The Mini Challenge will join the British GT Championship for the first time next year, as it continues as one of Europe’s fastest-growing single-make racing championship.
The news marks the biggest step yet for the popular tin-top championship, and follows a recent agreement between Mini Challenge and Mini UK which will see the brand provide increased support through the 2017 race season.
Alongside technical and parts support, Mini UK will also provide promotional support through funding a Mini UK guest car and mainstream television coverage.
“I am thrilled that Mini Challenge is supporting the well-established British GT Championship with exiting and close racing from 2017 onwards,” explained Nicolas Griebner, head of product at Mini UK. “British GT has grown in the last 20 years to become the world’s foremost domestic sports car series, and the Mini Challenge has also become one of the best one-make series in the UK.”
The Mini Challenge’s JCW category, which runs the latest version of the John Cooper Works Hatch, will hold a mixture of double and triple-header rounds during SRO-run race weekends.
The 2017 championship will run over eight rounds, with six alongside British GT and two headlining MotorSport Vision Racing’s Mini Festivals at Brands Hatch and Oulton Park. MSVR will continue to administer the championship.
