Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup – Page 4

Jeansonne gets second consecutive Mazda MX-5 Cup win; Hinchcliffe sixth

Fresh off his first Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires win ever, Aaron Jeansonne (No. 24 JTR Motorsports Engineering) backed it up with win number two at Watkins Glen International on Friday. He was followed across the finish line by rookie Thomas Annunziata (No. 10 Hixon Motor Sports) in a race that ended under caution following a multi-car incident in Turn 2.

The 40-minute race had two full-course caution periods, which paused some incredibly tight racing that saw the 27 cars seemingly defy the laws of physics. The first caution came out 10 minutes in, when polesitter Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance) got too wide in Turn 9 and hit the tire barrier. At the time, Wagner was fighting with Jeansonne and Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering) for the win.

When the green flag came back out, Annunziata and Thomas got a run on Jeansonne, dropping him to third, but not for long. Two laps later Jeansonne was back in front and it was just in time, because an incident involving multiple cars right behind them, brought the safety car back out. The number of cars involved and amount of debris to be cleared made for a lengthy cleanup, and the race did not return to green.

“It’s tough to plan, because there’s so much stuff going on out there with the water temps and cautions because on one side you may not want to be the leader on the last lap and other side you may want to be the leader at the end of the race because the caution can come out and end the race,” Jeansonne said. “You really just have to make a gamble and hope it works. I got a little lucky with this one but I’m just glad this one wasn’t my first one and I got a proper one before this. But you have to take them as they come because they get the same amount of points.”

Annunziata’s day was the complete opposite of a disastrous Thursday, where he damaged his car so severely, he needed to use the team’s backup car. In it, he qualified fifth on Friday morning and captured his first-career podium in the race.

Annunziata, who was the runner-up in the 2022 Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout, knew right away in qualifying that the team had put together a very fast car for him.

“Yeah I’m feeling good,” Annunziata said of his first podium. “I knew this result was going to happen at some point. We had a rough start to the season at Daytona, we had a failure in the suspension and then at St. Pete I think we were on for a second or a win and we got taken out late. So, a lot of things went against us, but my team never gives up, especially after that last practice session. The car was great. We just put together a really good weekend, finally. Things just went our way this time. The Hixon Motor Sports guys are amazing.”

Finishing third, Thomas made the podium for the fourth time so far this season. It was this consistency that helped Thomas win the championship last season.

“It was a pretty anti-climatic ending,” Thomas said. “I kind of was just riding around waiting for the last 15 minutes and ended up getting a couple cautions there and never got the opportunity. I think it was going to shape up to be a good race.

“The top three have most of the control of the race, so being in one of those positions you kind of set yourself up for a move at the end. That’s why everybody shoots for the top three in the last five to 10 minutes. And you know, we were there all race and just wish it would have went back to green. But I’m super excited for Aaron [Jeansonne] and all the JTR crew. Everybody worked really hard to get here and I’m excited to see the hard work pay off.”

Robert Noaker (No. 13 Robert Noaker Racing) barely missed the crash that brought the race to an early end and was able to finish fourth after starting 20th.

John Jodoin (No. 39 McCumbee McAleer Racing) earned his best career finish in fifth.

Just missing out on the top five was IndyCar veteran and NBC Sports reporter James Hinchcliffe (No. 3 JTR Motorsports Engineering). Making a guest appearance in the series, Hinchcliffe fell behind from his seventh place start early on, but made up a lot of ground after the first full-course caution. He was narrowly collected in the Turn 2 incident but cleared it and finished his first MX-5 Cup race in sixth.

“It was an incredible experience,” Hinchcliffe said. “These races are always manic and fun to watch and I confirm it’s just as much fun to be in it. I was probably too hesitant on the start. I was feeling things out and lost a couple spots. From there, it was just about finding the groove and learning who to work with. There were a couple people who didn’t want to work with the new guy, so there might have been some opportunities we could have maximized but I didn’t have a dancing partner.”

Selin Rollan (No. 87 Hixon Motor Sports), who was one of the cars involved in the Turn 2 melee, is provisionally slated to start on the pole for Saturday’s Round 8 race with Thomas alongside.

The race is scheduled to start at 10:05am ET on June 24 and will be streamed live on RACER.com and IMSA.com/tvlive.

Wagner breaks Mazda MX-5 Cup lap record to take Watkins Glen pole

In an abbreviated Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires qualifying session at Watkins Glen International, Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance) set a new series track record for the circuit and secured pole for Friday’s Round 7. …

Wagner is the first Mazda MX-5 Cup driver of the weekend to turn a lap under the two minute, eight-second mark. The 2022 series champion topped qualifying with a 2m07.990s, besting the previous track record of 2022 MX-5 Cup Rookie of the Year Connor Zilisch (2m08.440s).

“I saw a pack of three or four cars in front of me that I knew had decent pace,” Wagner said of his record-breaking run. “I figured I’d start at the back of it and try to jump up through there a bit and put in a good lap. It’s really hard to space the right way, but I think I got it pretty close. We didn’t lose too much time in traffic and really got the benefit of the draft. After that, I didn’t really get a chance to improve because at some point someone was bailing out or reorganizing. It’s tough. As the time ticks down people start to get a little desperate it’s really hard to improve on the session.”

Turning a fast lap early was especially important in Friday’s qualifying session, as it was cut short by two minutes due to a car that had come to a stop with a mechanical issue.

Wagner will share the front row with Rollan, the 2018 MX-5 Cup Rookie of the Year. Neither driver has won a MX-5 Cup race at Watkins Glen before.

IndyCar veteran James Hinchclicffe (No. 3 JTR Motorsports Engineering) qualified seventh for his MX-5 Cup debut. The fan favorite is making a guest appearance in the series this week.

Friday’s race is slated for 12:20pm ET with live streaming on RACER.com and IMSA.com/tvlive.

Wagner leads Mazda MX-5 Cup practice at Watkins Glen

The Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires took to the track for two practice sessions at Watkins Glen International on Thursday. Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance) was the fastest driver of the day, while IndyCar veteran James Hinchcliffe (No. 3 JTR Motorsports Engineering), who is a guest driver for this event, showed excellent pace with the sixth-fastest lap of the day.

Wagner’s quick lap was a 2m08.629s. He was followed on the timing sheets by Robert Noaker (No. 13 Robert Noaker Racing) and reigning champion Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering). All three times were set in the afternoon session.

Qualifying for Rounds Seven and Eight at Watkins Glen will take place Friday at 8:00am ET.

“If you’re fast enough and get into the lead pack and have good momentum, then qualifying isn’t as important,” Wagner said. “But if something happens and the leaders break away, you can’t work your way forward too much here. It’s pretty draft dependent. You either get one really big draft that you can race in or these broken up, two and three car packs that get isolated. I guess the best strategy is to just qualify as best as you can, hope it’s near the front and you don’t have to worry about working your way forward.”

There was lots of interest in the performance of Hinchcliffe, who makes his MX-5 Cup debut this weekend. The longtime fan of the series is taking part in the event as a guest driver and is not eligible for points. He came away from practice with the sixth-fastest time of the day.

“I’m having a blast,” Hinchcliffe said. “It’s a baptism by fire, but the JTR crew have really prepared me in the best way possible. I’m getting used to the mayhem out on track, trying to find the right gaps and the right tows for the big laps. Pace-wise I feel OK in the car; now it’s just kind of mastering those nuances, which these guys have years of experience at and I’m figuring it out as I go.

“The biggest surprise is how hard it is to find the right gap and the extremes people will go to find it,” Hinchcliffe added. “This was just practice, so once we get into qualifying, which is a 15-minute session, I’ll be trying to see who’s willing to get offline and position themselves in the right way at the right time. I don’t know how many of those games I’m going to get into. I think I might just put my head down and go and see how it shakes out. There’s definitely an art to this racing.”

Round 7 race is slated to begin at 12:20pm ET on Friday. Round 8 will go green at 10:05am ET on Saturday. Both races will be streamed live on RACER.com and IMSA.com/tvlive.

2023 Mazda MX-5 Cup: Laguna Seca (Rounds 5 & 6) – Race Highlights

RACER.com has teamed up with the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup series to offer livestream coverage of each 2023 race. In case you missed the live action of rounds 5 and 6 at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca watch highlights of them below: Round 5: Round 6: …

Round 5:

Round 6:

Tune in Friday, June 23 from 12:20 PM ET – 1:05 PM ET for Round 7 and Saturday, June 24 from 10:05 AM ET – 10:50 AM ET for Round 8 at Watkins Glen International on RACER.com.

For more information on Mazda MX-5 Cup visit: mx-5cup.com

Hinchcliffe to join Mazda MX-5 Cup field at Watkins Glen

IndyCar veteran and current member of the NBC Sports motorsports broadcast team James Hinchcliffe will make his Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup debut at Watkins Glen International, June 22 – 24. The Canadian will drive the No. 3 JTR Motorsports Engineering …

Hinchcliffe was the 2011 IndyCar Rookie of the Year and has nearly 150 starts to his credit, including nine at the Indianapolis 500 where he earned the pole position in 2016.

Though he has numerous open-wheel races at Watkins Glen under his belt, this will be the first time Hinchcliffe has raced a sports car at the upstate New York circuit.

“We’ve had the benefit of having MX-5 Cup run at a bunch of IndyCar races over the years, and I’ll tell you everyone in the paddock is either on the pit wall or switching over the feed in the engineering office to watch those races because they look like so much fun,” Hinchcliffe said.

“I think the series does a great job keeping everything nice and even. I think the competition is incredibly fierce and as drivers, that’s what you want to see. I’ve always enjoyed watching it and always thought it would be a blast to get the opportunity to try it. I’m very much looking forward to this.”

Hinchcliffe’s ties to Mazda go back to 2005, when he ran in the Star Mazda series. He followed it up with three seasons in the Atlantic Championship (2006 – 2008), which was powered by Mazda at the time. Most recently, Hinchcliffe was part of Mazda’s prototype driver lineup for the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2014, 2015 and 2017.

The guest drive is reminiscent of last year’s MX-5 Cup races at Road America, where NASCAR driver Parker Kligerman took part.

“The love Mazda MX-5 Cup receives from top-tier, world-famous drivers is something really special,” Mazda Motorsports Program Manager Jonathan Applegate said. “We’re thrilled once again to welcome a tremendously talented guest driver to the series in James Hinchcliffe. Having a driver with a unique Mazda connection is great, but most importantly we want James to enjoy his time with us and share the fun of MX-5 Cup racing with his fan base.”

Hinchcliffe will have two 30-minute practice sessions before qualifying and Race 1 at 12:20pm ET on Friday, June 23. Race 2 will go green at 10:05am ET on Saturday, June 24. Both races will be streamed live on RACER.com and IMSA.com/tvlive.

Inside Mazda MX-5 Cup: Hunting opportunities

Sam Paley wants to drive race cars for a living and, like many other drivers, he’s banking on there being more opportunities in sports car racing, vs. open-wheelers. After several years of karting, then training in both the Skip Barber and Lucas Oil …

Budget struggles and some challenges within the team meant the Kentucky native never completed a full F4 season. Then, at Circuit of The Americas in 2019, he saw an Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich series race for the first time. It steered his racing career in a new direction.

“I was at COTA watching the IndyCar race. The [MX-5 Cup] racing was incredibly close — it looked like a lot of fun,” Paley says of his first encounter with the championship that he’s made his home in since 2021. “And it looked like a great steppingstone into the sports car world.

“The biggest reason I transferred over from open-wheel world into the sports car world was I think it’s a lot more cost friendly,” he adds, “and there’s just a lot more opportunity to advance your career.”

The first opportunity came when Paley won Rookie of the Year in his first full season of MX-5 Cup competition. The scholarship money that went along with it played a big part in keeping him going into 2022 and then returning this year.

“It was huge,” says the 20-year-old Paley. “That scholarship definitely helped me race in 2022; without that prize money I wouldn’t have been able to race.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t have the best season last year; we had a lot of unlucky events. But the prize payouts that Mazda provides — both in the per-race payout and at the end of the year — is great for drivers because it really rewards performance and it helps keep talented drivers in the series. Cost is always an issue in this sport.”

Paley, a key part of the McCumbee McAleer Racing team (which also runs 2022 Mazda Scholarship winner Nate Cicero) opened 2023 with a third-place finish in the first race at Daytona International Speedway, plus a pole-position start for the second race. He followed that up with a top-5 finish and another podium on the streets of St. Petersburg, and two top-10 results at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for Rounds 5 and 6 — not a bad start to the year at all.

Paley balances racing with his studies at the University of Indiana’s Kelly School of Business, where’s he’s majoring in sales and marketing — skills he hopes will come in handy in his motorsports career. He helps fund it all by coaching.

Although he’s working tirelessly toward his degree, his heart lies in the driver’s seat.

“My goal, honestly, is just to stay in the race car as long as possible,” he says. “Any race car that I’m in — any race car that I’m able to drive — is a win for me, because a lot of people aren’t lucky enough to keep their foot in the door and keep driving. There’s a lot of stuff off the track that can sometimes be bigger than the stuff on the track.

“Hopefully I can continue climbing that ladder [toward] the pinnacle of motorsports and one day race in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. For now, my goal is just to keep racing.”

Don’t miss the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich as it heads to Watkins Glen International for Rounds 7 and 8, June 23-24. All races are streamed live on RACER.com and archived on The RACER Channel on YouTube.To view the full season schedule and learn more about the series, visit mx-5cup.com.

Whelen Engineering and Team Fox Racing for a Cure announce Mazda MX-5 Cup car giveaway

Whelen Engineering, Flis Performance, and Team Fox, the grassroots community fundraising program of The Michael J. Fox Foundation, are teaming up to raise money for Parkinson’s research by giving away a Mazda MX-5 Cup Car valued at $100,000. Race fans and supporters who make a minimum donation of $25 through https://racingforacure.giving/ will be entered to win a fully built race car specifically designed for the Mazda MX-5 Cup series and built by Flis Performance.

This initiative was developed by Sonny Whelen, owner and Executive Vice-President of Whelen Engineering, to help the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research find a cure for Parkinson’s Disease, a cause he cares about deeply. “I have been a passionate supporter of The Michael J. Fox Foundation and their mission to find a cure for Parkinson’s for many years,” he said. “I am especially proud to bring this project to fruition and raise money for the important research that needs to be done to find better treatments and ultimately, a cure.”

More than 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson’s disease. In the United States, approximately 90,000 new cases will be diagnosed this year alone, and there is no known cure. Every cent donated through this fundraiser goes straight to Team Fox’s high-impact research programs to help speed a cure for Parkinson’s disease.

The deadline for participating in the giveaway is January 24, 2024 at the Rolex 24. For more information about the Whelen and Team Fox Mazda MX-5 Cup Car Giveaway or to learn more about the Team Fox mission, visit https://racingforacure.giving/.

Jeansonne breaks through to take first MX-5 Cup win at foggy Laguna

Round Six of the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires was a fairytale for Aaron Jeansonne (No. 24 JTR Motorsports Engineering) as he converted his pole position into a dramatic breakthrough victory on Sunday. The former Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout Champion has been chasing a win since 2021 and finally captured it in front of a crowd of supporters after coming home just 0.170s clear of the field.

Jeansonne was joined on the podium by teammate and defending series champion Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Engineering) and Selin Rollan (No. 87 Hixon Motor Sports).

The start of Sunday’s Mazda MX-5 Cup race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca was delayed by more than an hour due to thick fog that impacted visibility for corner workers. When racing was finally underway, the cold and damp track surface resulted in several off-course excursions and the first full-course caution was issued before a full racing lap was completed. It was just enough time for Saturday’s race winner Connor Zilisch (No. 72 Hixon Motor Sports) to snag the lead from Jeansonne.

Zilisch held the top spot on the restart and a lead pack started to form that included Jeansonne, Thomas and Nate Cicero (No. 83 McCumbee McAleer Racing).

The second full-course caution came out following a multi-car incident in Turn 10, including one car making a dramatic track exit with a series of flips before coming to a stop on its roof. Thankfully, the driver, Zane Hodgen (No. 4 JTR Motorsports Engineering), was okay and got out of the car under his own power and was cleared by IMSA medical officials.

During the caution period, the race story took another dramatic turn as Zilisch pulled off track from the lead with a broken axle, handing the lead to then second-place Thomas before green-flag racing even resumed.

With the fog fully cleared, a perfect sightline emerged. Jeansonne put his head down and focused on a good restart. His path to victory was slowed for one final full-course caution for John Jodoin (No. 39 McCumbee McAleer) who became stuck off track in the gravel.

Just ten minutes remained when the race went green for a final sprint to the checkered flag. Jeansonne kept his cool as he built a small margin to the field on the restart, but Thomas, the 2022 MX-5 Cup Series champion and Daytona race winner put up an intense fight, chasing Jeansonne all the way to the finish. Jeansonne crossed the line just 0.170s ahead of his JTR Motorsports Engineering teammate as the squad claimed a 1-2 finish.

“I was tired of reading about how I haven’t won yet!” said Jeansonne. “So today was a good day to get it done at my home track. I have a lot of friends here and Turn2 Drivers Club guests here, my sponsor. I’m so thankful for the support. What an awesome race, man. Jared (Thomas) was putting the pressure on me. I was just trying to hit my marks and not make any mistakes. He was so fast. I just had to stay perfect to stay ahead of him. I can’t think of a better way to do it than with a one two with my teammate.

“It was a weird race with the delay and the fog, so we started later than what we were supposed to. We did a lot of waiting around for a while. We had one really long caution. I’m sending prayers to my buddy and teammate Zane (Hodgen). I really hope he’s okay.”

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Even though Thomas and Jeansonne share a transporter as teammates, they didn’t go easy on each other as Thomas used every trick he had to find a way by at the end.

“I’m going to fight him to the death because that is what is going to making him a better race car driver,” said Thomas. “They (wins) don’t mean anything if they are easy. I’m super excited for him. I hope Zane (Hodgen) is okay. It’s never a good thing when you see one of your cars in a wreck like that. I hope he’s okay. Another podium for both JTR cars. Just a good weekend and a great weekend for me to get back in the car.”

With a fog-induced delay, a dramatic crash and a pair of hectic restarts, Rollan used his experience and poise to race his way back to the podium and he got the chance to celebrate with his mom post-race.

“The race was good and I’m happy to be on the podium, it’s my first podium (of the year),” said Rollan. “Happy Mother’s Day, thanks to my mom for being here and I look forward to getting another podium again soon. I got some damage on the first lap avoiding Gresham’s (Wagner) spinning car in (Turn) 6. So that hurt the handling of the car, but I was happy to go from seventh back to third. It sucks that Connor (Zilisch) couldn’t finish. I’m happy to get the podium and happy to keep a nice consistent season going and looking forward to the next one.”

Cicero, the current Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout winner, got his first top-five finish by crossing the line in fourth. Bryce Cornet (No. 65 Spark Performance) completed the top five.

The provisional point standings see Jeansonne move to the top of the field with 1,810 points, as the DNF for Zilisch contributed to him losing the championship lead (1,670 points). Rollan holds third with 1,630 points.

Each race winner receives $6,000 from Mazda, but whomever is atop the point standings at season’s end will receive $250,000.

Speaking of cash, Hanna Zellers (No. 74 Hixon Motor Sports) scored $2,000 for being the top finishing female of the race — a prize she won in Saturday’s race as well.

Mazda MX-5 Cup has some time off before rounds seven and eight at Watkins Glen International, June 22 – 24.

Zilisch adds second MX-5 Cup win of 2023 at Laguna Seca

Current Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires points leader Connor Zilisch (No. 72 Hixon Motor Sports) battled to the front from fifth on the grid to win Saturday’s round five at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. He was followed across the line less than a half-second ahead of reigning series champion Jared Thomas (No. 96 JTR Motorsports Engineering), with now-local driver Aaron Jeansonne coming home third to continue his strong start to the 2023 season.

The racing was as hot as the track surface for the latest Mazda MX-5 Cup event. Polesitter Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance) was immediately feeling the pressure from Thomas, who had a great start.

It was ultimately Zilisch who would be Wagner’s undoing, though. The 2022 MX-5 Cup Rookie of the Year went from fifth to second in four laps and by lap six, he was around Wagner and into the lead.

A full-course caution to get a car out of the Turn 11 gravel trap bunched the field back up, but nobody could beat Zilisch on the restart. From there, Zilisch was able to pull out a comfortable lead as the battle for the other two podium spots raged on. A long green-flag run developed and Thomas eventually got clear of the pack and comfortably on his own in second.

In typical MX-5 Cup fashion, it was impossible to keep up with the position changes happening for third through fifth. Wagner, Jeansonne and Selin Rollan (No. 87 Hixon Motor Sports) pounced on every opportunity to get by each other.

While pushing their cars to the limit, and occasionally over the track limits, the trio frequently kicked up gravel onto the track lap after lap. At the height of this battle, Wagner ran wide and into the gravel in Turn 6, forcing him to let off the throttle to avoid a spin. When he had all four wheels back on the pavement, he was down to eighth.

Around the same time, Zilisch nearly had a similar incident on his own. He’d built himself a gap of more than a second over Thomas, but with 10 minutes to go, that gap was down to 0.2s.

“That was just me asking for too much out of the car,” Zilisch explained. “It got really tough there toward the end. It was hotter than it’s been all weekend. I was staring in my rearview mirror, honestly, and it got the better of me – I overdrove the Corkscrew and missed the corner, then overdrove Turn 9 as well and almost spun out. I was full sideways. I put my head down, calmed down, and was able to pull out enough of a gap so that I didn’t have to defend on the last lap.”

Thomas now filled the mirrors on Zilisch’s MX-5, but the 16-year-old wasn’t going to make another mistake and held Thomas off to the finish.

“I felt really confident with my car at the start of the race,” Zilisch said. “I knew that if I could get to the lead, I could pull a gap, and that’s what I did. I like controlling the race, same thing at St. Pete. When I’m in the lead, I can make a mistake and fall back, and still hold the lead – if you’re in second and you make a mistake, you have to catch back up. It worked out well today. I’m thankful to the entire Hixon Motor Sports team. They work hard to give me a fast car and give me the opportunity to race at all these cool tracks – and to the series as well — it’s an amazing show. I can’t wait for race two tomorrow.”

Despite closing the gap to Zilisch in the closing laps, Thomas had to settle for second but was pleased to return to the podium as he looks to bank points with an eye toward a strong championship defense.

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“It may not have looked exciting, but inside the race car, this place is a handful,” Thomas said. “I was pacing him (Zilisch) and I could get a tenth here or there. I was just waiting – this track is very unique in the way that it falls off throughout the race, so I was hanging out, saving it for the end. We were pretty equal, but he made a mistake near the end and I was able to close the gap on him. That’s the nature of the (track) surface here, it’s all about tire degradation. But it’s a lot of fun, I like the old surface, it makes the lower horsepower car feel like a lot. That’s a different experience than we get at other tracks. We’re pretty happy to come out of here with a second – we’ll go back to work and race it tomorrow.”

The fight for third was a nail-biter to the end with Rollan and Jeansonne trading positions while dealing with a track that was getting more and more slippery. Jeansonne made the move that stuck with four laps to go and took the final podium spot at his home track.

“Man that was a really tough battle with Selin Rollan,” Jeansonne said. “He’s an excellent competitor. Obviously, he’s won a lot of races in this series and knocking on the door for the championship every year. He was better in some spots. I was better in some spots. And I just drove really hard at the end there to try to get him for that podium spot and I really had to knock out some good laps there at the end, coming to the white flag, so I could get a gap and try to get third place.”

Jeansonne is still searching for his first MX-5 Cup win in his third season of competition. If he could get it at his home track, it would make it extra special.

“It’s always awesome, racing at home,” Jeansonne said. “I really wish we could have raced for the win there. But there’s always tomorrow. I think we’re starting on pole tomorrow. You know, I just want to stay up there and drive consistent laps and just be there in the front running group until the end and try to make my move.”

Jeansonne is provisionally on the pole for Sunday’s round six.

Rollan finished fourth behind Jeansonne.

Rookie Nate Cicero (No. 83 McCumbee McAleer Racing), the latest winner of the Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout, scored his best finish of the season so far in fifth.

Taking an extra $2,000 home is Hanna Zellers (No. 74 Hixon Motor Sports) who was the highest finishing female driver in the race.

Sunday’s round six at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca is slated to begin at 11:35am ET. Live streaming is available on RACER.com and IMSA.com/tvlive.

Wagner squeezes out MX-5 Cup pole at Laguna Seca

Gresham Wagner (No. 5 Spark Performance) will start from pole in Saturday’s Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires round five race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. He will share the front row with Aaron Jeansonne (No. 24 JTR …

Wagner is the defending race winner at WeatherTech Raceway. He won both races in the series’ last visit to the track in 2021. Wagner went on to win the Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship that year.

The 15-minute qualifying session was halted briefly with a red flag to retrieve a car stranded in the gravel. The stoppage came right as drivers were beginning their fast lap attempts.

“The red flag definitely doesn’t help, but you know it’s the same for everyone,” Wagner said. “I had a decent lap and I think I was in second place when the red flag came out. I knew that time wasn’t going to hold. It’s pretty frustrating when you’re just getting in the groove and getting tires warmed up to get a quick lap and then that happens. You can’t get too upset. Everyone else has the same challenges in front of them when we go back green. I just had to refocus and not over think it.

“I really wasn’t sure I was going to get pole. I just really wanted to get in the top five to get a clean start for tomorrow. Having pole is definitely nice — it adds a little bit of an extra cushion for the start. You get to look ahead and don’t really have to worry about anybody on the first couple of laps there.”

Wagner earned the pole by a mere 0.099s over Jeansonne, who provisionally holds the pole for Sunday’s race based on his second-fastest lap of the session.

Saturday’s Mazda MX-5 Cup race is slated to go green at 2:50pm ET with live coverage on RACER.com and IMSA.com/tvlive.