Adakonis tops Mazda MX-5 Cup practice day at Mid-Ohio

The most recent Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin race winner, Justin Adakonis (No. 23 McCumbee McAleer Racing) continued his hot streak by logging the fastest lap in Friday practice at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

It’s been 12 weeks since the last Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup race event at St. Petersburg and the paddock was more than ready to resume the race season. Especially happy was Adakonis, the fastest driver in practice, who has a strong record at Mid-Ohio.

“It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these things,” Adakonis said. “I’m happy to be back at Mid-Ohio. It's one of my favorite tracks. I’ve had some success here in the past in Spec MX-5 with two wins there. Hopefully we’ll replay that out this weekend. I think we've got a really good car, so far.”

Adakonis’ fast time was a 1m35.139s. Second quickest of the day was Parker DeLong (No. 42 Parker DeLong Racing), just 0.090s behind Adakonis. Cam Ebben (No. 55 Advanced Autosports) led the afternoon session, but his time was not faster than Adakonis or DeLong’s. The top 17 cars were within 0.5-seconds of each other.

Friday was split into two, 40-minute practice sessions. Both under sunny skies and with temperatures in the 80’s for the afternoon session. Saturday’s forecast does include a chance for rain.

“I was definitely learning how the track evolves,” Adakonis said of his track time. “Just learning that again with this tire. I don't have to learn the tracks on the car this year, so I focus on those small details that will help me in the race. In practice one it’s good to get a good draft lap, and a good understanding of how the draft works here. In practice two I was kind of running by myself so I can get some laps in and understand references and what to do.”

Saturday at Mid-Ohio begins with qualifying at 10:10am ET and ends with Race 1 at 3:05pm ET. The race will be streamed live on the IMSA and RACER YouTube channels and RACER+ app.