Recently we spent the weekend at New York Safety Track testing the Mini Cooper, kicking off the winter dust and getting ready to return to racing. NYST is a 2.1 mile 18 turn track with 450 feet of elevation changes located about 60 miles east of Binghamton NY. 15 of the 18 turns are blind and every turn is different. There are virtually no guard rails and large run off areas in some cases bounded by tire walls, in other areas trees bound the course after the run off areas.  Needless to say it is very popular with the purists.

My three son’s track their motorcycles there and this was a Bike & Car combined weekend, so this was a great opportunity to get the MINI out on track and get in some family time to boot. The Team Kenific Mini Cooper should have had several mods installed before this test weekend (including a new AEM air intake system).

However, issues at work and getting my motor home ready meant that only the new ignition coils and replacement lug studs and nuts from eEuroparts were installed on the car for this one. Camping was available however there are no water or electric hook ups, so getting the camper ready for the trip was mission critical for us.

Saturday was cold with a steady rain and less than 10 cars and 10 motorcycles showed up for the day, this allowed two test sessions in a 30 minute on 30 minute off format. This represents the most track time I have every experienced at a HPDE/Test weekend, so it really worked out for the Kenific Mini.

NYST is very technical, and many different race lines exist at every corner.  Very challenging. I spent the day working on driving skills, specifically trail braking and left foot braking as the tight section of the track does not require much shifting. The Mini Cooper ran great all day Saturday as I participated in every car session.Sunday started overcast but dry and much warmer, and with the weather change came many more participants both on the car and motorcycle side.  This rearranged the schedule to include four 15 minute sessions per hour, three for motorcycles and one for cars.  Again, the mini ran great in the morning sessions.  As the day progressed, however, we developed what seems to be a fuel pick up problem.  This is why we practice and test!The Mini is back in the garage for troubleshoot this weekend, once I identify the problem I will be ordering more parts from eEuroparts for the repair before the next race weekend, which I hope to be the SCCA club race at Lime Rock in June. Thankfully parts are delivered very quickly from eEuroparts therefore I should be back on track very soon!