The MINI Challenge championship, as of 2020, sits under the prestigious umbrella of the Touring Car Association, or better known as TOCA. Formed in 1990 by Alan Gow TOCA Limited in 1991 purchased the rights to the British Touring Car Championship. Between 1991 and 2000, Gow preceded to grow the BTCC to one of the largest motorsport championships of its kind globally, attracting significant automotive manufacture financial investment, vast audiences and some of the world's greatest drivers. After the successes of the championship, it started to attract international attention; Gow, in 2000, sold TOCA to a NASDAQ listed American company,...

The MINI Challenge JCW race car is arguably the closest thing one can get to a British Touring Car and is, in many ways, more of a 'touring car' than an actual British Touring Car, in the 'old fashion' sense, of course. Until the late 90s, a British Touring Car was always a production road car transformed into a race car, which is why the BTCC became so popular as the cars were fundamentally the same as the family car one had on their drive or could buy from a dealership, which gave the series its charm. In recent years,...