Inside MX-5 Cup: Bryce Cornet's lessons in perseverance

Bryce Cornet has been such a near-constant presence in the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup paddock for several years that one would be forgiven for not realizing he is in only his second full season of MX-5 Cup competition … and doing well, thank you.

Cornet, after karting and Formula Mazda – in which he won an SCCA National Championship – made his way into MX-5 Cup in 2022 aided by some Mazda scholarship money. But finding the funding to keep going was tough. From 2022-’24, he competed 10 weekends, spending the rest of his time in the paddock coaching. Then he found the opportunities for a full season this year, starting with his best finish in the series so far, a third place in the first race at Daytona International Speedway.

“My time in the car has been minimal, and so being able to start off 2025 at Daytona with a podium was super gratifying, and it was really set the tone for the rest of the year,” says Cornet. “I think I've had the competitiveness to be in the top five at all these events. It's just we've had some on-track struggles, which come with motorsports. But starting out at Daytona this year kind of started like 2024 started, which was, I'm just going to do Daytona and see what I can do. But I've been able to pull together some great sponsors.”

Cornet was in the top 10 in points heading into the VIRginia International Raceway weekend but found some of those on-track struggles at the Virginia track, which resulted in him sliding a couple of positions in the standings. Still, he's headed for his best points finish in the series if he can have a good weekend at Road Atlanta.

Cornet dreams of having a go as a professional sports car racer, but he has a day job as well, putting his MBA to good use overseeing fulfillment operations at EV Battery Solutions, part of the Cox Automotive Group that also includes companies like Autotrader, Kelley Blue Book and Manheim auctions.

When he hasn't been racing, Cornet's been putting his talents to use in other ways. While he didn't race beyond a single weekend last season, coaching kept him busy.

“I really found a great team in Spark performance. They run an amazing team," he says. "They saw an opportunity in me to run with them a few races last year, but also more of an opportunity to help some of their younger drivers, most specifically Sally Mott, and that in itself was also gratifying. I haven't coached at that level – most had been professional karting – but this was at a very competitive level, so I really enjoyed that different perspective. I think that's also kept me sharp, because you just become a better driver just through coaching.”

Cornet believes the coaching was critical to progressing as a driver.

“I think the coaching last year was a big development year for me. It wasn't fun being able to see people competing, but it helped me massively understand these cars, more specifically the MX-5," he explains. "I think that's really helped me this year with being able to be more of an engineer and driver, and that's something where I really needed to grow in, specifically in MX-5 Cup, is to be able to make adjustments a little bit quicker on the car throughout the weekend.”

The fact that Cornet got this far is an achievement in itself. Diagnosed at age 15 with some heart conditions – including Wolff-Parkinson-White, an arrhythmia issue that resulted in two catheter ablations – his racing career could have been over then and there. But not only did he persevere with his racing dream, he's used the experience to help others.

A friend who owns a media company heard about his story, and produced a documentary about Cornet, his condition and racing that has won awards at film festivals. And he works with heart organizations to raise awareness.

“I'm working with the American Heart Association, and then there's a smaller foundation called JoeAbate out of Connecticut. Through my story – I was diagnosed with two heart abnormalities when I was 15, and that really changed the trajectory of my motorsports career…. Now I'm 31, but I think of myself after going through all of that and kind of going through some of those delays, and getting back to good health after my heart procedures. I see myself as still in the in a pivotal part of my racing career, even though I'm older. I just made it to where I wanted to be a little bit later just because of that situation,” Cornet says.

“Through that, though, has come a lot of good things. I've worked with JoeAbate to improve the health of congenital heart patients, working with families and children to kind of share my story, and then also kind of at least spread hope to other children that are affected by congenital heart defects.”

Cornet hopes that his story helps those who have experienced heart issues. But he hopes as well that the story will have more impact if he can add success at the highest levels of sports car racing to the narrative.