During last year’s 24 Hours of Nurburging, the Bulldog Racing’s MINI JCW became a crowd favorite, due to its plucky, can’t-quit attitude. It was hit twice and still finished a lap before heading into the pits for repairs, then went back out to race. Then it had a puncture and raced an entire lap on a flat before heading back to the pits for a tire change. Unfortunately, it was hit in the passenger side during lap 40, which damaged it too much to continue. However, it was one of the most spirited DNFs in recent memory and the crowd fell in love with the tenacious bulldog. And now, it’s headed back to the ‘Ring for round two.
The #112 Bulldog Racing MINI will race in the SP3T class of this year’s 24 Hours of Nurburgring but it won’t be the exact same car as last year. Some modifications were made, to make it even more competitive than it was last year. Obviously, all modifications were made within SP3T class regulations and they’re as follows:
- Supersprint exhaust with a racing catalytic converter
- Eventuri carbon air intake
- A drop in weight, within the regulations
- 17 inch Motec ultralight wheels with Michelin tires
- AP racing brakes
Three of the drivers from last year remain but there’s a new driver for this year. Uwe Krumscheid (GER), Danny Brink (GER), and Markus Fischer (AUT) are carryover from last year but the new addition is Marco Zabel (GER). The four drivers have a combined 715,000 kilometers on the Nurburgring, with 35 race starts in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring.
Bulldog Racing won’t only have the #112 car on the grid, though. There’s a MINI Cooper John Cooper Works special edition with a six-speed manual that will race in the VT2-FWD Class. Behind the wheel of that car will be Charlie Cooper, the grandson of John Cooper, who created the original Mini Cooper and the John Cooper Works racing team.
It will be exciting to see Bulldog Racing’s MINI JCW back on the Nurburgring after last year’s thrilling fight. It’s easy to root for MINIs of any kind, simply because of their fun, plucky attitude, but the Bulldog Racing’s car is especially fun and it proved its tenacity last year. It would also be great to see Bulldog Racing get a class win this year, as it’s likely going to be the final year for this car. MINI will be launching a new model next year, which will probably be used to replace the current car. So it would be cool to see it go out with a bang.