Sports Cars - MINI John Cooper Works Lite Race Test - Sports Cars
There is no better way to experience a racing car than Take part in the race. The vehicle in question is a newborn MINI John Cooper Works Lite, the car that supports PRO cars in the tough all-in-one championship. MINIChallenge 2017; a car that aims to make the world of racing more accessible to those who, like many, are increasingly afraid of the funds required to become a part of it. In fact, with a Pro racing car, you need to consider a figure of about 60 thousand euros per season, and for Lite about 40 thousand.
Honor to participate in the first match of the championship, aboard a beautiful MINI green "branded" XBOX MINI Italia driven by Promodrive, it's up to me. IN I'll tell you how my racing weekend went You can find it HERE, if you want to know how the MINI is doing, I'll tell you right away!
OBLIGATORY DIFFERENCES
La MINI John Cooper Works Lite This is a full-fledged racing car that shares a 2.0-liter turbo engine, chassis, suspension, brakes and aerodynamics kit with the Pro. The Lite, however, has 34bhp compared to the Pro. less (in total 231 h.p.), weighs 30 kg more, has slightly narrower tires due to less power and, above all, comes standard with a manual transmission. This means that in lap times on a track full of ups and downs like Imola, the difference is about 5 seconds!
Really strange to get intocockpit and you will see this "original" lever, but, also in a race, press third pedal and move with your right hand it seems like the most natural thing in the world. Granted, the grafts aren't as dry and precise as you'd expect, indeed the journey is a bit long, but it's still a quick change and you can never go wrong.
La session For a racing car, this is not bad: it is quite natural and the racing seat, given my 185 cm, is higher than it should be. IN Flyer OMP hides the analog instrument panel of the original MINI a bit; around only a red safety bar, in some places carbon fiber, pipes and wires.
UP AND DOWN IMOLA
You have to press red start button (also here as production car) to awaken the MINI's 2-liter turbo. This is a four-cylinder engine with a dark, throaty and very macho sound. It's always difficult to start a race car, but the clutch is so soft and light that you can easily drive it through Milan's traffic jams. It seems trite, but it is necessary to warm it up well smooth eraser before you start pulling, especially the rear ones, or the likelihood that the nose of the car will bite on the tail is very high. In the warmth, however, the MINI can calm you down, in fact, it seems to be just asking you to discover its limits. Sure chasm compared to street version. Racing is much more accurate, responsive, solid and, of course, fast. If the John Cooper Works road is agile yet forgiving, on the race track you need to know exactly what you're doing. Only the thrust of the engine is very close to that of the production version, even if there is a big difference when the car is empty, even on a straight line.
È very balanced machine: The power is low, so you can accelerate to full speed ahead of time, freeing up most of the work from the limited slip differential. However, the front wheels have a job to do, and you have to "release" the rear wheels by tightening the springs so the car can turn properly when cornering. So the MINI starts to fly between curbs like front-wheel drive go-carton.
When you enter a corner, there is a slight roll, just enough to alert you of what is happening; however, it is tough and responsive enough that you never miss.
Va also very fast: at the end of the straight line you do 220 km / h, before the take-off after 200 meters at the entrance to the Tamburello variant. The brakes are mostly stock, with the exception of the racing pads, but there's nothing to say in terms of stopping power. The trick is to step “to the right” without allowing the ABS to interfere too much; Thus, braking is more powerful, but more modular. It's really fun to glide around corners, with the inner wheels lifting often and willingly and the rear wheels following closely without betraying you. IN Then manual transmission is not a hindrance at allon the contrary, it gives you more to do and it increases engagement. And it does it without a doubt one of auto more fun to start running. Almost almost ...
