What can be better after the holidays than a Mini Challenge league with door to door racing and plenty of adrenaline to lose those extra holidays pounds? We all know that Christmas is for food pigging out, and of course New Year's Eve for drinking like in high school...
Before we dive into the upcoming season, let’s look at the cars themselves and get a bit of a history lesson from previous iterations of this popular championship, and hear from the champions themselves. But first, until the RDMC by Extreme Simracing S11 starts, you can go and relive the past season in all it’s glory at the links below
RDMC Season 10 broadcasts :
- Round 1 - Oulton Park International
- Round 2 - Snetterton
- Round 3 - Brands Hatch Indy
- Round 4 - Silverstone GP
- Round 5 - Brands Hatch GP
- Round 6 - Oulton Park Fosters
The former Race07, GSC Mini and now AMS Mini shared very similar characteristics. They should be, and always were very fun to drive cars, allowing anyone to be decently fast and enjoy these chuckable cars. But, in a competitive environment these cars lose a bit of the “fun” aspect as being really fast in these cars requires a very loose setup, although the word setup is a loose term in itself as there is not much you could change in this cars, but let me give you some top tips.
- Higher tyre pressure = extra km/h in top speed, not much but enough to make a tad of difference, the downside to higher tire pressure is that the car will be very wild on lift-off, huge lift-off oversteer;
- Big difference between rear and front tyre pressure will act like sway bars, but again it won’t be noticeable to most drivers (no offense!)
- Remember, loose = fast, even if it’s hard to control the car and with a loose setting, you are more in danger if someone tags you from behind as you will spin more easily or lose control, also snap oversteer is bigger with a loose setup;
- As with all FWD cars, never ever completely take the foot off the throttle pedal, even when braking still keep 5%, momentum and always on throttle earns those last few tenths.
This year will be something even more special, thanks in part to the generous support of Extreme Simracing - our new partner for season 11 offering up the fantastic $1100 Cockpit X Simulator. This attractively designed racing rig can be won in a raffle held throughout the upcoming esport series.
Also Amazon gift-cards are rewarded to the top 3 in the overall classification of the series.
- $75
- $50
- $25
As for history, the RaceDepartment Mini Challenge (RDMC) is the second oldest league here at RaceDepartment.com, and a very popular championship in general. Until now, no Champion has ever defended his title and there has never been a double champion in the series history - maybe until this year...which brings us to the sign-ups so far, as of December 28th 2018.
Well, we have Ross McGregor who is the reigning RDMC champion and all around good guy. Ross won the 2017 championship after beating Shawn Jacobs in what was a pretty dominant season from Ross, a driver who is known for his consistency and overall good pace.
We got a chance to talk with @Ross McGregor and this is what came up :
Mr.C - Ross, you are well-versed sim-racer but probably more prominent in RWD cars, am I right to say that? What does attract you to the Minis
RM: They’re easy to jump in and drive. There are very little setup options too so way less complicated. I don’t have enough free time these days to tweak a setup, and this is what frustrates me sometimes about AC and rf2 and my inability to get on the pace. I prefer RWD but these cars are fun
Mr. C - You are the current champion, so I presume the goal is to defend that? From this early stage of the sign-ups, do you see any names that might make that goal a bit difficult to achieve?
RM: To be honest I’ve been away from league racing for a long time so I hardly know anyone these days! I mainly do club races at RD and the only league I do is the RD Mini league, so I know that guys like Matt Le Gallez, Luka Berk, Shawn Jacobs, and Frank Lehmann are quick. I think it’ll be really difficult to win the championship again!
Mr. C - As the "silent assassin" what is your biggest attribute in these cars? Pure pace, consistency, racecraft, tyre preservation...
RM: Consistency.
Mr. C - Also like a normal sim-racer what is your Achilles' heal - to make it fair (don't know if it matters) mine is when somebody passes me and they string 1-2 good laps I get demoralized like, OMG he is faster, I can't keep up, I suck and then downhill from there, but if it's less than that I kinda recover and see my options.
RM: Qualifying is normally my weakness. I’m not a good hot-lapper.
Mr. C - Do prizes motivate you more or what makes you click?, like, ok for this I need to do X amount of laps or such
RM: No, I didn’t get a prize for winning the championship last time so it’s purely for enjoyment.
Mr. C - Do you like to win with close battle or do you like to be out front alone and win?
RM: No preference if I’m lucky enough to win at all!
Mr. C - Any memorable race from the previous season?
RM: Silverstone GP. I was extremely ill before the race and somehow qualified on pole. Stayed ahead of Shawn Jacobs for a while but he was much faster. When he took the lead I somehow managed to stay on his pace and we had an epic battle before I managed to win in the last lap, last corner move. Silverstone is a bogey track for me too, so I didn’t expect to do so well. There were good battles with Shawn at Oulton Park too.
Another guy that we caught with to is Mr. @Luka Berk who comes with high recommendations from our last year’s vice-champion Shawn Jacobs :
Mr. C - Introduce yourself mister, who are we praising so much?
LB: The name is Luka Berk, I'm a 22 year old from Slovenia, graduated as a computer technician and lover of anything on wheels with an engine, preferably running on petrol. I've been playing racing games ever since I can remember, started simracing about 8 years ago when I got my first wheel. Mostly stuck to single player experiences, in recent years started taking part in various club races and only earlier this year also took it to a more professional level. I primarily race in rFactor 2 driving an LMP3 car, as well as the Virtual Le Mans Series where I drive a Corvette C7 GTE. I was told Mini's are great fun and gave them a quick run, safe to say I instantly fell in love with the car and here we are.
Mr. C - New man on the horizon, what are your objectives for this league, and be honest, not some politically correct answer like - I just enjoy Simracing and it's all about having fun... Bleah
LB: I may be new to the series, that doesn't mean I'll take it easy. I plan to fight for wins, podiums at worst. Might be rather optimistic for a rookie but I know I can put up a good fight with the right mindset. So simply said, I'm in it to win it.
Mr. C - What is your secret for this type of car or better yet what is your main attribute? Hotlaper consistency tyre saver, race craft?
LB: This may backfire slightly to the previous statement as I still have a lot to learn about the car. It is very different to what I usually drive after all. However, my main goal is to achieve fast and consistent laps. it's always been one of my strong points, hope I can transfer it over to this car as well.
Mr. C - From the info you have gathered, did you gather any information? Who do you think you'll be racing with??
LB: The club races I took part in definitely helped with understanding the car and seeing what the competition might be like. I do expect people to go even faster but it was a nice benchmark to see how I stack up among the rest.
Mr. C - I know that you work with Shawn Jacob's (runner-up last season), any tips from him?
LB: Shawn Jacobs is actually the one who talked me into racing this series so he's to blame that I'm here. Gave me a heads up who might be strong competitors as well but that's about it. Maybe has some more tips saved for over the season.
Mr. C - Tell us a funny Simracing story that involves you
LB: Probably my favorite story is one from a very recent league race. We were battling for position as we both caught up to another car which I thought was a lap behind. The first car got through while I was stuck behind him trying to pass. I was yelling over Teamspeak "Move! You're being lapped for God's sake!" just to be told it's actually a battle for position. I suppose that's what happens when you don't sleep the night before.
We caught up with another previous champion, Mr. @Chris Butcher, our 2013 Champion here at RaceDepartment, one extremely fast and fierce competitor.
Mr. C - Chris, we go back a long time and I know you to be very fast in both RWD and FWD, and I know you took part in many leagues with the mini and you are an RDMC Mini champion, 2013 special Nords I think, what does attract you so much to the cars?
CB: That's right, the 2013 Nords special was a fun event and there were some big names there. I love the nature of a spec series, that the racing was so close and the driver can make a real difference. Setup doesn't matter as much in these cars and they just seem to suit my driving style
Mr. C - I don't know if you checked the sign-up list but who do you think will be your main opponents?
CB: I'm expecting @Bram Hengeveld and @Ross McGregor to be challenges, both have always been fast, consistent drivers and I know Ross well from our days at THR together - on his day he's blisteringly fast and will be difficult to beat. I'm a competitive person so I'll definitely be giving it my all, but I do aim to have some fun with all the simracing I do so hopefully there will be some smiles along the way too.
P.s. > he clearly didn't see Bram in recent years
)), no offense Bram, please.Mr. C - What is your secret in these cars? pure raw pace, consistency, tyre preservation, racecraft ...I kinda know (think I know) the answer but want to see if you see the same..
CB: I think it's a combination of all factors really. When the racing is so close you need to be good in all areas to be at the front of the grid. I would say my main strengths though are consistency and racecraft
Mr C - As you know, the league will have a full reverse grid, what will be your strategy for those races? full-on from green light or just chill 1-2 laps and then rely only on your pure speed over the opponents?
CB: Definitely full attack. It's a risky strategy but that's when most places can be made in a short amount of time
Mr. C - Tell us a funny/sad/angry story with you and these cars
CB: the last time I raced the cars were at another big league and I was leading the championship by a healthy margin. Towards the back end of the season, I had a disconnect which really set me back. Eventually, I lost the championship by a single point to Eric Stranne. So I definitely have unfinished business in these cars!
And finally a word from our Sim Racing Saviour and polar bear master, Mr. @Bram Hengeveld -san
Mr. C - Bram - san as the main man of RaceDepartment, what do you think of the MINI Challenge?
BH: It's a pretty established league inside RD and I personally still remember the race 07 Mini Friday's. Apart from the RDTCC the Mini Challenge is the longest running series on RaceDepartment and the one I personally cherish for it's extremely close and competitive racing in combination with a laid-back attitude of the competition Esport pilots. The RACE 07 days are unfortunately long gone, but for me at least the MINI in AMS still makes the spirit of the Mini Challenge live on. I can't wait for a future game to bring the most recent version of the MINI as that will be the next step for this series: an officially sanctioned MINI Cooper Esport series.
Mr. C - I know that these days you just enjoy Simracing and take it easy, but I also know you can be damn fast, Which Bram are we going to see this time around?
BH: I wish I'd agree on that but I am busier than ever before on RD but changes in my personal life and the workload that involves running the largest simracing website on the internet allows me for minimal time in the racing seat. That said, I enjoy every second of virtual racing even more than in the 30 years before. The less I race, the more epic it seems to become.
Mr. C - What about Roaring Pipes Maniacs, any specific goals?
BH: RPM, the Roaring Pipes Maniacs, used to be a big name in the RACE 07 community and are the spiritual founders of RaceDepartment. We have been laying low for a few years now but 2019 will mark the return of an official Esport team concurring the world of simracing once again. We are in talks with sponsors and talented drivers, this mixed with some of the aliens that are still in the team we are preparing for a return with a big bang. But unfortunately, with this rusty admin behind the wheel of this MINI, this will most likely not be during the RD MINI Challenge
Mr. C - Can you tell us how the deal with Extreme Simracing came about, and any tips on how to win the big prize?
BH: Extreme Simracing and RaceDepartment share a passion which is simracing. We love to work with high-quality sponsors for our series and they fit right in for this championship run in Automobilista. We are both looking forward to a great season where eventually an Esporter or a spectating fan will go home with this amazing prize.
Mr. C - And the last question, as you are a busy man, do you have a favorite moment from all of the MINI Challenge seasons that sticks in your mind and us( the fans) can read /see enjoy it.
BH: Haha, the most legendary moment I remember must be from the 2012 season. We introduced the reversed grid for the first time and we had native South African @Ken Hunter finishing last in race 1 at Taruma. This meant he was on pole for the second the race and the good man made his MINI John Cooper Works so big and wide that the aliens stuck behind him couldn't pass. The infamous HUNTER HORDE was born. Makes me smile every time I think back to it. Epic conversations that were on Teamspeak with him holding up the entire field for many laps.
RDMC Previous Winners
- 2009 Christopher Aponte (NED) and Michele Spoldi (ITA)
- 2012 Jimi Hughes
- 2013 Chris Butcher
- 2015 Adrian Campfield
- 2016 Erhan Jajovski
- 2017 Ross McGregor
Now with all that done, you can enjoy a few more Mini Friday events until the big Season 11 start here and be sure to follow us on every social media ever and subscribe on Twitch and YouTube channels too!
RDMC by Extreme Simracing Season 11 will be hosted by RaceDepartment, with your commentator behind the mic once again Mr @Joseph Wright , with maybe a surprise guest or too as well. We fully expect this to be the best season yet.
Automobilista is a PC exclusive racing game from Reiza Studios, and can be purchased from the Steam network.
If you enjoy Automobilista then take your experience to the next level with RaceDepartment! Join in our brilliant online Racing Club to take part in organised online race events, or head over to the Automobilista Modding Forum to have a look through our community made content, or if this isn't enough to keep you occupied, check out the general AMS sub forum and involve yourself in our wonderful sim racing community.
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