complete replacement on your factory dash cluster providing visuals for standard road features like speed, turn signals, fuel level, high beam, parking brake, odeometer and much more. Can display up to 28 channels on four pages. Optional GPS module to display speed without mechanical speed input.

250-DS-IQ3S

: : : : : :

System Design System Sales System Installs At Track Support Team Seminars Dash and Smartwire Programming

- MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

2 142 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Knowledge is Power much can you handle?’

adsupracer.com

(905) 467-5148

G2X PRO

The top of the line road race datalogger.

Monitors up to 71 channels with GPS track mapping. Utilises the Racepak V-Net Technology

600-KT-G2X-PRO

OBD II INTERFACE

IQ3 LOGGER DASH Integral datalogger and dash with 42 channel capability and GPS track mapping. With sequential shift lights.

Gather OBD II data from your car and display or record the data.

230-VM-OBDII

250-DS-IQ3LD

G2X

SMARTWIRE RACE

Best for sportsman road race datalogging. 18 V-Net channels with 4 internal channels provide an excellent entry level unit.

A Power Control Module that eliminates relays and much wiring in your race car. You program functions using inputs from your datalogger.

600-KT-G2XR (with MNI dash) 500-KT-SW30

: G2X datalogger with MINI dash rental : Purchase within 2 months and your rental fee is applied to your purchase price. : OBDII interface rental : Laser ride height sensor rental © MotorWerks Magazine - 143- 3 © MotorWerks Magazine

Words and photos by Ian Rae 144 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

NEW PARTS, NEW LOOK

© MotorWerks Magazine - 145

There is nothing quite like fitting new parts to your car to make you feel good! In my case it was just in time for taking a short trip to two stops on MINI Takes The States.

We got CooperRSR all gussied up and ready to unveil its new look at the Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh and it was in the trailer and heading south. So what was new? It was three things and all of them revolved around unsprung weight.

During our trip to the Performance Racing Industry show in Indianapolis last year one of our stops was to see the guys from Powerbrake. This long established company out of South Africa was setting up shop in the USA and they walked me through a selection of their products and I was impressed with what I saw and the fact that they are a racing brake manufacturer first who also do fast street/track day brakes rather than the other way round. In fact, they were working on a new

caliper, the X4ES and that would be perfect for Cooper RSR, so I got even more intrigued. Plus, if I wanted to continue running on the street I could as the X-Line calipers all feature internal wiper seals, making them suitable for long term street use as well as a daily driver or weekend track day car.

In fact, after doing a bit of research over the Christmas holiday I found out that Powerbrake had replaced a well-known European brand of brakes on the BMW Super Production Car team cars competing in the premier A-Class of the Bridgestone Production Car National Championship race series in South Africa a few years back. After fitting the Powerbrake system to the first factory car, the team reported significant gains in brake performance and durability.

They immediately ordered the same Powerbrake system for the second car in the team. The team

146 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

remained Powerbrake customers for the six years that they ran in the race series. Many race wins and a National Championship in 2014 proved that they had made the right choice.

MINI would then join the Bridgestone Super Production Car series and they also chose Powerbrake as their brake system supplier based on the success that the BMW team had. Other teams in South Africa’s premier sedan race series using Powerbrake systems included: Nissan, Opel, Renault and VW. Many of these teams chose to run Powerbrake because they are a bespoke brake system manufacturer working closely with teams to improve the overall brake package. Powerbrake has brought all of its race experience into designing the products they manufacture for street and track day use; during the caliper design process the designs are optimized for maximum strength and rigidity using finite element analysis (FEA), they are machined from solid billet aerospace-grade aluminum and then the calipers, hats & brackets are mil-spec type-3 hard anodized for max durability and wear resistance.

But before I gave them the nod to get started on production there was one important thing I had to take care of. Would the brakes fit under the new custom GS1R wheels Forgeline Motorsports was going to build for me? I forwarded a copy of the brake dimension drawing and the brake kit wheel fitment template to Forgeline’s Steve Schardt and he got with their CAD/FEA whiz Todd La Rue who with a few key strokes gave us the big thumbs up. Considering

that these two sets were to be the world’s first four lug GS1R wheels it ended a little bit more complex than that but the good news was the brakes and wheels would have no clearance issues.

The Big Brake Kit that had been specified for Cooper RSR uses the newest addition to the X-Line caliper range the X4ES as mentioned above. What impressed me was being included in the process of selecting the right kit for the use intended. They never said, “This is the R53 BBK” and that was it. “What is the car going to be used for? Is it track only? Will it see any road time?” These are all things that go with them selecting the proper pad to go with the system.

The correct race, track day or fast road brake pad selection to go with the Big Brake Kit is vital to make sure that it meets the needs of the drivers intended use. Considering their extensive experience from the brake dyno and on car testing program they run, the Powerbrake guys go into a lot of detail to make sure that the correct pads/compounds are specified for the customer’s brake kit. The calipers are also designed that brake pads are standard backing plate profiles and available from most reputable high performance brake pad manufacturers around the world.

For the Mini application the Powerbrake big brake kit comes with 325mm (12.78”) x 25mm rotors, another plus to Powerbrake systems is they come with heat paint on the rotors so you can get accurate & direct data as to how hot the rotors are getting.

The calipers also come with a brake temperature indicating labels installed as another check on the temperatures the brake kit is seeing. The brake kit has all the components needed for fitment, so fitting it to the car is easy but we will have an article covering the installation in a future issue, let’s move on to the next ‘New Part’ the wheels.

Forgeline Motorsports have been around for quite a few years, started by Steve Schardt and run by his twin brother David while he toiled in the hydraulic industry. The duo now work side by side building America’s finest custom forged wheels. And as if they needed backup their father Jim who himself owned Dayton Wire Wheel is always around or available at the end of a phone line.

I have to admit I knew there were various ways to build a wheel but never really understood the

The kit comes with the caliper, caliper bracker, pads, braided brake line, pad pins and clips and some spare pins and clips.

A two-piece 325 mm rotor comes with temperature paint to help make sure the brakes are not getting overheated

The 2-Piece floating discs feature Powerbrake’s proprietary SASS floating technology that delivers full-floating functionality along with zero piston knock-back and quiet operation if used on street. © MotorWerks Magazine - 147

148 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

difference other than costs. Steve has educated me to say the least and I try to do the same to others.

Too many times have I heard, “I can buy three or four wheels for the cost one forged wheel” and I probably subscribed to that thought process pre Steve Schardt. The important thing that I see people missing when thinking along these lines is that replacing a damaged wheel when it cracks is okay when you catch it before anything catastrophic happens. What if you launch the car off a curb and the barrel of the wheel decides to separate from the center? You may get lucky or you may end up being pitched into a series of rolls or head on into a guardrail. Your car is now history and no amount of affordable cast wheels is going to bring it back.

Originally I had looked at the GA3R wheel which is a three-piece wheel but that was a no go as the MINI wheels are only attached by four lugs, not the more common five.

The center could not be machined to accommodate the four lug pitch circle diameter. So the next choice was the GA1R similar to what I run on my road-going BMW 335i. But then along came the new GS1R wheel that is now so popular in IMSA and Pirelli World Challenge. Our GS1R actually look a bit different due to the machining required to suit the four lugs and I love the look.

We chose one set to be Super Wet White to contrast with the Chili Red of Cooper RSR and another set in Transparent Red to showcase one of the really cool finishes that Forgeline offer to make your custom wheels stand out from the rest.

Once I had the okay on the brake

package I started discussing the spec of the wheels with Steve. In a 17” diameter the narrowest width available is 8.5” so I chose that to work with the slicks we were getting from NA Tires. Next the offset had to be finalized and this is where things can get interesting if you do not pay enough close attention. Back when I installed the Hot Bits Sports Suspension coilovers I had to add a 10mm spacer for the standard MINI S-Spokes to clear the spring perch. People tend to forget the spring perch is lower on a coilover where on a standard strut it tends to project above the tire. So I

gave Steve all the measurements, wheel ET, spacer width and the clearance I wanted and Forgeline came up with an offset of ET18 for the wheels. Remember, there is no point getting custom wheels built and then having to add spacers to make them fit, that defeats one of the purposes. Another reason for the custom wheels is making them light, which is not a big deal when you compare them to the S-Spokes but as we all know unsprung weight is king in racing. Schardt was actually a little disappointed as he wanted the wheels to come in a bit lighter

but the unique design of the four lug center prevented that. So what did they weigh? Well I was over the moon as I set them on the scales and they came in at 18.5 pounds; not bad for a 8.5”x17” forged wheel; they got a big thumbs up from me.

Part three of the puzzle were the tires and like when we selected Powerbrake we went for a foreign manufacturer who was now coming into North America with their product line. My good friend Eric Nummelin had run the tires last year in a 3-hour enduro and the tires had performed impeccably and he won the race with his ex-World Challenge Ford Cougar. I met the principals at the PRI show and they were a great bunch of guys. We talked and the decision was made to put Cooper RSR on their NA Carrera slicks as well. I chose the 8x24.5-17 size. As the side walls would be perfectly shaped for the 8.5” wide GS1R rims.

At the time of writing they have only seen a slow lap around the new M1 Concourse in Pontiac, MI. during MTTS. My number one reason for choosing these tires is because they require no suspension adjustment to get the maximum out of the tire. That is right, drive it off the street and bolt on the slicks and they work. So no more driving with a compromised suspension setup. This is great for track day junkie that make up the majority of our readers. Make sure you check the following article from Eric that explains this a bit more in detail.

In the next issue we will have an on-track update with the results of these changes.

© MotorWerks Magazine - 149

150 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 151

Words by Norm Nelson, photos by Ian Rae

g n i c u d o r t In

SHORTY

This article is VERY short because that is what our Editor Ian Rae wanted. This is the story of my wife Jesse and I adding another Mini to our stable. The thing is, I was in the dark about it.

Our Scottish friend Chris Knox sent us a photo of a “Shorty Mini” that was for sale in Scotland. Jesse took immediate interest and began to inquire about it, e-mails and text messages were followed by photos

152 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

whereupon Jesse sent over a deposit unbeknown to me. She just said “Honey I just bought a Mini Shorty in Scotland, what do I do?” Well I said you bought it, you figure it out.

I was of course kidding but had to

Y

give her a bit of a hard time just for the fun of it.

Well within a few days we had located a transport/import company and had figured a way to get it to the USA. With a lot of help from

Chris we were able to get “Shorty” from Scotland to a warehouse near London and close to the loading docks. Within a few weeks we had a shipping date and had to have Shorty crated in wood, then loaded

into a container.

We both were excited to add Shorty to our collection and started to think of how we would theme him; those of you who know us know all our cars are customized to a specific © MotorWerks Magazine - 153

theme. Shorty is bright yellow so the color dictated our search for a theme. We began to think of the Beatles “Yellow Submarine”, Lemoncello, Minions, Sunkist, and many more. We posted on Facebook asking for ideas and many friends chimed in. Then our good friend Sherri Bennett came up with Chiquita as in the banana company.

We loved that idea as it gave us plenty of ideas for accessories.

In our business, I had worked with Chiquita Banana with their power generators that were located in Costa Rica and Panama. We furnished them parts and services for over twenty-five years. I thought, well I just might call them and ask if it would be OK to use their logo. We

made some calls and I got ahold of the right people in marketing.

We sent them a photo of our Shorty along with photos of our other themed classic Minis so they would get the idea of what we were up to. We got a call back quickly and a conference call set up to discuss.

Within a short few days we had a three-year agreement to use and market the Chiquita brand including logos. We will be taking “Shorty”, now “Chiquita” to their annual meeting, grand openings and trade shows.

So those of you who were puzzled about Ian Rae calling me the ‘Big Banana’ on Facebook, it was his play on words for the ‘Big Kahuna’ knowing nobody would reference

154 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Banana with Chiquita. It is a huge honor for us to work with a company like Chiquita Brands and it will also give the Mini fans out there something to get excited about.

We are currently working with our good friend Jason Blake of Sign A Rama in Redding on coming up with a rendering that will work both for Chiquita and Jesse and I. Jason has done a lot of sigh work for our cars and other cars within the Shasta Minis Club. He does such a great job we are looking forward to to what he dreams up for Shorty, oops, sorry Chiquita.

So keep an eye out for the BIG (or small) Banana in your town soon.

Make & Model: Morris Mini Minor First Registered: 03 March 1964

Engine: 848cc A-Series Overall length: 86 inches Wheelbase: 50 inches (Std 80 inches) (Std 120 inches)

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 155

Here at NA Tires we believe that your success is our success. We want you to win and now we are going to reward your success with our new NA Tires Winners Rewards Program.

If you win or make the podium in any race in the United States or Canada using our tires you are eligible collect a credit that can be applied to your next set of tires.

Winners Rewards Program.

1st - $300 Credit 2nd - $200 Credit 3rd - $100 Credit

To qualify for the Winners Rewards Program you must provide NA Tires with a photo of your car with the NA Tires logo and results from an accredited North American sanctioning body.

To recieve this discount you agree to run NA Tires and two of our logos in a prominent position on your car

* * WINNERS REWARD PROGRAM * * 156 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Change Coming for Track day Tires ?

Let me start with, “yep the motorsports world is changing”.

When I started in motorsports, the only way you could get on track was with dedicated race machines. The rollcages, harnesses, fire systems and rock hard suspensions made cars that were just unpleasant to drive. It was all about going as fast as possible, beating that other guy and winning the race. Yes, it was all about competition.

Today, things are far different. Sure there still is a large racing group, but there is a far larger group that partakes of their motorsports excitement in a very different way.

These people are in it mainly for the Sport. Almost every day, Track

Day participants can be found on racetracks across the world. They are using their high performance cars in a safe, controlled and legal way. These people enjoy the sporting side of motorsports and have very different needs as compared to the Racers.

The average Track Day Enthusiast uses a “Dual Duty” car. This means that the car sees everyday use on the street as well as on track blasting. This doesn’t mean that the cars are slower than dedicated race cars, the new BMW M4 has well over 400 HP and weighs around 1500 kgs. This is a rocket in anybody’s book and runs laptimes as fast or faster than many dedicated race

cars.

What a track day enthusiast is usually looking for in a tire, is a fast, durable and flexible tire that provides consistent response and feedback. They would like a tire that minimizes the changes to your daily driver and just swap on the track tires to go lapping. Up until now, the choices of tires has been limited to R- Compound Street Tires that are a hybrid competition tire and full out high wear racing slicks.

Both of these types of tires require camber, caster and toe settings that are far too aggressive for street use, so drivers of these dual duty cars have been forced to pay hundreds of dollars annually to set up their © MotorWerks Magazine - 157

cars with track alignments, only to swap back to street alignments after their on track experience.

A new player in the track day and club racing marketplace is NA Tires USA. They supply a well established brand of competition tires, from South America, to the North American consumer. What makes these race tires different is that they are based on an Advanced Bias Ply Construction and use modern rubber compounds. Most track day participants have never tried a bias ply tire as the street world has gone almost completely over to radial construction tires. That was mostly for fuel economy reasons and reduction in cost of tire manufacture. The Bias Ply Tire offers a lot of advantages that make them perfect for track day use. First, these tires require no alignment changes from a street alignment set up. A great starting point would be all Zero’s. Zero Toe, Zero Camber and as close to zero as you can set your Caster. Zero in this case is what you would run on the street as you still need the steering to self-center. This means that the tires contact patch is maximized for acceleration and braking, as compared to the heavily cambered radial track camber settings. These alignment settings reduce component wear and allow the suspension to work within ranges that the factory engineers intended. No need to purchase expensive Camber/ Caster Plates or other aftermarket alignment pieces. Secondly, these tires offer fantastic driver feedback with great slip angles allowed. No more, “ I’ve got it, got it, nope” and off the track backwards in a cloud of smoke. With a Bias Ply, the good driver can feel the threshold better and keep the car there longer.

It offers far more consistent laptimes with better driver feedback in the corners. And finally, as the Bias Ply tire does not require Steel or Kevlar belts to keep the contact surface flat on the ground, the tires are far lighter. Almost 20% lighter for the same size tire which offers benefits in acceleration, braking and tire wear as the rotational mass is reduced.

In Club Racing classes that have open race slick choice, many competitors still compete and win on Bias Ply Racing Slicks that are manufactured by many race tire manufacturers alongside their radial construction street tires. Finally, the Track Day participant who is bringing a track only set of tires with them can now enjoy the same benefits that the NA Tires racers enjoy in a durable and cost effective tire with a specific compound targeting Track Day use. NA Tires USA products are available 158 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

through their website at www.natiresusa.com. Try a set for your next set of track day tires. I expect you will be very pleased with the results.

Above: MotorWerks Magazine’s Cooper RSR runs our 8x24.5-17 slick tires.

Above: Nummelin Motorsport use NA Carrera tires on three of it’s fleet

DriViNG PASSiON

MOD. 27 CUT

SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR ENDURANCE GT RACING, THE MOD 30 HAS A 320MM DIAMETER WITH ANATOMIC GRIP TO ENHANCE CAR CONTROL. THE FLAT BOTTOM DESIGN IS IDEAL FOR QUICK DRIVER CHANGES IN ENDURANCE RACING. THE MOD 30 IS AVAILABLE IN SUEDE WITH OR WITHOUT THE THUMB HORN BUTTONS.

A GREAT ACCESSORY FOR A WIDE RANGE OF MOMO RACING STEERING WHEELS ALLOWING A PERSONALIZED POSITIONING OF ADDITIONAL TOGGLE SWITCHES AND BUTTONS. 100% CARBON. 2.5mm THICKNESS, THE CARBON PLATE IS PREDRILLED FOR EASY INSTALLATION SANDWICHED BETWEEN THE HUB AND STEERING WHEEL.

POPULAR FOR ITS DSHAPE, THE MOD 27 PROVIDES EXTRA LEG CLEARANCE GIVING ADDITIONAL COMFORT WHILE RACING. ITS ANATOMIC GRIP WHEEL SECTION AND ITS TWO DIAMETER OPTIONS  270mm AND 290mm  CONTRIBUTES TO OPTIMUM COMFORT ENHANCING DRIVING PERFORMANCE. THE MOD 27 IS ALSO AVAILABLE WITH A TOP CUT VERSION FOR ECU/LCD DASH INSTALLATION.

To find out more about MOMO Tuning and Racing products visit our website

www.momousa.com contact us at: Toll Free: 1 (800) 749 - MOMO - info@momousa.com

MOMOMOTORSPORT

© MotorWerks Magazine - 159

o y K w o n S No t f i r D

160 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Words and photos by Ian Rae,

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 161

A smiling JoĂŤl Leva c

Tra

Frederic Dorais and MINI Canada put on a great event. Thanks guys!

Eva

162 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

acey Rice loved it!!

an Ezewski, “It’s my turn”

Back in 2015 MINI Canada held their first Snowkyo Drift event where local Indycar racer James Hinchcliffe came along as the celebrity instructor and gaves rides around a snow covered track in Orangeville, north of Toronto. The 2016 version was scheduled to provide even more excitement with Quebecois duo Joël Levac and Stéphanie Lewis bringing their extremely rare MINI Countryman John Cooper Works WRC to the Country Heritage Park hust outside of Milton, ON. Unfortunately the mild 2016 winter in Ontario did not co-operate and suddenly a warm spell hit and by event time on the Sunday most of the snow had disappeared from the facility. However that did not stop Levac showing what the WRC MINI could do. Many of the attendant MINIacs’ faces showed signs of trepidation before climbing aboard the Gulf and Diplom tico Rum sponsored MINI; not knowing what to expect. However after extracting themselves from the tight confines of the navigators seat and removing the required helmet and mandatory neck restraint their faces told a different story, one that showed many the facets of the ride were now firmly stored in their memory banks.

I arrived early to ensure I got the whole picture of the day. Levac and Lewis and their able crew don’t do things in halves. This event was treated like every other outing by Levac Motorsport and first order of the day was to erect the trailer awning. Preparing the MINI to make runs is also a bit more of a process than just strapping in and pushing the starter button. The high strung MINI/BMW motor needs to be prepared and started following a proven schedule to ensure it will perform at it’s best once it reaches operating temperature. The power steering has to be primed in a certain way ensuring an errant rock at the side of the stage will not damage the quick ratio rack. But when it was ready to rock it did so in a way that demanded equal attention from the driver and the crowd of MINI fans.

As things wrapped up for the day Levac had this to say, “MINI’s are exceptional cars and our rally version is just one of kind! Seeing people have so much fun in the co-driver seat at MINI Canada’s Snowkyo Drift makes it all worth it!”

So capping it all, even with the lack of snow the event was a huge success. Well done MINI Canada and Levac Motorsport, I and countless MINIacs had a blast.

á

© MotorWerks Magazine - 163

WRC SPEC SHEET Built by: Bore / stroke: Power (max): Torque (max) : Transmission:

Prodrive 83.0 mm / 73.8 mm 315 hp (232 kW) at 6,200 rpm 425 Nm at 5,000 rpm Four-wheel drive

164 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Gearbox: Sequential shift, 6 Forward, 1 Reverse Differentials: Mechanical front and rear Clutch: Double-disc sintered metal Suspension: MacPherson struts with adjustable dampers

Steering: Brakes: Wheels: Tires: Length: Width: Weight:

Power-assisted rack and pinion Ventilated disc brakes (front diameter 355mm on tarmac) 8 x 18 inch for tarmac, 7 x 15 inch for gravel Pirelli PZero 3,976 mm 1,820 mm FIA regulation 2,760 lbs minimum (2900 lbs with driver and co-driver) Š MotorWerks Magazine - 165

Top: It was a lazy day for StĂŠphanie Lewis with no maps to read, but she spent time interacting with the fans.

Main: DiplomĂĄtico Rum sponsor the team Right: The BMW engine sits low and back in the chassis Far Right: The huge carbon fiber wing keeps the rear of the car planted for maximum traction.

166 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 167

168 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Main: The view Joel hopes his competitors see a lot of.

Far Left: MINI Canada had made sure there were not MINIacs going hungry at Snowkyo Drift.

Near Left: This piece of magic helps ensure no bent steering from rocks at the side of the stage.

Above top: The whole strut top mount detaches enabling a strut to be quickly replaced by pulling it directly upwards through the mount sheet metal.

Above lower: From Quebec but proudly Canadian.

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 169

170 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 171

The Fortech Mini returns to Competition There are many aspects to this story; first of all, the passing of the torch as ownership of the famed Fortech MINI transfers from Mike Kearney to Andy & Rachel Nelson of Grimsby, ON, Canada.

But the story goes deeper than that.

The Fortech MINI has a long history of successful racing in SCCA National competition with some of the finest drivers and best crews. These major

accomplishments were always against the toughest of competitors.

Many of the numerous battles were fought out on the Northern California SCCA tracks of Sears Point, Laguna Seca, and Thunderhill. These were epic battles that went back and forth right up to the checkered flag. Many memorable battles were between fellow Mini driver Joe Huffaker Jr. in his Huffaker Mini and Doug Peterson

172 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

driving the Fortech Mini. Those battles may have given one or the other bragging rights in the region but it was the SCCA Nation Runoffs and one final battle each year that really mattered to both racers.

You will see throughout this story that many participated in the overall efforts for both teams and in some cases even drove or crewed for each other through the years. Now early

in 2016 at Thunderhill Raceway the next step in the car’s history evolved with a fitting celebration by some very old and dear friends coming to the scene of many great battles to watch the passing of the torch.

Mike Kearney and the Fortech Mini have a long history in Sports Car Club of America National Racing both as the driver and owner of the car and for Mike, it was a tough decision to let it go. But he was proud and happy to see it’s new owners full of excitement, passion and determination to carry on the winning tradition.

Andy and Rachel Nelson are both established race car drivers and builders in their own rights and racing the Fortech Mini in National SCCA competition is a dream come true for them.

Previously having run Minis in Historic events SCCA racing is a new challenge to them, one they are taking head on!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 173

This was more than just a race weekend, it was a celebration of many years of hard, close competition between the Fortech Mini and the Huffaker Mini. As we said, Joe Huffaker Jr and Doug Peterson have had some of the tightest battles in SCCA racing. They account for nearly twenty SCCA National titles between them and many battles just involved the pair of them making that number even more remarkable.

The get together was not just for the drivers, but also the crews and close friends that made this rivalry so intense over the years. With over twenty attending the weekend in honor of both cars, drivers, and teams, it was one of the largest and friendliest groups in the paddock.

There were plenty of old race stories and rivalries to be heard but on this weekend it was all about old friends and handing over the torch to the new owners.

Andy & Rachel had flown in and were joined by Mike & Mary Kearney, Doug & Gail Peterson, Bob Beauchemin, Bruce Wiedman, Chris & Randi Kearney, Jay Kearney, Clair & Jack Holdaway, David Rhodes, Joe Huffaker Jr. Joe Carr, Mike Abramson, Randy Arbogast, Steve Maxwell, Terry Smith, Tony Lewis, Wayne Thom, and yours truly, Norman Nelson.

always clean. They remain friends to this day with great respect for each other.

Photos: Left: Mike Kearney Middle: Andy Nelson, Mike Kearney Right: Rachel Nelson

It was a great thrill to be included in this fine group. I had the pleasure to run along side, or should I say, behind and watch them battle many times, even though it was just a distant glimpse of their brake lights and exhaust pipes. They always fought a hard and close battle, but 174 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

FORTECH MINI #11 SPECS: Class: SCCA GT5/GTLite History: Four-time SCCA GT5 National Champion (1986, 1989, 2003, 2004) Owner: Andy Nelson/Toybox Racing Driver: Andy Nelson Builder: Comptech Machine & Fortech Racing, 1986 Chassis Chassis: Full tube frame, rocker arm front suspension, IRS rear Body: Fiberglass & Carbon Fiber Weight: 1600 LBS Wheels: Panasport 13 X 7 Tires: Hoosier Brakes: Four wheel Lockheed Disc Motor: BMC A-Series 4 cylinder,

1380cc RPM: Redline @ 8,500 RPM BHP: 147 Carbs: Split Weber 48 DCOE, Fortech Manifold Exhaust: Fortech Headers with Flowmaster two-chamber muffler Ignition: Electomotive D.I.S. Gearbox: Jack Knight Diff: Limited slip 4.1 final drive RACE RECORDS: Races: 112 Wins: 72 2nd: 20 3rd: 8 DNF: 11

SCCA Runoffs Wins: 4 2nd: 4 3rd: 1 DNF: 4 DRIVER HISTORY: Andy Nelson Doug Peterson Michael Kearney Duane Davis Bill Cooper Joe Huffaker Travis Duder Randy Arbogast (Most recent first)

© MotorWerks Magazine - 175

Mike Kearney says goodbye to old friends and welcomes new ones Greetings, Fortech fans and Mini lovers!

I have some news to share with all our Mini racing enthusiasts that have followed and supported the Fortech Mini for the past 40+ years: I am very pleased to say that the yellow Fortech Mini will once again be competing in SCCA Majors races, and hopefully qualifying for the 2016 SCCA Runoffs at Mid Ohio. As you may be aware, this Mini has, for all intents and purposes, been retired from SCCA racing since its fourth, and last, GT5 National Championship in 2004.

For a long time I had been thinking that maybe, one day, we would get the old team back together and have another run at what is now the GTL Championship. Doug Peterson has always been a great friend and driver and we could never have chosen anyone better to take the Fortech Mini to the limit. Last year in 2014, when it was announced the SCCA Runoffs were to be at Laguna Seca, I felt that if ever we were going to run again, this would be the year. Sadly, that did not happen, and thus I have been thinking of other ways to get the Fortech Mini back on the track where it belongs.

Watching Joe Huffaker finish first and second at the last two SCCA Runoffs in the GTL had me thinking our car could still be competitive under the right circumstances. I enjoy vintage racing, but cannot do two race programs at the same time.

Seven’s main focus is on vintage and we are developing parts that will make our motors the best available in the USA to better serve our many

vintage customers with both parts and track support.

At the 2009 Can-Am Mini Challenge I thought the best solution to get the Fortech Mini back in action was a new owner, but who? It would take special people, “Mini People”, that have a great history in preparing race cars and the desire to run a Mini at the highest level. I think it was just meant to be, perfect timing for us both, that a new owner has been found and the deal is done.

The next owners in the chain of custody of the Fortech Mini will be Andy and Rachel Nelson of Toybox Racing, who can take the Fortech Mini to the next level. Andy and Rachel will have an active website for all to follow in the upcoming season and Seven Enterprises will continue to be a sponsor of this famous Mini (for the 39th consecutive year!). For those who do not know the Nelsons, please visit www.toyboxracing.com.

176 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Part of me is sad, but that is overwhelmed by the excitement of seeing the #11 fly around the corners again. Even though the car has not actively participated in SCCA racing since the 2004 championship, technical development continued that would help keep it competitive in the event it ever did return to racing; I know it will be even faster once it officially gets back on the track. The first “Nelson” race will be at Thunderhill in April 2016, before migrating to its new home in Canada. The Nelsons have also decided that the Fortech Mini will compete at the 2017 Can-Am at Sears Point, despite the SCCA Runoffs being held on the same weekend at Indy. There’s no better thrill than racing with a huge field of classic Minis!

I could have never achieved the five National Championships and run over 100 SCCA races without the Fortech Racing crew. Life

changes for us all, and for me, it is just not the same without them.

The countless preparation hours at Fortech, the thousands of miles traveling to races all played a major part in the cars success. Thanks so much to everyone that had a hand in making racing this Mini the most fun and rewarding experience in my professional life.

Crew, Drivers and Sponsors • Steve Maxwell • Charlie Pollet • Bruce Weidemann • Randy Arbogast • Ward Barbour • Jim Blundell • Kohei Saito • Mark Kearney • Jay Kearney • Chris Kearney • Doug Peterson • Bill Cooper • Joe Huffaker • Duane Davis • Travis Duder • Michael Kearney • Randy Arbogast • Seven Enterprises • Michael Abramson • Redline Oil • Goodyear Tires • Panasport Wheels • Garage Minimum (Akita) Minis Rule! ~ Mike Kearney As Mike said Doug Peterson was a huge part of Fortech Racing.

After 37 years at Fortech Racing, Doug Peterson has announced his retirement from competitive Mini driving effective October 6th, 2014.

The good news is that there was one

last chance to see Doug behind the wheel of a Mini. He had his last drive at the 2014 CSRG Charity Challenge, October 4 and 5 at Sears Point (Sonoma Raceway for you that don’t remember the track’s real name).

I hope that if you have never seen Doug drive a Mini, you will come out and watch one of the best ever.

Doug has accomplished more than any other Mini racer or GT5 racer in North America history by winning four SCCA GT5 National Championships and three second place podium finishes. From 2000 to 2004, the Fortech Mini finished first or second with Doug driving.

Just a few of his ideas that were implemented at Fortech Racing: Redesigning the front suspension of the original black Fortech Mini to use 13-inch race tires, first to have good results • First all coil over suspension

on a Mini • First tube frame Mini • First rocker arm front

suspension on a Mini • Some secret stuff we don’t

talk about The Fortech crew and I personally want to express our appreciation to Doug for thirty-seven years of dedication to Mini racing, and for all the extra things he did along the way.

Thanks for the memories, Doug!

worked as a licensed mechanic for over twelve years before following his other passion, flying. During his aviation career, Andy has flown many different aircraft, including the Piper Navajo, Mitsubishi MU2, Cessna Caravan, Embraer Bandeirante, and Boeing 727, 757, and 767. He is currently Captain rated on the B767, operating cargo flights out of Hamilton, ON throughout Canada and internationally.

Andy’s combined knowledge of automotive and aviation systems has set the tone for his exacting attention to detail, with a focus on reliability and performance which serves him well in the fast-paced racing environment. In addition to restoring and servicing numerous Minis over the last 30 years and building two podium winning race cars, Andy has served as crew for several Minis prepared for Vintage racing and at Targa Newfoundland, where the car finished third overall in 2007.

Andy began racing his own Mini in Vintage in 2005. He rapidly became a contender for class podium finishes, and is looking forward to competing in SCCA GTL in the Fortech Mini for the 2016 season

And for those of you who want to know about the new owners.

Andy Nelson has always been interested in anything mechanical, and he graduated from Technical College a “Red Seal” Automotive Mechanic at the age of 21. He © MotorWerks Magazine - 177

The LITTLE CAR Show

178 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Words by Ian Rae, photos by author and Norman Nelson Š MotorWerks Magazine - 179

The Little Car Show in Pacific Grove is unlike many of the other showcase events in the Monterey Car Week. It is not all about exotics, vintage or race cars. TLCS is for everyman, it is exactly what the name suggests; for little cars, cars that anyone can afford. That is not to say it is not as well supported as the premier events, the turnout of cars and onlookers rival the other events and best of all it is free.

Our West Coast crew of Norm and Jesse Nelson have been here before; last year they needed Jess’s tow truck Tiny Tows to haul away all the awards they won. This year they brought out their Hawian themed Mini Traveller XS Woody and their newly aquired Shorty which is short for a Mini as you can see in the photos.

This year was no different as they collected two each with each car, three major awards, the People’s Choice, Miles of Smiles plus the Most Unique, plus the Youth Club Award.

180 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Main: The significance of the Qvale S plate may not be know to those on the East Coast. Kjell Qvale imported British cars through his British Motor Cars Distributors Ltd. company and this 1275 S was reportedly a graduation gift for his son Bruce who now leads the Qvale Automotive Group.

Left: Pat Kaye was a bad boy and this nice officer was kind enough to slap the cuffs on him. Sorry buddy I could not resist!

Far Left: Minions stowing away in the BMW Isetta trailer.

Top left: No reverse so watch where you park. Š MotorWerks Magazine - 181

182 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Below: Jesse Nelson likes to accesorize her cars and the Junkyard Dawg was the only accesory that Left: XS Woody says Aloha as Norm drives back to our home from home around the corner.

Far Left: The Morris 1000 is a cousin of the Mini but this one is a bit different. Sitting nicely between the frame rails is a 1600cc Toyota TwinCam motor.

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 183

TLCS saw a good turn-out of British cars, Minis being the most numerous of course.

It was nice to see the Riley Elf there and I can only hope it is an ongoing project.

It was great to see the Ford Anglia 123E there. I had a 105E as my first car that was upgraded with a Ford Cortina 1500cc engine. This version was fitted with the later 1600 cross-flow motor.

And the Hillman, all I can say is there can’t be many of them in North America.

184 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

We were loving the weather whereas the locals thought it was cold!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 185

Featured Photographer Sam Moore - MotorWerks Magazine Oakville, ON Sam Moore is the twelve year-old nephew of our Editor, Ian Rae. He has been subjected to Ian’s love of cars since he was old enough to crawl.

From hanging out in the Media room at Toronto Motorsport Park watching Top Fuel dragsters to attending Mosport before it was called CTMP, Sam had no option but like cars. But loving cars has come from his online experiences with Internet racing, he is a huge fan of Forza 6 and Real Racing 3 on the iPhone. Like many other kids he loves the Fast and Furious franchise with the 1969 Ford Mustang of Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) his favorite.

The photos in this feature were taken at Ted Kalman’s Tedfest in Mississauga, ON. It is a favorite of classic BMW owners from all over Canada as well as the Northern States. The venue, the Bradley Museum has spectacular grounds that are perfect for a car show of this type.

This was Sam’s first attempt at using a DSLR camera and you can see by the photos he has a knack for it. “I enjoy composing the picture using the emblems on the car,” he said. He went on, “I can only dream about owning cars like this but taking photos gets me close to the cars and that is cool. I had so much fun now I want to take photos of moving cars at a racetrack.” When asked about his favorite car at the event he said, “I know it is not a BMW but the Lotus Elise parked by the barn was pretty cool with all the vents and things.” When asked about his favorite car he said, “The Audi R8 V10, for sure, my uncle Ian got me a ride in his friends and that car is wicked, I had a huge grin the whole time I was in it!”

186 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

***

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 187

Unfortunately Sam’s favorite car was not a BMW but the Lotus on the opposite page.

He did like the i8 but its parking spot did not lend itself to good photos with all the shadows.

The little guy himself understood low angles can make for good photos without having to be told.

188 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 189

CONTACT POINT

www.bilsteinus.com 1-858-386-5900

190 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

***

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 191

192 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Learn To Tune From Your Living Room... Or The Train

www.hpacademy.com

www.g-locbrakes.com

© MotorWerks Magazine - 193

194 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!

Š MotorWerks Magazine - 195

COMING NEXT ISSUE MEGA BMW Issue Monterey Car Week Rolex Monterey Reunion BMW CCA Oktoberfest

196 - MotorWerks Magazine - The Ultimate Reading Experience!