
The Driver
Max Leaver will be entering the 2012 Mini Challenge as a rookie racer. His first taste of motorsport was at the age of 13 in his cousin’s kart at Rye House kart track… he was hooked. Since then Max has developed a fascination for cars and motorsport, even making it his day job. After a few track days in a race prepared Mini Cooper S. Max made the jump into motorsport and bought his first race car, a Mini Cooper. Max has tested at both Brands Hatch and Snetterton and was inside a second off the fastest lap achieved at a previous race meeting.
The Car
The ‘Club’ class car that Max will be racing is based on the road-going Mini Cooper.
Motorsport suspension, brakes, gearbox and tyres are used, as well as a full roll cage and tuned engine. All the cars are designed to be equal in each class, so driving skill determines who takes the chequered flag first.
The Team
This is a family run team, making it a friendly and welcoming place to be for both sponsors and their guests. The team consists of: Mark Leaver (Team Manger), Andrew Hull (Chief Engineer), Richard Hull (Team Mechanic and Data Engineer), Darrell Cripps (Mechanic), Sarah & Annie Leaver (Hospitality) & Karen McCarthy (Marketing). Being family run makes the cost of running the team minimal and all available sponsorship money would be spent in key areas such as car maintenance and testing.
The Challenge
The Mini Challenge is a single make series for the BMW Mini. The 2012 championship calendar is as follows:
14th April – Silverstone
7th May – Castle Combe
16th-17th June – Brands Hatch
30th-1st July – Snetterton
28th July – Oulton Park
15th-16th September – Brands Hatch GP
6th-7th October – Donington Park
Large grids of over 25 cars are seen at each round with close wheel to wheel racing. The Mini Challenge has proven to be such a popular championship that one of the leading Motorsport organisations, MSVR, has included the championship on its televised schedule
on Motors TV. It has also been selected to be part of the flagship race meetings, including the British round of the Formula Two championship at Silverstone and the Mini Festival at Brands Hatch. This therefore guarantees maximum exposure at a leading event and a primetime TV slot.