MINI for B-spec in 2012

Wow..seems that leaves everyone else competing for 2nd place. Interesting the Mini is running Hoosier SM6 205x50x15 tires on 15x7 rims. Also, did you see Charleston Mini (Rick Hendricks company) is offering a complete turnkey car. Didn't say how much, but that would be great way to go I would think.
 
<uh, oh, here we go>

"B-speck" ... get those on the windshield sometimes, or caught in the grille.
Sometimes I get the whole bee, and occasionally it's just stunned...

That's not a class I can say I've ever heard of before.

"you will likely be able to find some place to race"

"it is also likely that the sun will come up. However, you may not see it"

(while we're at it...)

"Mini does well in rally"= Prodrive and Sordo and a boatload of money do pretty well in rally. Surprised we are not so much...

Press release at 11.

<tongue in cheek, of course>

Seriously, what classes are this car supposed to run in?

t
 
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For 2012 SCCA races, B-SPEC cars will be running in SSC (Showroom Stock C). These will pobably be among the slower cars in SSC, which says a lot for how slow they really are. I think the plan is that they'll get their own class (B-SPEC) some time after that. Not sure what NASA has planned for them. There will also be B-SPEC support races at select Grand Am and World Challenge races.

As an owner of a Mazda2, I looked into this. It's not cheap racing. Even if you build your own car - and I think most B-SPEC racers will - it'll be hard to build one for less than $16k, and that assumes that the donor vehicle was bought used and cheap (e.g., salvage 2010 Honda Fit). Want to start with a new donor Mazda2? That's $14K + tax + all the stuff to turn it into a race car (roll cage, safety gear, suspension, wheels, tires, etc.). Maybe $20K or so.

That being said, I think it's a cool class and hope it takes off. I just hope it doesn't turn into the typical SSB/SSC silliness where $6000 pro-built "stock" motors become a requirement for having a competitive car.

I know that the SCCA and others recently spent a lot of time performance-balancing (with weight & restrictor plates) the cars based on track testing so I don't see how one could say that the Mini Cooper will dominate the class. Don't forget, they're all getting competition suspensions so the very good stock Mini suspension becomes irrelevant. Plus, the Mini has a min race weight of 2600 lbs and with a restrictor plate. In comparison, the Mazda2 has a min race weight of 2300 lbs with no restrictor plate.
 
im looking at the entry list for NASA's 25hr this year and there is a mazda2 that is claiming ITS as its normal class i cant imagine that a spec-b car would be A LOT slower then an ITS prepped mazda2. i was thinking it would be an ITA car but i guess not
 
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