Team Mini Mania Wraps up Vintage Racing Year with Nine-Car Entry at Velocity Invitational

NEVADA CITY, Calif. - Nov. 8, 2021 - PRLog -- A fleet of Classic Mini Cooper vintage racing cars takes to the track this week for the first-ever Mini vs. Mustang race at California's WeatherTech Laguna Raceway, recreating epic "David vs. Goliath" races between the two manufacturers made famous in England, Australia and the US Trans-Am Series of the late 1960s.

"The Velocity Invitational Mini vs. Mustang Endurance Challenge is a unique event for North America," team leader Don Racine explained," recreating the classic rivalry between the two marques during historic races held at the famed Goodwood Circuit in England and elsewhere."

The invitational event set for November 11-14 at the 11-turn, 2.238-mile WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca features a field of 32 vintage racing Minis and Mustangs in two separate one-hour endurance races. Two drivers are required for each vehicle, with a mandatory pit stop midway through each race for refueling and driver changes.

The first enduro takes place Friday at 4:45 p.m. with the second on Sunday starting at 3:50 p.m.

"I don't believe there's ever been a Mini vs. Mustang race like this in the U.S., and it will create difficult challenges for both drivers and teams to successfully compete," he added. For instance, Saturday's event races into dark, so all vehicles need to be equipped with headlights. Typically, vintage races are held during daytime so the cars rarely have headlights installed.

Don and his son Dennis have prepared nine of the Minis entered for the races. Driver pairings are as follows:

Don Racine & Richard Paterson #61

Andrew Wait & Martin Lauber #62

Dennis Racine & Dylan Wittenauer #177

Randy Unsbee & David Cooper #969

Trevor Bond & Roger Soucy #51

Chris Locke & Ed Lauber #00

James Stiehr & Bill Greenman #933

Will Jackson & CeCe Cord #65

Robert Hoemke & Mike Bond #61

Further information regarding the invitational weekend can be found at: https://velocityinvitational.com/

About Don Racine

Don Racine is the founder and owner of Mini Mania in Nevada City, CA. He has raced almost every type of sports car since the 1970s, including formula cars, sports racers, and sedans at more than thirty tracks in the USA, Japan, Australia, United Kingdom, and Canada. Like many, he began by volunteering at events and autocrossing before graduating to a variety of racing cars while developing a love for Mini Coopers. Sourcing parts for the growing numbers of Minis he owned led to founding an import business that's flourished into Mini Mania, the leading restoration and performance parts supplier for both Classic Minis and the new BMW MINI.