INSIGHT: Reaction to Global Mazda MX-5 Cup

The Mazda MX-5 Cup has propelled the careers of quite a few drivers in its relatively short 10-year history. Its former stars can be found racing in a variety of series, including at the top levels of sports car racing. Some of that is thanks to the scholarships Mazda provides its champions and much is due to the series’ excellence as a training ground for aspiring drivers.

“The Mazda MX-5 Cup is special to me just because it was an opportunity for me to get back into professional motorsport,” says

driver and coach Eric Foss, the 2008 MX-5 Cup champion who went on to win the 2014 IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Street Tuner championship. “The Mazda ladder system offers a driver an opportunity start at a lower level and try to show their talents and get an understanding about teamwork and motorsport as a whole, and allows them to move forward through the Mazda program.

“Everyone wants to showcase their talents against the best drivers and teams,” he continues, “so having a finale shootout at the end will really inspire some drivers and give them that true opportunity.”

That finale shootout, where the top drivers from each Global Mazda MX-5 Cup series will meet at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, will crown the overall series champion, who earns the test in the SKYACTIV Prototype. Current MX-5 Cup Champion Kenton Koch is currently climbing the ladder toward the top levels of sports car racing, and has used Mazda scholarships all along the way. He’s currently working on using his prize to find a ride in the IMSA Prototype Lites series for 2015 as his next step.

“MX-5 Cup was attractive from the beginning, so to have this set in place is even better,” Koch says. “It makes sports car racing more attractive; people will want to come to the sports car ladder system instead of going to

the open-wheel side. I’d like to see MX-5 Cup be as competitive as USF2000 or Pro Mazda in that regard.”

Koch also sees appeal in the fact that the 2016 MX-5 Cup car will be built by a single supplier, which takes any variables out of the car, although the tightness of the rules now keeps all but minute differences from appearing. He’s joined in that sentiment by Tom Long, the first MX-5 Cup champion in 2005.

“It’s going to make the driving portion and finite setup options even more important,” says Long, who spent 2014 driving the No. 70 Mazda SKYACTIV Prototype in the TUDOR Championship in addition to managing the Freedom Autosport Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge team and coaching several drivers. “The fourth-generation MX-5 is stunning, but it’s even more stunning when you look at it in the race trim that was unveiled Tuesday. As a racer, it gives me goosebumps thinking about how exciting the new generation MX-5 will be to drive.”

Competitors and fans will have the chance to see it sooner than 2016, as Mazda intends to test the car as they determine which components and setup to use at some of the 2015 Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires events.

“I think it’s very positive and confident on Mazda’s part that they have such a good platform that they’re happy to test this car in public during MX-5 Cup weekends,” says Long. “It gives current racers and prospective racers the opportunity to see what the new car is going to be all about.”

Not all of those prospective racers are aspiring pros, of course. Some who want to race at a higher level than they might find in club racing find the series appealing as well.

“I think it’s very exciting news and I think it raises the profile of the entire series by making it global,” says

Charles Paquin, who has competed in select MX-5 Cup races, but whose day job as President and CEO of temporary building provider ModSpace keeps him from racing in the entire series. “I think there’s probably a lot of excitement, having the new car, the new platform, and it’s injected a lot of interest and anticipation in both the driver community and the overall series itself. I think introducing the global competition side of things puts it on par with the Porsche series, where it’s entry-level yet still global.”

Paquin references the Porsche Cup, which operates several series throughout the world, all based on manufacturer-built-and-sold identical cars. It’s a popular, but expensive, series for aspiring pros and gentleman racers such as Paquin. The MX-5 Cup car should come in at a significantly lower price to purchase and operate.

“I think on a cost-per-opportunity basis, Global Mazda MX-5 Cup is leaps and bounds ahead of what anybody else is offering,” says Foss. “The opportunity it presents for such a minimal investment is enormous and it spring-boarded my career in motorsport. I’m so thankful, and you can’t put a financial value on that. The Global Mazda MX-5 Cup is about more than just winning the opportunity to drive for Mazda the following year; it’s the opportunity to better expose yourself to potential sponsors and teams. It can be a huge, huge return.”

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