9 replies to this topic

[Johnny D]

 

Sebring, Fl. (5 November 2018) – One lucky racer will earn themselves $50,000 in just 90 minutes of racing as Mazda stages the 2018 Battery Tender Global Mazda MX-5 Cup Challenge at Sebring International Raceway next weekend.  A robust and diverse field of racers from around the globe, all utilizing the same Global Mazda MX-5 Cup machine, will take to Sebring for two 45-minute races.

 

The format is straightforward: the driver with the best combined results from the two races will win $50,000, while the runner-up will score $20,000 and the third-place racer will claim $10,000.

 

Both races will be streamed live at Mazda USA’s YouTube page (https://www.youtube.com/user/mazdausa).

 

The 2018 event is the third consecutive post-season event staged by the Battery Tender Global Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich. Two key traditions for the post season event, a big payoff and a strong international field of drivers, will continue once again this year.

 

While the 3.74-mile Sebring circuit has hosted the Mazda MX-5 Cup series in the past, the 2018 Challenge event marks the first-ever appearance at the track for the Global Mazda MX-5 Cup specification platform that was introduced ahead of the 2016 season. Nearly 200 editions of the identically-prepared machines that are built on the Mazda production line before being race-prepared by Long Road Racing have already been delivered, with a more powerful edition on offer for the 2019 season (https://mx-5cup.com/...5-cup-announced).

 

The Challenge event will close out the 2018 Global Mazda MX-5 Cup year of competition, which saw Nikko Reger claim the championship and a $200,000 support package from Mazda. Selin Rollan was the 2018 Rookie of the year, earning $75,000 in support from Mazda with the accomplishment. Both racers will look to add to their incredible record this year with a strong result in the dash for the cash next weekend.

 

Home Team Advantage? Sebring’s Sick Sideways hopes so

 

 

2015 Series Champion John Dean II calls Sebring home, with his Sick Sideways team based right down the road from the circuit. Sick Sideways, which claimed the 2018 Global Mazda MX-5 Cup Team Championship, will have a robust six-car entry for the two-race Challenge, with Dean himself returning to race duty for the weekend. Dean claimed both victories at Road America earlier this year and is looking forward to making the most of the home weekend.

 

Racing at Sebring is something special to Dean II, who is hoping to add to his collection of big days at the track.

 

“My first-ever weekend racing in this series was at Sebring, and the team (Sick Sideways) was nothing like it is now—it was just me and one other guy!” said Dean. “I think the track is the best in the country. There are places where it is very technical, and places where the draft is really important. I think there is going to be a lot of passing. I’d love to get out front and build a gap, but in this series that is nearly impossible! It is great that Mazda is putting up the money for this race. Let’s face it, that is the big motivation for us all!”

 

Youth Movement: Two 14-year-olds up for the Challenge

 

Start them young—the Challenge event will see two 14-year-olds competing in the two races.

 

14-year-old karter Tyler Gonzalez will be making his first-ever start in the series as he looks forward to his 2019 campaign in the full Global Mazda MX-5 Cup season. The Texan will race for Copeland Motorsports as he transitions into race cars for the first time with the Sebring outing.

 

Robert Noaker has already claimed a Global Mazda MX-5 Cup victory in his first season in the championship with his rousing run from 15th on the grid at Mid-Ohio to victory lane earlier this year. The Pennsylvanian will hope that the Sick Sideways squad will make him feel at home on their home track (read about his journey here https://www.mazdamot...on-turn-pro/). 

 

Noaker, who will be taking his first ever laps at Sebring, has prepared the same way a lot of his fellow racers do—by logging on to iRacing.com

 

“I’ve been doing a lot of simulator practice lately, and I’m hoping to pick up the track quickly when I get there,” said Noaker. “I’ve heard that it’s a very fast, bumpy track with a couple of blind turns. With the $50,000 prize, I think that people will be aggressive, but at the same time playing it safe. It’s like a mini championship to where you have one bad finish and you’re done.

 

“I’m sad that the regular season is over, but I’m excited to see what’s in store for us next year,” said Noaker.  “I have definitely exceeded my expectations this season; I never thought I would get a win and multiple top five finishes in my first season. It does give me confidence, but anything can happen in a race like this!”

 

10 states, Puerto Rico, Japan, and Russia for International Roster of Runners

 

With so much cash on the table, it is not surprising to see such a wide scope of interest in the two-race Challenge event. Drivers from Puerto Rico, Texas, Georgia, Virginia, Alabama,  New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Florida, New York, Illinois, and California are entered for the weekend, as well as some new contenders from around the globe.

 

Soichiro Yoshida (Machida, Tokyo, Japan), Yuui Tsutsumi (Yokohama, Kanagawa Japan), will join countryman and series regular Racer Kashima, with Moisey Uretsky of Yekaterinburg, Russia making his debut with McCumbee McAleer Racing.

 

“Having drivers from around the world, and especially three racers from Mazda’s home country, is really special,” said John Doonan, Mazda North America Motorsports Director. “The word ‘Global’ is right in the name of this series and we continue to have international interest in growing this program. Having the Challenge event is a great way to showcase the incredible racing that comes with this Global Mazda MX-5 Cup platform, and we are thrilled to see the show that these racers will no doubt put on for us at Sebring.”

 

Schedule of events

 

Teams will have the chance to test on Wednesday, November 7th, with the first official practice taking place on Friday, November 9th ahead of Saturday’s busy day of practice, qualifying, and race #1 at 4:05 PM ET. Sunday will feature race #2 at 9:50 AM ET.

 

Both races will be streamed on Mazda USA’s YouTube channel.

 

All sessions will have live timing and scoring hosted at https://mx-5cup.com/...ts/live-scoring with updates also available via twitter.com/globalmx5cup  and  https://www.facebook.com/MazdaMX5Cup/.

[Johnny D]

Anybody need a car?

https://showroom.win...s/product/3934/

 

J~

[Johnny D]

Lally closes season with $50K Global MX-5 Cup Challenge pursuit. How do you think he'll do ??

 

 

IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship star Andy Lally has packed his bags, grabbed his skateboard, and is headed for Sebring International Raceway in pursuit of the $50,000 prize Mazda has put up to win the Global MX-5 Cup Challenge event.

 

As part of IMSA’s Michelin Encore weekend at Sebring, the buzzing swarm of Mazda MX-5s will add plenty of fun to the mix as a pair of 45-minute races will be held, with the best average finishing position across both being used to determine the winner. Second place is worth $20,000, and third will receive $10,000.

 

“It started out as a conversation where my buddy Todd Lamb, who we used to race karts against each other 25 years ago, have stayed friends, we live pretty close to each other, and when this race at Sebring popped up, he called me and told me about the race, that Mazda put up 50 grand to win, 20 grand for second, and he needed a drafting partner!” he told RACER.

 

“I haven’t raced anything like an MX-5 Cup car for a while, and it’s amazing they put up this kind of money for a one-off event, and when the opportunity came up with Todd, I thought it’s getting cold in Georgia, so maybe it’s time to head to Florida and stay warm.”

 

No matter how many wins he’s earned at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and all the other major sports car victories Lally’s taken over the years, not to mention Lamb’s success in the sport, both are fully aware that getting their hands on Mazda’s money will not be easy.

 

“We’re both smart enough and have seen enough of the intense racing in the MX-5 Cup to know you can’t make a plan like that,” Lally said.

 

“We’re gonna work together in the races, but everything’s got to be fluid. Up to the checkered flag, there’s no guarantee, so we have to play everything by ear. We’ll both be going for it. If we’re close on the last lap, we’ll see what happens.”

 

In what could be described as a reverse evolutionary chart for race cars, Lally has wielded 800hp NASCAR Xfinity machines in 2018, 500hp Audi R8 LMS GT3s for Magnus Racing in IMSA, and will drop down to 200hp on his Global MX-5 cup debut.

 

“It’s a different car than I normally race, but not far off some others I’ve driven in the past,” he added. “Somebody asked me if I was worried about going down to a ladder series and having a target on my back or if I’d hurt my reputation by getting beat. But it’s not about that. It’s about having fun. Between GT3 racing and NASCAR Xfinity racing, those cars can’t be further apart, and to end the year on a lower power car where you have to carry mid-corner speed will be the fun.

 

“The added incentive of 50 grand for the win is amazing. I think we’ll see in years to come, with more pro guys coming down to do this race, they’ll have to check their egos at the door, swing the bat, and see if they can take home the big prize!”

[Steve Scheifler]

Tom Long dominating Wednesday open practice and again today, but I’m thinking his car number 19 is a clue. Shaking down the 2019 spec car during practice for comparison?

[RussMcB]

I went to the YouTube site.  Not seeing anything there.

[Johnny D]

The 1st link up top works. There racing right now. Tap the video

J~

[Steve Scheifler]

They seem to have frequent issues getting up live. I watched the Japanese feed for the first few laps until I finally found one working in English on upstream.tv. Never did get a working link from the MX5 Cup site or YouTube or their FB site. I love that they stream this stuff but they really need more focus on making a LIVE event extremely easy to find or it’s just more frustration than positive marketing.

[Johnny D]

Race 1 Video   Jump to the 38 min mark

 

Race 2 Video

 

J~

[Danny Steyn]

That was some intense racing in both races

[Bench Racer]