750 Motor Club Hot Hatch championship driver Alice Hughes was fortunate enough to have a test this past week in a Mini Challenge JCW (John Cooper Works) class car.
It’s the same type that you’ve read about fellow female racer Jo Polley competing in this past season. It was a wet day when Alice arrived and things didn’t get any better. Over to Alice;
The weather wasn’t very kind to us and unfortunately the thunderstorms that broke out resulted in our session being red flagged but that didn’t stop me from having fun. So I sat in the garages and waited in anticipation for the track to re-open.
When Alice did get out, not only did the car impress her but she impressed the team;
The 255 Bhp two Litre MINI Twin Power engine was a dream to drive, even in the wet. The amount of grip I managed to find, using the Dunlop wet tyres, on the circuit really surprised me. The Quaife sequential gear box that they use were just mega as the transition from gear to gear was so clean cut and smooth. Using a load cell on the gear stick also really impressed me as I was able to keep my foot flat out on the accelerator when shifting up through the gears which allowed me to feel the mini’s power. The car just went anywhere and everywhere you wanted it to. Even though I didn’t get a chance to drive the car on slicks, I produced some quick lap times considering the track conditions and even got invited back down for another session.
Alice had been curious to compare the Mini to her own Fiesta she has been racing in 2016;
I wanted to try the MINI challenge JCW class as the power to weight ratio wasn’t too dissimilar from my own and after driving Excelr8’s MINI challenge car, I can truly appreciate how awesome our ford Fiesta ST’s (that Tom Bell from TBR has pioneered and built) really are!
There were differences though as well as similarities;
The main difference I found between the two cars was how fast they can stop. The Mini runs 17 inch wheels whereas we only run 15 inch, which means you can fit bigger discs on the Mini. Another difference between the two was the rev range. My fiesta can rev out to 9 whereas the mini could only rev out to 6.
Alice came to a surprising conclusion;
I know that MINI challenge are working to be one of the best one make racing championships in the UK, but thanks to Tom Bell and the 750 Motor Club, I’m able to run a Ford Fiesta ST that really isn’t too far away from these high profile cars.
Thank you MINI challenge, Excelr8 Motorsport and Snetterton Circuit for a great session. By Marc Waller
