Tyler Palmer finishes first and second in Pirelli World Challenge at New Jersey Motorsports Park

Woodcliff Lake, NJ – June 3, 2014…MINI Motorsports’ newest addition, Tyler Palmer, motored his way to two more podiums in the Pirelli World Challenge this weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park. 

After qualifying, Palmer started Race 1 in the second position on the grid, lapping in second place for most of the race around the high speed technical turns of the New Jersey track. Choosing to setup the rear a little looser to encourage gentle over steer, Palmer turned his best lap at 1:40.535 and was awarded the “Clean Pass Award” and set the third fastest lap of the race.

Palmer started Race 2 in the third position on the grid, switching between the top three positions multiple times. Palmer made a magnificent pass on the final lap to take the lead and used the next couple of corners to open up more of a gap, allowing him to cross the finish line as the leader and earning vital Championship points.  His last lap pass to take the lead earned him the “Best Move of the Race” award.

“The MINI USA racecar handled better than every other car manufacturer on the track allowing me to make numerous passes when needed, especially the winning move,” said Palmer.

But, Palmer wasn’t the only MINI driver in last weekend’s Pirelli World Challenge race. Andrei Kisel (4th), RJ Groenke (6th), Jason Fichter (8th), Jim Cleveland (9th), Tom Noble (12th) all participated in the event at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

“We are very proud of Tyler and his performance at New Jersey Motorsports Park this weekend,” said Chris Potgieter, Product Manager, MINI USA. “We are also very excited to see so many other MINIs performing so well. It’s a true testament to the rich rally and motorsports heritage at MINI.”

Palmer’s performance behind the wheel of the #37 MINI this weekend puts him in fourth place in the overall championship after competing at the New Jersey track for the first time ever. 

Palmer currently races a 2012 MINI Cooper Hardtop owned by MINI of Charleston Racing, the same MINI that was driven to the 2013 Pirelli World Challenge Championship last season by Robbie Davis. Palmer stands in fourth place in the overall championship with his next race on Thursday, June 19 - Saturday, June, 21, 2014 in Elkhart Lake, WI.

You can learn more about Tyler Palmer at www.TylerPalmerRacing.com and find him on Facebook at Facebook.com/TylerPalmerRacing.

About MINI in the US
MINI is an independent brand of the BMW Group. In the United States, MINI USA operates as a business unit of BMW of North America, LLC, located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey and includes the marketing and sales organizations for the MINI brand. The MINI USA sales organization is represented in the U.S. through a network of 120 MINI passenger car dealers in 38 states. MINI USA began selling vehicles in the U.S. in 2002 with the introduction of the MINI Cooper and MINI Cooper S Hardtops. Since then, the MINI Brand in the U.S. has grown to encompass a model range of seven unique vehicles.

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Consumer information about MINI products is available via the internet at: www.MINIUSA.com.