Racecar Build: PWC Touring Car MX-5

Ernie Francis Jr. took his former MX-5 Cup car from TCA to TC configuration for 2015.

Ernie Francis Jr. found that taking an MX-5 Cup car to Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car A was a fairly simple transition. Put on a hardtop, change the graphics, go racing, win.Taking that same car into the Touring Car category, though, isn't quite as simple, especially with the new aero additions for 2015. However, it's still not a major operation, and a long way from starting from scratch."The main thing we had to upgrade was the motor in the car, because we weren't making the power we had to," Francis explains. "We contacted Mazda and they put together a motor package that they want everyone to run in TC, the 2.5-liter motor. So that's what we have inside the car. Other than that, the MX-5 Cup suspension – the same one we ran in TCA – works perfectly out here. It's fully adjustable, so we keep that in the car."