Mini Challenge UK

The Mini Challenge UK, for sponsorship reasons the Power Maxed Mini Challenge UK, is a one-make race series began in 2002 and since 2020 the JCW and JCW Sport championships have run as a support package to the British Touring Car Championship.

The series umbrella includes multiple classes:

• JCW Class, based on Gen 3 F56 MINI Hatch, target power 255bhp, circa 1170kg with driver
• JCW Sport Class (added 2024), chassis as above but with 225bhp
• Cooper Class (added 2021), with less aggressive chassis modifications and 130bhp

Competition is organised into JCW Championship, JCW Sport Championship, and Cooper Trophy championships. For 2024 the first two will support BTCC for 7 weekends of the calendar and the Cooper Trophy will feature at three of those, with the other four weekends at Truck or BARC events.

There are various Cup competitions within this structure such as Rookie Cup and Graduate Cup.

Throughout the championship's history it established itself as one of the main routes into topline Touring Car racing, and drivers went on to do well in the Renault Clio Cup United Kingdom, British Touring Car Championship and British GT Championship. Past and current drivers such as Jeff Smith, Charlie Butler-Henderson, Harry Vaulkhard, Vicki Butler-Henderson, Brett Smith, Paul O'Neill, Nick Foster, Arthur Forster, Stewart Lines, Martin Depper, Chris Smiley and Ant Whorton-Eales.

The cars

Mini F56 (since 2015)

Introduced in 2015, the F56 is the first purpose-built race car to race in the championship, a 2-litre turbocharged BMW engine and a 6-speed sequential gearbox means that it is also the most powerful car in the championship with 275bhp.

Mini R56 (since 2010)

Introduced in 2010 as the new JCW, it has a 1.6-litre turbocharged BMW engine along with slick tyres and a 6-speed gearbox to produce 220bhp.

Mini R53 (2004–2010, since 2016)

Introduced in the third season, the R53 has a 1.6-litre supercharged BMW engine producing 195bhp along with slick tyres and a 6-speed gearbox.

Mini R50 (since 2013)

Introduced in 2013 as a replacement for the Cooper's, with slick tyres, a 6-speed gearbox and a 1.6-litre BMW engine producing 135bhp.

Mini Cooper (2002–2012, since 2017)

Introduced in the first season, the Cooper is the basic entry-level car with treaded tyres and a 5-speed road gearbox along with an ordinary engine producing 120bhp.

The classes

Champions

External links