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[Johnny D]

—Both races will be streamed LIVE on www.MazdaLive.com on Saturday, April 22.  Race 1 starts at 10:00 am (CT) with Race 2 at 5:40 pm (CT).

 

Birmingham, Ala. (18 April 2017) - Dress rehearsals are over, and following a very busy Spring Training test last month, the 2017 Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires championship will kick off with a double-header at Barber Motorsports Park this weekend as part of the Verizon IndyCar Series event.

 

 

Two 45-minute races on Saturday will kick off the 12th season of competition for the Global MX-5 Cup series, which puts the results into the drivers’ hands thanks to the incredible parity that comes with a uniformly-sourced car. Built to a homologated spec by Long Road Racing, the SKYACTIV-engine Global MX-5 Cup machines will once again put the focus on driver performance in 2017.

 

The visit to Barber Motorsports Park also marks the first event under the management of Andersen Promotions for the Mazda-owned series, which is now sanctioned by INDYCAR with Vince Kremer serving as Race Director.

 

The focus on parity and affordability is well reflected in the 34-car entry list, which features drivers from 17 states and two countries.

 

With such close competition and a deep field of talent, it would be a challenge to pick a winner with any certainty, and that was underscored during the Spring Training in March that saw six different drivers top each of the six sessions at the 2.38-mile circuit.

 

Nikko Reger posted the fastest time of Spring Training with a lap of 1:40.0932-seconds, while Justin Piscitell, Tim Barber, Patrick Wilmot, Nathanial Sparks and Mark Drennan each closed out a session on top.

 

Also adding to the competitive mix will be the $50,000 scholarship on offer from Mazda that will go to the highest finishing rookie in 2017. There are seven first-year racers who will look to get a fast start towards that prize this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park.

 

2016 Global MX-5 Cup champion Nathanial Sparks will look to convert the $200,000 scholarship that he earned with the title last year into a successful title defense. Making his first professional race start will be Matt Cresci, who won the 2016 Mazda Road to 24 Shootout.

 

“We are thrilled to be starting our 12th season of Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup competition this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park with a very deep field of racers,” said David Cook, Manager, Mazda Motorsports Business Development. “Being a part of the IndyCar events is something that our teams and drivers really appreciate, and we expect that we will have two great races for the fans this weekend to kick off the season. The response to the Global MX-5 Cup car has been outstanding and everyone at Mazda is working to continue to grow the series internationally.”

 

Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires News and Notes:

 

— Going Global: the Global MX-5 Cup is the North American edition of the all MX-5 championship, with Mazda’s vision being to create multiple championships around the globe all utilizing the same MX-5 Global Cup car. While 2017 marks just the second season with the new Global MX-5 Cup platform, there is already inertia with new international championships. Official tests for the GLOBAL MX-5 Cup Japan were carried out in March at Sportsland SUGO, Miyagi Prefecture where 10 MX-5 Cup cars took part as a first official step forward to building a championship in Japan.

 

—Big Oak Ranch visit reflects Mazda’s big hearts: With the support of Mazda and Andersen Promotions, defending MX-5 Cup Champion Nathanial Sparks will host guests this weekend from the Big Oak Ranch (http://www.bigoak.org), a home for children needing a chance. The young visitors will get a behind the scenes look at a race weekend as well as some special opportunities to meet the drivers in the series and see the Global MX-5 Cup machine in person.

 

—The Barber Motorsports Park entry list includes drivers from 17 states as well as Canada.

 

—Both races will be streamed LIVE on www.MazdaLive.com on Saturday, April 22.  Race 1 starts at 10:00 am (CT) with Race 2 at 5:40 pm (CT).

 

—The 2017 season will see the introduction of a rookie championship-within-a-championship, with a $50,000 scholarship going to the top-finishing first-year racer.

 

The 2017 class of Global MX-5 Cup rookies:

 

07    Joe DaSilva, Acushnet, MA. -- Ives Motorsports, Ives Motorsports

28     Robert Stout, Palm Springs, CA. – McCumbee McAleer Racing, Lucas Oil/SC Fuels

31    Luis Gavignano, Fairfax Station, VA. -- Atlanta Speedwerks, McDonalds

47    Chris Kopitski, Sioux Falls, SD. -- Copeland Motorsports, Kopitski Racing

51    Matt Cresci, San Jose, CA. -- Slipstream Performance, Mazda Motorsports

77    Luke Oxner, Greely, CO. -- White Racing, Wine Country Motorsports

90    Dillon Dexter, Central City, NE. -- Copeland Motorsports, Dexter Racing

97    Frank Garcia, Frostproof, FL. -- Universal Motorsports, Universal Shooting Academy/Ron Automotive

 

—Youth, and experience: while there is a healthy roster of rookies, there is also a lot of experience in the field. Three former series champions: John Dean II (2015) , Nathaniel Sparks (2016), and Todd Lamb (2009) will all return for full-season campaigns.  The driver with the most series experience is Ara Malkhassian, who  has been in 110 of the 112 races run since 2006.

 

— 2017 is the 12th season for the Global MX-5 Cup series, second for the Long Road Racing-built Global MX-5 Cup machine.

 

— The Barber Motorsports Park race weekend is the first race event with INDYCAR sanctioning and Andersen Promotions management for the Global MX-5 Cup series.

 

— Key marketing and commercial partners for the series include Mazda, Battery Tender, BFGoodrich Tires, Pagid Racing, and VP Racing Fuels.

 

— The Global MX-5 Cup car had its first season of competition in 2016, with the field of drivers completing 23,852.08 miles of competition. The circumference of the earth is 24,901 miles.

 

— Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup Autograph session: 1:30 pm – 2:00 pm Friday at the IndyCar Fan Village

 

— Local Flavor: While there are drivers arriving in Alabama from all around the country, there are several for whom this is their home event:

 

06   Patrick Wilmot, Villa Rica, GA. -- GB Racing

03   Ashton Harrison, Villa Rica, GA. -- GB Racing

8     Nathanial Sparks, Spanish Fort, AL. -- SickSideways Racing

94   Topher Everett, Bogart, GA. -- Atlanta Speedwerks

84   Todd Lamb, Atlanta, GA. -- Atlanta Speedwerks

 

2017 Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires Schedule:

 

Rounds 1 & 2 Barber Motorsports Park  April 21-23

Rounds 3 & 4 Indianapolis Motor Speedway  June 16-18

Rounds 5 & 6 Road America  June 23-25

Rounds 7 & 8 Streets of Toronto  July 14-16

Rounds 9 & 10 Watkins Glen International  September 1-3

Rounds 11 & 12 Mazda Raceway Laguna  Seca September 22-4

Global Invitational Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca October 13-15

[Justin Casey]

 

Qualifying is done!

Top Ten include:

 

1- Nathaniel Sparks

2- Patrick Gallagher

3 - Luke Oxner ®

4- Mark Drennan

5 - Robby Foley

6 - Matt Cresci ®

7 - Bryan Ortiz

8 - Dean Copelan

9 - Nikko Reger

10 - Robert Stout ®

 

3 Rookies within the top 10.

[Johnny D]

Patrick Gallagher Sweeps Barber Weekend with Race 2 Victory

  

Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires Launches 2017 with two great races.

Birmingham, Ala. (22 April 2017) – Having come up just a few points shy of a Mazda MX-5 Cup  championship earlier in his career, Patrick Gallagher knows that every point matters.

 

That mindset was fully on display Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park as the Ohio native converted an ambitious last-lap pass into his second victory of the day in the No. 29 McCumbee McAleer Racing entry as the 2017 Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires season opened with two very competitive races.

 

Mark Drennan (No. 5 Winding Road Racing) led a race-high 16 laps, but fell to second in the closing moments of the race as a three-way battle for the lead between he and Gallagher and Nathanial “Sparky” Sparks saw the podium finishers separated by just .4-seconds at the checkered flag.

 

“I feel like those last three laps of the race, those were the three best laps of my life that I’ve ever driven,” said Gallagher. “It (the pass for the lead) was a risky move, but I wanted to win the race. I wasn’t going to do that move every lap, but I was able to beat him over the hill and I got by him. I’ve lost a championship by a point before, so I know how important every point is. A huge thank you to Battery Tender, Mazda, ModSpace, Howard Concrete Pumping, Spartan Cargo Trailers, BFGoodrich Tires and McCumbee McAleer Racing, I couldn’t do it without any of those folks, so thank you!”

 

“It was pretty tight,” said Drennan of the final two laps. “I saw that Patrick (Gallagher) got by Sparky and I knew he’d be fast and I would need to defend against him in turn five.  Shame on me for leaving too much room on the last lap. I’m happy with a second place finish, but a little disappointed it wasn’t first place because I led the most laps. It was a great points weekend and I’m thankful for the support from Winding Road Team TFB.”

 

Meanwhile, the rookie class was in a battle of its own with Bryan Ortiz, Robert Stout, and Matt Cresci all swapping positions up through the final lap. In another last lap move, Ortiz got around Stout to take top rookie honors at the finish with his run to fifth place behind Robby Foley.

 

“I am extremely happy,” said Ortiz. “This is my first weekend in the Global MX-5 Cup series, finishing the second race fifth and being the highest rookie. It was a very interesting race. There was a lot of battling with all the guys. I didn’t know what to expect in this race because I didn’t finish the first race but I fought hard. I’m very happy and the Copeland Motorsports team did an amazing job. We will keep working and keep pushing to the front.”

 

As the 29-car field came to the green flag, Tim Probert (No. 26 ALARA Racing) made contact with the rear of Luis Gavigano’s No. 31 McDonalds MX-5 entry and the angle of impact was enough for Probert’s No. 26 machine to roll over onto its top. The incident produced a lengthy full course caution period but demonstrated the integrity of the Global MX-5 Cup, which was built to international FIA safety specifications. Probert waved to the crowd as he emerged unscathed with the assistance of the Holmatro Safety crew.

 

When the race went back to green, less than 30 minutes remained as Sparky led the field from the pole position.

 

“I was in second place for most of the race and I was glad to be there,” said Sparky. “I really just wanted to stick where I was. The competition was stiff and it was really exciting racing. I was just glad to bring it home in third for Sick Sideways. I had a great race and I had two of the best decisions I could have and places to defend.”

 

The top-nine cars ran nose-to-tail as positions swapped with every lap, with the INDYCAR scoring system tallying 157 on-track passes.

 

The Battery Tender Hard Charger Award went to to Glenn McGee (No. 33 Slipstream Performance) who started 29th and improved to finish 17th.

 

“Well, I won the Battery Tender Hard Charger award, so I passed the most cars and probably had the most fun out there against some tough drivers,” said McGee. “This was a phenomenal weekend for me. I was a last-minute entry. I got a call on Tuesday and they asked me to show up to the track because they might have a ride for me. I have some really good people behind me. I would like to thank Mazda, Battery Tender, iRacing and BFGoodrich Tires who put on a really great series who make it affordable for guys like me. I was Mazda’s first virtual-to-reality driver so I just got stuck on the SIM and the only real time I had was in Race 2, so I had to go from a simulator, directly into a race. I can’t believe we came away with this.”

(Patrick Gallagher, on top, above.)

 

Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires will return to race action on June 16-18 for Rounds 3 & 4 at the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

 

Full results can be found here: http://mx-5cup.com/results

 

About: The Battery Tender Global MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires is the signature spec series for the Mazda Road to 24 (#MRT24), the sports car counterpart to the Mazda Road to Indy (#MRTI). On both paths, Mazda-powered champions earn a Mazda scholarship to advance their career. The MX-5 Cup champion earns a $200,000 scholarship. Find out more at http://www.mx-5cup.com.

[Ron Alan]

A lot of fun to watch these races this weekend! A lot of time under yellow...but that wasn't a surprise

 

Congrats to Mark D for a solid weekend...its going to be a battle this year! Our other West coast local Matt C had a solid first race! 2nd race he was right there as well until getting hooked up with a lapper on the last lap...unfortunate. 

The "Rookie" battle given the prize money should prove to be very intense given the nature of the talent...Rookie being new to the series but not to Pro racing!

 

Last year there were some complaints(grapevine)about contact and penalties(lack of?). Anything new someone in the series can share?

It would seem the issue with the pace car last year(to fast)didn't improve that first race!