Inside MX-5 Cup: Cam Ebben, from sim to St. Pete

A third-generation driver who started sim racing at the age of 11, Cam Ebben’s future was practically laid out before him. The path to get there, however, was not. Like many who seek a career as a racecar driver, Ebben’s journey is taking him through Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin.

Two seasons in Spec Miata, and another two in Spec MX-5 kind of made MX-5 Cup the default, but it wasn’t a given.

“Having been in Spec MX-5 for multiple seasons, and just the amount of time that I spent in the amateur level of SCCA, it basically became clear that there was a next step for me,” Ebben says. “If I wanted to continue moving forward in my career, with the plans that I have for where I’m going in racing, it really just made the most sense to make the step up into the IMSA paddock in some fashion, and MX-5 Cup is such a great series.”

Ebben practically grew up at Road America, only about an hour from home in Appleton, Wis. His grandfather, Cliff, raced in Trans Am and won four SCCA GT1 National Championships. His father James has raced for years in SCCA in the Touring classes, mostly in Mazdas for the past decade. So, it was only natural to pursue a career in motorsports, where he seeks a role as a factory driver in GT3.

Ebben’s chase for MX-5 Cup Rookie of the Year got off to a rough start at Daytona, where an ABS failure in qualifying led to flat-spotted tires and a start from the back of the pack. But he made it up to 22nd, earning the Penske Shocking Performance award for improving the most positions. In the second race, he went to the back avoiding a spinning car, but made it back to 22nd again. “I finished both races in the same spot, but that doesn’t tell the tale of what happened,” he says.

St. Petersburg (above) went better, where he pushed the No. 55 MX-5 prepared by Advanced Autosports into the top half of the field at a track he hadn’t previously seen in real life. Ebben points out that preparation is a big part of that.

He says: “If you show up to these races knowing what to expect, how the track’s going to behave, some of the racecraft things… It’s been a big focus for me to essentially out-prep my competitors and put in more effort than anyone else does."

Sim work is a significant part of that. Growing up around racing, he had the passion, but not the means to get on track as early as some racers do. A 14-time iRacing national champion, Ebben is a big proponent of sim racing as a development tool.

“Some people started karting younger, but that just wasn’t in the cards for me at the time,” he explains. “I turned to sim racing, because I was thinking, ‘How can I develop myself to be better prepared for the day I get the opportunity?’ I attest everything that I’ve accomplished in my racing career up to this point to the skills gained on the sim.

“And I like to be an advocate for that sim-to-reality pathway, which is becoming more prevalent. If you can really develop yourself on the sim and have the dedication and the work ethic to convert your opportunities, it’s a path into real racing.”

Ebben (above) is looking forward to the next double-header at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, June 6-7. It’s the closest thing to a home track for him since Road America isn't currently on the schedule. He'll need a good weekend there to propel him into the Rookie of the Year fight, but he notes that this year's rookie crop, although large, includes a lot of people he raced against in Spec MX-5. Those he competed with at the 2025 SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Road America, where he took pole before finishing sixth, include Ethan Barker, Francisco Barroso, Ethan Jacobs, Ethan Lampe and Matt Novak.

Chasing Rookie of the Year honors and the scholarship prize that goes with it is certainly Ebben's focus, as it is for all the others. They're all adjusting to a new racecar and a new way of racing. For Ebben, the “go, go, go!” nature of an MX-5 Cup weekend has been the biggest acclimation.

“It’s the fast-paced nature of the weekends – not even the stuff on the track, but a lot of the off-track stuff. Just how fast everything moves together throughout an IMSA weekend, and how on the ball you have to be,” Ebben says. “And often you have to adapt very quickly, whether it was my ABS failing, or like if you'd knocked the toe out hitting a curb too hard. You have to be able to adapt to things that change really quick, and as that's happening, you still have 20, 30 drivers breathing down your neck. The intensity is definitely ramped up.”

• All Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin races are streamed live on RACER.com and archived on The RACER Channel on YouTube. Next up, it’s double-header action from the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on June 6 and 7. Check out the full 2026 MX-5 Cup schedule, plus find all the latest series news, at mx-5cup.com.