If you are driver thinking about the new options for racing in the Spec MX-5 Challenge in 2020, you may be interested in how race shops, possibly even your existing race shop, offer support for your Spec MX-5 endeavors. And if you are a race shop owner, you may be curious about options you have to participate in the growth of Spec MX-5 racing and what other shops are doing. This article summarizes some of the options currently being offered.
- Build new Spec MX-5 v2 race cars. Many drivers will want to have a new car built to the full potential of the specification. Here is an example of a build sheet.
- Convert older NC generation cars. MX-5 Cup (Playboy Cup), Spec MX-5 and NC T4 cars are relatively straightforward conversions to the new spec.
- Offer arrive & drive services. The prime arrive & drive opportunity is to run drivers in the Spec MX-5 Challenge East Regional Series or in the West Regional Series. There are 6 events in the East Regional Series, and drivers must run 4 to earn full points for the championship. A shop could provide support at all 6 East events, or select 4 that are especially appealing. The West Regional Series has 4 events and all 4 are required to earn full points for the championship.
- Organize a pre-season test day. The opportunity to test is important for some drivers who want to try the new car before committing. This could be coordinated with the Series using Series-owned cars, or could use a car built by the shop for rental purposes.
- Nominate a special driver to run one of the Spec MX-5 Challenge Invitational events. In this way, shops can gain notoriety for their drivers, give drivers experience with Spec MX-5 racing as a test drive for 2021, and potentially win scholarship funds for a driver to run a full season with the nominating shop in 2021. Since Invitationals are aimed at drivers who do not own cars, shops may utilize the Series car rental and arrive & drive package. Or if shops have their own rental cars, they may used those. Either way an application and registration fees are required. The shop application is here.Â
- Organize a Spec MX-5 Challenge National Series Team. This involves running 6 events (3 East, 2 West plus Championship). Drivers own their own cars and shops provide full arrive & drive services. Shops may apply here.
- Register as a Spec MX-5 Challenge Preferred Race Shop. This provides race shops with listing on SpecMX-5.com, advertising support, lead generation, technical tools, parts discounts (in addition to those offered by Mazda) and PR. A Preferred Race Shop application is here.Â
Spec MX-5 Challenge racing is built on the strong true spec platform of the Spec MX-5 v2 car. It also offers regional and national racing series, solid contingency prize money, an expected $100,000 championship, top flight racers at 10 Marquee events and encourages broad shop support. For more information on the different ways to get to the Championship, check out this article.