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In Creating a Spec National Class: NC Miata – Vision, Mazda shared its vision of creating a spec national class in club racing for the NC Miata (third generation; 2006-2015 Miata). An opportunity for the masses to purchase an affordable, reliable, tech-able, and fun to drive race car where racers and teams will be able to compete against each other – undoubtedly creating some of the best racing around.
In Creating a Spec National Class: NC Miata – Execution, the focus turns to the plan to get it done – to realize the vision; the focus is:
- Working with the sanctioning bodies to create the racing opportunity
- Selecting the right partners for the build kit and continued support
- Offering very affordable build kits – Rewarding early adopters to create momentum
- Offering very affordable pricing on ongoing parts orders – Rewarding early adopters to create momentum
- Rewarding on-track results through a robust contingency awards program
Working with the sanctioning bodies to create the racing opportunity
For many, Mazda is synonymous with SCCA and NASA. Mazda has more participation in the two sanctioning bodies combined than all other manufacturers combined. Rooted in SCCA and NASA racing for many years, this consistency and working relationship provides all parties with confidence that a spec National class will happen in both organizations.
Both the SCCA and NASA have been working with Mazda on a step-by-step plan to build the car count to critical mass, ultimately achieving a club racing national class. The plan starts with ensuring the NC Miatas running in their respective sanctioning bodies continue to thrive and are not difficult, in terms of time and money, to convert to the spec class.
“Everyone knowing where we want to go will be important to getting there,” commented David Cook, business development manager for Mazda Motorsports.
“The MX-5 Miata has been a critical part of sports car racing and SCCA over the last 30 years, with the success of the Spec Miata class playing the lead role,” said Eric Prill, Vice President & Chief Operations Officer of the SCCA. “We commend and support Mazda’s efforts to develop a consistent, affordable platform for the next evolution with the NC. We look forward to working together during this exciting time, helping develop the next generation of motorsports experiences.”
“We are committed to working toward identify and cultivating the next generation of classes in sports car racing,” said Jeremy Croiset, NASA Vice President. “Mazda is using all the tools in their arsenal to ensure this next generation spec racing class has the right foundation to flourish and we look forward to working with Mazda on growing this exciting new segment in the next chapter of the Mazda racing family.”
Selecting the right partners for the build kit and continued racer support
“We have built strong relationships with other leaders in the sport that will help us offer an NC build kit that achieves the four pillars of the race car – affordable, reliable, tech-able, and fun-to-drive – required to achieve our goal,” commented Josh Smith, the technical lead for Mazda Motorsports. “We are hopeful to announce the kit by this fall, and with it, share who the industry leading partners are along with the special pricing. We know others are going to be just as excited.”
“Most of the parts required for the new build will come from us – the hard top and much more – though not the cage, for example,” said Cook. “There are many quality builders in the market, though we recommend MiataCage as it is building a custom cage for the spec NC and using our aftermarket hardtop which will be the spec.”
Offering very affordable build kits – Rewarding early adopters to create momentum
“We believe there is a sweet spot for new builds meant specifically for club racing – and that’s about $30,000,” commented Smith. “At $5,000 or less for the donor car, plus around $12,000 for the labor, we are targeting about $13,000 for all the added components. It’s still early days, though, as we have not yet built the test mule, and we recognize labor time and rates vary based on many factors. But, these are our target numbers for a fall go-to-market time frame. What we do know is we are not going to sacrifice quality, we will get low costs on parts and work on slim margins, and the final product is going to be a lot of fun to drive.
“To help achieve critical mass,” Smith continued, “We need the support of the prep shops. For those in our prep shop rewards program, they will earn additional margin as we need this to be a win/win. Our partners understand this strategy and are helping make this happen by providing us with very low costs.
“We cannot hold the price so low forever, though, particularly after the initial large order quantity. We want to encourage new builds quickly, so we will raise the price of our parts kit a minimum of $1,000 in 2020, in 2021, and possibly in 2022.”
Click to learn how to earn entrance into the Mazda Motorsports’ Prep Shop Rewards Program.
Offering very affordable pricing on ongoing parts orders – Rewarding early adopters to create momentum
Mazda will come out of the gate by offering long-term pricing discounts for the NC build kit, more than has been offered before to the club racing market.
“The only way we achieve our goal is if we get buy-in from all stakeholders,” reminded Cook. “Part of that means supporting the prep shops who support us.”
Prep shop rewards program members who purchase one build kit from Mazda Motorsports this year:
-Will receive a 25 percent discount on NC Miata stock parts and 15 percent discount on competition parts through 2020.
-In 2021, they will receive a 15 percent discount on stock parts and a 10 percent discount on competition parts.
- 2022 is TBD, but Mazda’s purpose is to provide long-term value to those who make this investment.
Prep shop rewards program members who purchase their first kit from Mazda Motorsports in 2020:
-Will receive a 15 percent discount on NC Miata stock parts and a 10 percent discount on competition parts through 2020.
-In 2021, they will receive a 5 percent discount on stock parts in 2021.
- 2022 is TBD, but Mazda’s plan is to provide long-term value to those who make this investment.
Non-prep shop rewards program members who purchase a kit from Mazda Motorsports this year:
-Will receive a 15 percent discount on stock parts and a 5 percent discount on competition parts through 2020.
-In 2021, they will receive a 5 percent discount on stock parts.
- 2022 is TBD, but Mazda’s plan is to provide long-term value to those who make this investment.
Non-prep shop rewards program members who make their first kit purchase from Mazda Motorsports in 2020:
-Will receive a 10 percent discount on stock parts and a 5 percent discount on competition parts through 2020.
-2021 is TBD, but Mazda’s plan is to provide long-term value to those who make this investment.
Rewarding on-track results through a robust contingency awards program
Mazda Motorsports is known to offer the most comprehensive contingency awards program in grassroots racing. A major point of differentiation has been that Mazda pays more racers than any manufacturer, and deeper in the fields overall.
In 2019, it built on this value by enhancing its contingency awards offerings for NC Miata racers in SCCA T4, NASA ST5, and in American Endurance Racing, World Racing League, and ChampCar. Mazda is also in talks with Lucky Dog Racing for 2020 as it is also known for providing an excellent customer experience, noted Cook.
“Each year, we release our contingency awards program,” commented Cook. “Each year, we learn from our racers and the sanctioning bodies, making small adjustments to the offering. That’s why we don’t come out with a program offering that’s good for multiple years. But what we can say is that we will bolster the contingency awards for NC Miatas over the next few years to help many racers offset some of the investment. This is another lever we have, and we are going to keep it pinned down while creating new ways to pull it even further. Simply, we are making sure it’s a good time to invest in the NC platform.”
The next steps
Mazda will build a test mule this summer, inviting representatives from the prep shop rewards program, SCCA and NASA to be part of the validation process, while also working with Mazda scholarship and factory drivers.
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