MX-5 Cup: Club racers, iRacers set to square off for Mazda Club Racer Shootout

Eight aspiring professional racers will square off today at Buttonwillow Raceway in California for the final round of the 2014 Mazda Club Racer Shootout. Making things extra interesting, rain is falling in California's Central Valley region today...

This year's crop includes iRacing champions Evan Maillard and Steven Diem. Maillard of Nesles La Vallée, France and Diem of Honolulu, Hawaii were among the 22 drivers who qualified for the Shootout by winning the iRacing Mazda MX-5 Cup online racing series. They were subsequently selected as finalists by a panel of experts who reviewed their business presentation and videos.

Diem and Maillard will join the other finalists in a winner-takes all competition at Buttonwillow Raceway Park on December 2nd where the racers will be tested on the track for their technical skills. The winner of the Shootout will be awarded the single largest prize in club racing: a $75,000 prize that will fund a drive in the 2015 Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires.

“Everyone at iRacing is proud of Evan and Steven,” says Tony Gardner, president of iRacing, “Motorsports simulation is part of the fabric of modern motorsports, and you’ll find sim racers on the grid from the Daytona and Indianapolis 500s to the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix. I’m sure Evan and Steven will give a good account of themselves at the Shootout and, on behalf of the 55,000 iRacers worldwide, I wish them the very best.”

“Every year since 2007 the Mazda Club Racer Shootout has brought top grassroots racers together to compete in what has become a signature event for Mazda Motorsport,” says John Doonan, Director of Mazda Motorsports. “Increasingly, grassroots racers use racing simulations to hone their skills, so it’s appropriate that we include some of the top competitors from iRacing, the world’s leading motorsports simulation service, in the Shootout. I’m sure Evan and Steven will give the other finalists a real run for the money next month.”

In addition to Diem and Maillard, fellow shootout finalist Sam Adams is also a veteran iRacer, with more than 200 wins on the service.

The 2014 Mazda Club Racer shootout finalists are:

Sam Adams Skip Barber Racing School (Summer Series) Hubertus, Wisconsin
Ben Anderson NASA Eastern States Championships (PTE) Minneapolis, Minnesota
Steven Diem iRacing MX-5 Cup (Season 3) Kailua, Hawaii
Joey Jordan NASA Spec Miata Teen Challenge (West) Santa Barbara, California
Kyle Loustaunau NASA Western States Championships (Spec Miata) Vacaville, California
Evan Maillard iRacing MX-5 Cup (Season 2) Nesles La Vallée, France
Zachary Munro NASA Spec Miata Teen Challenge (Rocky Mountain) Granby, Colorado
Eric Powell NASA Western States Championships (PTD) Orlando, Florida