Mighty Minis

[McKay]

I was wondering if anyone could give information about Mighty Mini racing. It sounds quite fun, and i would like to do it maybe. What are the prices etc for running a car over one season? Where do they race etc... any help would be appreciated.

[ss_collins]

Tis a great series from what I've seen.

[Chris Y]

MMs are budget racing, using as much standard equipment as possible, to keep the racing close and the costs down.

As such, once you have the car, the running costs are low. You don't need to rebuild the engine often (most people leave it a year, quite a lot of them 2 years), just change the oil every couple of races to keep things fresh. Tyres can last a season, but some people like to renew 2 tyres in the middle of the season.

They're great cars, but be warned - once you've raced a Mini, you might not want to race anything else!

[simes43]

Hi McKay

We have raced at Snet, Brands GP, Siverstone (Nat), Donny, Cadwell, Oulton Int and the Rock so far this year
(The championship organisor works hard to get us to the better circuits) with between 28 and 32 cars on the grid.

Its BRSCC run, so its the normal £170 a race touch.

The cars are relatively easy to run and do not require tyres being thrown at them all year. However its got some good quality drivers at the front, so testing is a must if you want to move up the grid.

You can buy a competitive car for between £4000 and £6000. Building your own is fine, but leave the engine and gearbox to someone like OAP or Slark (for reasons of reliability and performance). There's a number of front running cars for sale at the moment that have all the right bits and set up.

The last meeting of the year is at Snett on the 11/12 of Sept.

If you want to know more, go to http://www.candfracing.co.uk/ or pm me.

Simes

[NiG_21]

Here is (will be) the official website for this series. I don't race with them, but have shared a race meeting with them. I have to say I think the series is excellent and good value for both drivers and spectators alike.

Although the URL below is currently 'under construction' you can still zap an email off to the organiser and get a set of regs.

http://www.mighty-minis-racing.co.uk/

[MightyMiniMan]

McKay,

I race with Simes in Mighty Minis and have to add my point of view too..

I started in the series with ZERO experience in August last year at Cadwell Park.. Pheeww.. What an experience..

Over the last year I have done only 3 test days in total and have managed to move up to the top 10 lately. By all means test but I personally feel that raw race experience really opens your eyes.

Engine wise... I disagree with the suggestions in the paddock that in order to progress you need to spend lots of money on an OAP or Slark or other builder engine. My car was a standard untouched road car until last year when I bought it. I had my mechanic do the basic allowed engine mods such as head skim, etc.. and stick it all back together. At Silverstone last weekend I managed a 9th place qualifying time of 1.45 seconds off pole. This with just a plain old good engine.. No serious money spent.

Things like suspension setup, corner-weighting, etc seem to make a HUGE difference to how fast you can get the mini round the track..

Now I know I'm still Green regards experience and will probably get slated by the front runners for my input but the proof is there in the results...

If you want to see how the first year of a newcommer went have a look at my website which has race reports, etc from each round in the Logbook section.. http://www.TurtyTree.co.uk

I have thouroughly enjoyed getting involved with Mighty Minis and look forward to mounting a challenge in the very near future for the championship. As Chris Y said though.. Beware, 'cause once you start you will be hooked.

Cheers,
Evan McHugh
#33 (Turty Tree)

[simes43]

Like in any one make championship getting the last bit of performance out of the car is key to running at the front.

Be it car prep, suspension set up, weight, tyres, engine or driver. Each element adds up to how competitive you are going to be over the course of the season.

Along with performance and reliability, when it comes to the engine, there's a third element, legality.

Like in most championships a number of drivers have tried "enhancements" over the years and either been caught or never made enough impression to be noticed.

To combat this, all the top runners will have their car's engine sealed and stripped after the last round.

When Companies reputations are at stake, many drivers rely on their engine builder to give them a legal engine to race throughout the year, even if their cars are not quite the fastest.

[Snapper Baz]

Then of course you will have to have something to remember those races with-like pictures taken by me!

[MightyMiniMan]

Indeed Bazza... I will be creating an end of season Snapper Baz Gallery... What other way is there to sum up a great year...

The sooner you do that thing for me the sooner the Gallery will appear.. Nudge Nudge Wink Wink...

[simes43]

Hey Bazza, how come the Se7ens have loads of Ambrose pictures on their website from Silverstone?

Is it a food thing?

[stevew]

Well it was not a beer thing as the bar was shut
all weekend !!

[BertMk2]

Originally posted by stevew
Well it was not a beer thing as the bar was shut
all weekend !!

I found a bar ok!

(I also had plenty of beer with me - and of course the bucket to keep it cool in)

[stevew]

It was all shut up in the evening.
Keeping cool, well one of the hotest for me.
Apart from Spa.

[MightyMiniMan]

Indeed it was a hot one... I think I spotted an AGA badge on my engine when I came in from race 2...

Then all these people started to toast their marshmallows over it and cracking open their beers for a sing-song.....

[stevew]

yep, nice one !
the second race I was running about 95 deg
and thinking no no please cool down, this engine
is gonna go pop any sec.

[BertMk2]

Originally posted by stevew
It was all shut up in the evening.
Keeping cool, well one of the hotest for me.
Apart from Spa.

Cool was a relative term! That meeting was far too warm, I think all the cars (and drivers) were suffering from the temperature - one of the fastest mini guys came over and borrowed our drill so he could make some large holes in the bonnet to try and get the temperature down. We ended up adding some extra ducting for the oil cooler (all held on with copious amounts of cable ties) - it didn't do the cars appearance any favours but it did the job.

[MightyMiniMan]

Tell me about it...

My Mini was mis-firing on the appraoch to the start grid at the end of the green flag lap.. I thought it was gonna die... I just thought.. "I might as well rev the hell out of it and keep it moving.."
But when slip-streaming I would pull out of the draught and then... nothing... Static...

This didn't help my advance from the back of the grid after being pushed off in Maggotts in race 1 and a DNF in the Gravel.

[BertMk2]

The heat seemed to be more of a problem whilst slipstreaming - temperature was up and oil pressure down, pulling out of the slipstream seemed to sort everything out again (at least bring it back near normal).

Ending up in the gravel is never good - nor is starting from the back of the grid. Not too much damage done though I take it? (other than to your prospects in race 2)

[MightyMiniMan]

No damage from the Gravel incident... Just the other knocks and bashes I suffered in the 9 laps leading up to that moment..

My Driver's Sill Seams are totally ground off from both races. Bumps and scratches here there and everywhere..

Damage limitation(pardon the pun) was the goal in Race 2. Started 25th and finished 13th within 0.5 of a second off 10th.

My onboard footage is certainly entertaining from both races... A real eye-opener too..

[Snapper Baz]

If there was somewhere I could easily put some Mighty stuff then I would!...anyway, they're not a bad bunch all in all!!