Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup – Page 5

Inside Mazda MX-5 Cup: Side by side

Among the dizzying array of race series that drivers could choose from, few appeal to as wide a spectrum as the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich. Early on the MX-5 Cup tended to attract racers who were looking for a step up from Spec …

Now, as the series has matured and grown the scholarship and prize money fund that presently exceeds $1 million per season, the MX-5 Cup is enjoying full fields of drivers who are there simply because it’s the right place to be.

Young drivers aspiring to make a career of racing like Connor Zilisch, Nate Cicero or Thomas Annunziata are certainly competing to take full advantage of the very generous prize money and scholarships the series has to offer. But that’s not all. Winning in MX-5 Cup, they will tell you, is its own form of career-growing currency.

Connor Zilisch currently leads the season standings.

Zilisch is a prime example. He lost the 2022 MX-5 Cup Championship by only a few points. Despite securing the Rookie of the Year award and the accompanying $80,000 scholarship, missing out on winning the title in the last throws of the final race was a definite cause for heartache.

“I was upset immediately after the race to have missed out on winning the championship,” recalls Zilisch. “To even have a chance to win a title of this level is huge. So, yeah, it stung to miss out.”

For every driver like Zilisch and the others chasing MX-5 Cup success to burnish their professional resume, there are many on the other end of the spectrum for whom the MX-5 Cup is the destination.

Take Selin Rollan. Now 28 years old, he began racing in SCCA Spec Miata at age 15. In 2018, he won the MX-5 Cup Rookie of the Year prize and has continued racing in the series ever since, finishing in the top five in points every year, including as runner-up in 2019. He clearly has talent behind the wheel. Although he had aspirations of his own to make a career in racing, Rollan eventually concluded that MX-5 Cup is where he belonged.

Selin Rollan could have gone elsewhere, but he’s been happy to stay and race competitively in MX-5 Cup.

“I love the racing,” says Rollan. “I’m also really fortunate to have a great ‘marriage’ with Hixon Racing and the Austin Hatcher Foundation to keep me in it – along with the success I’ve had — it’s paid me back. So, I hope to stay in MX-5 Cup as long as possible.”

Rollan says he could have had or explored opportunities in other race series, but the decision always came back to MX-5 Cup.

“You’re in the IMSA paddock, you get the livestreams of races, you get the media attention; the value is unmatched,” he adds. “The racing is fantastic — I’m smiling just thinking about it. You have so much mechanical grip, and you don’t have to worry about aero wash or getting too close. It’s flat-out racing for 45 minutes where you don’t have to factor in pit or tire strategies. It’s pure. And when the races are done, you often hear about the WeatherTech drivers who watched the races because they’re such fun.”

What’s clear is that when Zilisch, Rollan and the rest of the MX-5 Cup field go side-by-side, they’re in it to win it because, in that moment, it’s the only thing that matters.

CAREER OWNER

So far in the 2023 MX-5 Cup, 32 drivers have taken a start, representing nine different teams. One of those drivers is defending champion Jared Thomas, who also happens to be one of the nine team owners with JTR Motorsports Engineering.

Jared Thomas his MX-5 Cup Scholarship into a successful racing enterprise.

As a past scholarship and title winner, Thomas has decided to reinvest his winnings in MX-5 Cup by building an organization that uses the series as a foundation of a long-term business plan. Including his own, JTR fields six entries in this year’s championship. After only three seasons, it’s a testament not only to what he’s building, but to the viability of MX-5 Cup as an enterprise with growth potential. In doing so Thomas has uniquely straddled the divide between MX-5 Cup as career launcher and a destination by making it his career destination.

Don’t miss the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich as it heads to WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca for Rounds 5 and 6 on May 13-14. 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.

Inside Mazda MX-5 Cup: Never underestimate

Heather Hadley isn’t afraid to change a plan, which is exactly what she did by winning the Mazda MX-5 Cup Women’s Initiative Scholarship. The path toward achieving a long-term goal is seldom a straight one. Heather Hadley is not among those who find …

Heather Hadley isn’t afraid to change a plan, which is exactly what she did by winning the Mazda MX-5 Cup Women’s Initiative Scholarship.

The path toward achieving a long-term goal is seldom a straight one. Heather Hadley is not among those who find their hopes dashed by refusing to deviate. Until recently, Hadley’s path was in the direction of NASCAR. But when she discovered the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich, everything changed.

Hadley was born and raised in the suburbs north of San Francisco. As a kid she tried her hand at several sports. When she went to her local indoor karting center, something clicked. It was there that she started racing, and winning. In her first 107 races, she was first to the finish line in 104 of them.

By 10-years old, she had her first racing kart, and by 14 she was fully immersed in the U.S. Legends Cars scene, first in her native Northern California, before competing in several states across the West.

Finishing high school, Hadley left her hometown of Vallejo, Calif., to attend the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte) where she could continue her studies and establish herself in the heart of stock car racing country.

The move to North Carolina meant racing with an entirely new group of people.

“It was difficult for the first year,” says Hadley on making the move away from home. “Not only the racing, but just moving across the country was an enormous culture shock.

“I was still racing Legends cars (in addition to her studies), but most of them (in N.C.) had been racing since they were four or five years old, so I had to work hard to gain their respect. It takes time to prove yourself but over time it got easier.”

As well as the Carolinas, Hadley spent a lot of time racing in Florida, and even as far away as New Hampshire. So far, so good on that direct path to her goal. Then, an opportunity to make a sudden pivot arose.

“In Legends, I was doing both circle track and road courses, and for some reason I was better at the road courses,” Hadley, now 21-years old, explains. “I had started training at PitFit in Charlotte, and there were some IMSA drivers training there as well. After talking to them, several mentioned that they got their start in MX-5 Cup. I looked into it some more and decided that it was the perfect setting to transition into professional racing.”

Doing her due diligence, Hadley connected with Shea Holbrook (Hixon Motor Sports) who helped make some introductions to the right people at Mazda Motorsports and learned about the Mazda scholarships.

Hadley arrived at the Mazda MX-5 Cup Shootout as one of the three female drivers vying for a scholarship and came away with the Women’s Initiative prize.

“My plan changed to compete in MX-5 Cup for 2023,” says Hadley. “I’m not sure it would have been a full season, but winning the scholarship made it possible.”

Hadley teamed up with Spark Performance and come the opening round of 2023 found herself behind the wheel of the No. 54 Mazda MX-5 Cup car. The pivot from stock car racing ambition to sports car racing was made. Now, it’s time to perform.

Through the first two weekends encompassing four rounds of racing, Hadley is off to a promising start, including an eighth-place finish in round four at St. Petersburg. It was her first-ever experience on street circuit. Indeed, every round this season will be Hadley’s first experience of each venue. Not only will every track be new, so will pretty much everything else. Hadley explains that beyond being familiar with a sequential gearbox, not much transfers over from her Legends experience.

“It’s been really exciting and really intimidating,” she says. “Everyone has been really welcoming and helpful so far. The learning curve is pretty steep, but I’m still aiming for a podium this year. I know that’s saying a lot because the competition here is next level. I’m a quieter, more introverted person and that often correlates with being underestimated. So, I’m more about letting my driving and results do the talking.”

She’ll get her next chance to put points on the table with momentum on her side when she returns home to California for the next two rounds at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, May 12-14.

All rounds of the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich are streamed live on RACER.com and archived at The RACER Channel on YouTube. To view the full season schedule and learn more about the series visit www.mx-5cup.com.

2023 Mazda MX-5 Cup: St. Petersburg (Rounds 3 & 4) – 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 3 and 4 on the streets of St. Petersburg, FL watch highlights of them below: Round 3: Round …

Round 3:

Round 4:

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