TROIS RIVIERES, Quebec—Randall Smalley and Owen Trinkler earned their second consecutive GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge win during Saturday’s race at Circuit de Trois-Rivieres, putting the No. 198 RSR Motorsports MINI Cooper S at the front of the Street Tuner field.

A combination of great handling, superb driving, strategy, and quick pit stops allowed the MINI to win the two-hour Street Tuner race.

RSR Motorsports led much of the race at Trois-Rivieres in 2009, and the team knew that strategy and pit stops would be a key factor to leading the way once again. Last year’s race had few caution periods, so Smalley took advantage of an early-race caution to pit, handing over to Trinkler.

Trinkler held down a steady pace and pitted again with forty minutes remaining. He re-emerged in fifth place, with plenty of fuel and a fresh set of tires. It enabled him to work his way forward, eventually taking over first place. Trinkler held onto the spot until the checkered flag waved.

“This was possible because of the momentum we built up with our win at New Jersey, knowing what direction we want this team to go, and taking care of every small detail,” says Trinkler. “Randall has given us the tools and the right people to make this happen.”

Smalley was especially impressed with the handling of the MINI. “The car was incredible,” he says. “It stuck to the track like it was on rails. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so comfortable in a race car. Our entire crew really deserves a pat on the back for getting these MINIs set up so well.”

Sarah Cattaneo and VJ Mirzayan showed a lot of promise early in the weekend after qualifying ninth in the No. 197 RSR Motorsports MINI Cooper S. A punctured tire meant the car came into the pits under green, and later in the race, a spin resulting from contact was another setback. Nevertheless, Cattaneo and Mirzayan never gave up, soldiering on to finish ninth.

Cattaneo handled qualifying for the No. 197 MINI. “I had spent the morning practice getting used to the track again, and I got the time I needed to give us a good spot on the grid,” she says. “The MINI performed great: it didn’t have brake issues like other cars, and we had the speed we needed to do well.”

“I think we had a top-five car,” agrees Mirzayan, “but in racing you need luck as much as anything else. We’re looking forward to Miller, where we can put this round behind us.”

RSR Motorsports will finish the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge season the weekend of September 10-11 at Miller Motorsports Park. The team has been on the pole there, and will be aiming for their third consecutive win.

RSR Motorsports is sponsored by Cruise America, Four Winds International, MINI USA, Performance Friction Rotors, OS Giken Racing Clutches and Limited Slip Differentials, Midway Ford Truck Sales, Mini North Scottsdale, Motul USA, and Cobalt Racing Pads.

Keep up with the team online at www.RSRMotorsports.com <http://www.RSRMotorsports.com> .

The MINI scene around here has been pretty much non-existent over the past few months. I have heard similar stories from other regions as well. Some believe the new MINI owners buying cars are not as enthusiastic about the MINI and its culture. Of course, there ARE enthusiasts out there buying new MINIs, but I would have to agree that the numbers seem much lower.

Take the wave for example. I still wave to every MINI I see on the road. In the past I would usually receive an enthusiastic wave back. Now-a-days, I usually get nothing back. Sometimes, I even get some weird looks. What sucks is the lack of enthusiasm and activity has really put a damper on my own MINI enthusiasm. It is kind of hard to get excited about your car when you can’t go out and hang with other MINIacs.

If I lived closer to Miami, I would make it a point to go hang out with Minis of Miami. I hear that their club is still going strong. I suspect it is because they started as a Mini club, rather than a MINI club, and most of their members own classic Minis, and are as enthusiastic as ever.

With all that said, I did get an opportunity to hang out with some great MINIacs a couple weeks ago at Mickey & MINI 5. It was nice to be around familiar faces that I don’t get to see very often. The weekend proved quite adventurous for me and my MINI. Stay tuned for my weekend recap on Mickey & MINI 5 and I’ll show you how my MINI broke down and how yours might too.

There were MINIs from as far away as Jacksonville to came down to celebrate. $10 got you in the track for the whole day of go-karting, drag strip runs, auto-x and more! I took Scooter out on the drag strip and managed to click off a 15.098 second 1/4 mile. In that run, I actually beat a brand new Infinity G37 . Unfortunately, my day got cut short because I had to go start dealing with my ailing AC, but I still had a blast!

MINIacs will be able to try their hand at autocross, a road course and even try out their MINIs on the drag strip at the newly renovated Palm Beach International Raceway (formerly Morosso). A live band, “Ever So Klever”, will be performing and there will be plenty to do for the whole family. An event flyer is located at the link below, so if you are in the “region”, come on out and say hi!

[ Event Flyer ]

[ Map of Event ]

[ Club/Event Sign-up ]

MINI United 2009 Thread @ SSM