MINI & Bulldog Racing Prep Its New F66 JCW

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MINI’s motorsports partner Bulldog Racing is taking the new F66 MINI Cooper JCW to the most demanding race in the world; the 24 Hours of Nurburgring. Along side the new F66 JCW will be last year’s 1to6 manual transmission F56 JCW.

The 52nd edition of the 24 Hours Nürburgring takes place from May 30th to June 2nd including support events and the race itself. The most demanding track in the world, the ‘Ring is nearly 16 miles long and will host 130 vehicles in 23 different classes, and over 450 drivers from three dozen nations.

In other words it’s the perfect place to test MINI’s new Cooper JCW. The New F66 MINI John Cooper Works PRO #317 will be entered by the private racing team from Nürburg, Bulldog Racing, and will be competing in the SP 3T category. MINI’s other race car is the 2023 F56 MINI Cooper JCW (#474) that came in second last year in its class. It will be once again in the VT-2 category.

F66 MINI Cooper JCW Modification for the ‘Ring

The shift paddle in the Nurburgring prepped F66 JCW race car.

The new MINI John Cooper Works PRO #317 was built as a pre-production model at the Oxford Plant and then modified extensively for the race. That means a full roll-cage, KW suspension, race specific braking system and what look like 17-inch OZ HyperGT light alloy wheels. Additionally Bulldog has stripped out the interior for weight savings. But outside of these necessary modifications, this is a stock F66 MINI Cooper JCW.

The same goes for the F56 1to6 JCW. And like last year it features a manual transmission – likely the only car at the race with a manual.

The Drive Line-up Once Again Featuring Charlie Cooper

The drivers for MINI John Cooper Works PRO (#317), which competes at the SP-3T class features:

The manual F56 MINI Cooper JCW 1to6 Edition

– Charlie Cooper (GBR)
– Markus Fischer (AUT)
– Christoph Kragenings (GER)
– Sebastian Sauerbrei (GER)

The MINI John Cooper Works, with #474, is the only car equipped with a 6-speed manual transmission starting at this year’s edition of the race. Drivers for MINI John Cooper Works 1to6 edition (#474), which competes at the VT-2 class are:

– Michael Bräutigam (GER)
– Andreas Hilgers (GER)
– Sascha Korte (GER) 
– Marco Zabel (GER) 

How to Watch the 2024 24 Hours of Nürburgring

The 2024 24 Hours of Nürburgring will take place on June 1^st and June 2^nd 2024. Like last year we expect the race to be available on the ADAC’s Youtube channel and we will embed the race stream on here on MotoringFile. Also keep an eye out of the qualifying races and test sessions which might also be on the channel.

Bulldog Racing F56 & F66 MINI Cooper JCW Gallery

The shift paddle in the Nurburgring prepped F66 JCW race car.

F66 JCW Prototype Race Car

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