The MINI John Cooper Works returns to the 24 Hours of Nürburgring

The 24 Hours of Nürburgring and its 25,378 kilometres made up of the iconic Grand Prix circuit and the legendary Nordschleife of Nürburg is undoubtedly one of the most popular and renowned endurance races in the motorsport landscape, and the MINI John Cooper Works returns to it after a 10-year break.

Born last September as the project of the Bulldog Racing team in the Eifel region, the new MINI John Cooper Works that will compete in the SP3T category will feature the 4-cylinder turbo engine of the Clubman and Countryman John Cooper Works, producing 306 CV and 450 Nm of torque, paired with an 8-speed Steptronic gearbox with a limited-slip differential.

A high-level upgrade package

To this production base, a series of competition modifications have been added, such as a specifically designed roll cage, a 100-litre fuel tank, and several aerodynamic improvements, notably an adjustable rear wing, fully covered underbody panels, a rear diffuser and a front splitter, along with Makrolon windows to reduce weight.

Regarding its dynamic upgrades, the Bulldog Racing team has fitted competition suspension with adjustable rebound and compression damping, reinforced Uniball bearings for greater rigidity, a pneumatic lift unit, a competition catalytic converter and a brake system signed by BMW M Performance.

With all this, and only seven months after the start of the project, the Bulldog Racing MINI John Cooper Works already has new tests scheduled on the Nordschleife of Nürburgring and at the BMW Group test centre in Miramas, where it will undergo a series of exhaustive tests under a wide range of conditions.

Next step: testing phase

Friedhelm Thelen, Nürburgring expert and Team Principal of Bulldog Racing, said: “The 24-hour race at Nürburgring subjects every component of the vehicle to extreme stress. That is why we are delighted to be able to use the BMW Group Test Centre to test the John Cooper Works.”

For the time being, the drivers and the 2022 racing programme have not been published, although we will be keeping an eye out to learn who will be responsible for adding to MINI’s motorsport record, which includes great names such as Pat Moss, Carlos Sainz, Stéphane Peterhansel, Nani Roma, Nasser Al-Attiyah and Timo Mäkinen.