MINI CHALLENGE – THE JCW AND COOPER CHAMPIONSHIPS
The Mini Challenge enters its second season supporting the British Touring Car Championship with the JCW contest appearing at seven TOCA rounds and the Coopers at the remaining three.
The Cooper class has a capacity 36-car entry signed up and its 2021 campaign kicked off at Snetterton last month with returning champion Matt Hammond of Excler8 and Graves Motorsport’s Lee Pearce sharing the wins.
Mini Challenge’s JCW championship gets its campaign underway next month at BTCC’s Snetterton meeting. While reigning champion Nathan Harrison has moved to the Porsche Carrera Cup, last year’s narrow runner-up Dan Zelos is back with Excelr8 and is aiming for the title. He’s joined at the team by the similarly title-hungry 20-year-old Max Bird who last year with Elite won three races.
Teenage charger Isaac Smith has moved from Excelr8 to JWB Motorsport and promises a “full charge for the championship”, while long-time Clio Cup frontrunner Max Coates, decamped from Elite to Graves, is another likely contender.