Here's an excerpt of a first hand account of the race weekend from Mike Cooper and John Cooper Motorsports. You can find the entire recap here:
The race began at 3.00 pm with Paul starting the stint. It was a glorious day about 30 degrees which was a welcome relief after torrential rain the day before. The car started to run really well. Paul ran for 2 hours, the maximum time a driver is allowed to race is 2.5 hours and with the excellent fuel consumption we were achieving we knew we could get the whole 2.5 hour stint. Peter took over from Paul the first major pit stop. Brake pads were checked, levels and pressures and new slicks were fitted to the front.
We fitted the new lights for the night time run and as dusk fell the atmosphere was electric. By now Paul was getting to grips and started to really motor. Only half way through his stint he reported back to us half way round the circuit the rear suspension had failed due to the earlier knock the car had received. The main suspension bolt had eventually sheared, causing the rear suspension to fail. Normally the Nurburgring truck would drive you back to the pits for repair but on this occasion the car could not be towed so the works' team went out into the forest and with help from the spectators managed to locate the car and repair the car at the side of the track. We lost a lot of time trying to find how to get to the point where the car broke down having to go through camp sites and forest areas. The guys fixed the car, with the help of spectators assisting us by passing parts over the bared wire fence.
[later in the race]…I could not stand the tension and the last 5/6 laps I decided to go up to the tower overlooking the pits into the BMW hospitality unit to watch the final laps and it suddenly dawned on me that this was the very place I stood as a 12 year old boy in 1966 and watched Jochen Rindt in the F1 Cooper Maserati. I think I must have been as nervous as my father was then. Klaus Wenzel, Head of BMW Accessories, reassured me that everything would be okay and we would cross the line in the world's toughest endurance event.
The emotions back in the pits were unbelievable. The team was ecstatic and waited for Karl Heinz to get back from Parc Ferme and greeted him with champagne. The whole event was an extremely moving occasion. Coopers' were back!
Again you can read the entire account here. While they may not have won their class – finishing a 24HR race at the Nurburgring is an accomplishment in itself – especially the first time out. Congradulations John Cooper Motorsports! Hopefully this is but a building block to future racing successes in the new MINI.
<p>I wanna see 'em at the Monte!! And win it!</p>
<pre><code> BCNU,
Rob in Dago
</code></pre>
<p>Here here! It's too bad that the new MINI is too short in length to compete in the WRC.</p>
<p>I wish I was there “spectators assisting us by passing parts over the bared wire fence” AWESOME!</p>