Alton, Virginia (March 6, 2018) – The field is set, the drivers have been chosen, and the inaugural round of the Spec MX-5 Challenge will square off this weekend at Virginia International Raceway when the East Series takes the green flag.
Running in 10 identically prepped Mazda MX-5 machines by Atlanta Speedwerks, all shod on Yokohama Tires, driver skill will become the most important tool to bring to the race. The doubleheader weekend will be held in conjunction with the North Carolina Region SCCA’s weekend event.
What are we watching for in this weekend’s doubleheader?
Early Points Lead: Drivers will score points in nine of 10 “regular season” races, with the top seven advancing to the Championship round at Road Atlanta in November (along with the standouts from the Central Series). A race winner scores 20 points, with one point less for each ensuing position.
Consistency matters, however, as drivers will enter the final weekend with bonus points based on the position they’ve finished the regular season.
Prize Fighters: In addition to the race wins, drivers are battling for prizes all season long.
On a weekend by weekend basis, drivers can earn $1,000 for a win, $500 for second, and $250 for a podium. Winding Road is offering $500 in credit for the Hard Charger and $1,000 for both the driver selected Spirit of MX-5 and Best Social Media presence for the weekend.
All of that is a weekend by weekend preview of the $100,000 scholarship available to the season champion to run the 2019 Global MX-5 Cup.
The Contenders:
John Allen
Canal Winchester, Ohio
No. 12 iRacing/Defined Autoworks/Atlanta Speedwerks Mazda MX-5
Nick Bruni
Arlington, Virginia
No. 43 Atlanta Speedwerks Mazda MX-5
Joseph Catania
Cazenovia, New York
No. 48 New York Spine & Wellness Center/Atlanta Speedwerks Mazda MX-5
Jason Connole
Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 10 Protech Bedliners/Trimark Digital/Atlanta Speedwerks Mazda MX-5
Peter Ensor
Finksburg, Maryland
No. 30 Atlanta Speedwerks Mazda MX-5
Jose Garcia
Decatur, Georgia
No. 53 KEEM Corp./Atlanta Speedwerks Mazda MX-5
Tyler Harrell
Hartsville, South Carolina
No. 141 JTC Racing/Atlanta Speedwerks Mazda MX-5
Manny Martinez
Huntington, New York
No. 7 Island Motor Cars/Atlanta Speedwerks Mazda MX-5
Zachary Month
Scarsdale, New York
No. 61 Atlanta Speedwerks Mazda MX-5
Assen Rachev
Bergenfield, New Jersey
No. 109 Stable Energies/Possien-Hall Motorsports/BGN Racing/Atlanta Speedwerks MX-5
Follow along this weekend:
www.facebook.com/specmx5racing/