A Look Back at the 2015 Season

The 2015 season has been a great –and busy – one for me. I certainly have a lot to be thankful for: I was fortunate to be involved in a lot of motorsport activities, including the factory Mazda Prototype program with SpeedSource, being a development driver for the Mazda Global MX-5 Cup car, and a lot of fun and unique driver coaching opportunities.

The racing this season in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with SpeedSource and the factory Mazda Prototype program was intense and exciting, and it was another season of both development for Mazda’s road car engines and teambuilding for the much-anticipated 2016 season.

We had a lot of exciting moments throughout the year, starting at Daytona, where I was fortunate enough to be the driver in the car for Mazda’s first overall lead at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. It was also the first time in Daytona’s history that a diesel-powered car had led the race!

This season also saw the team’s first top-five Prototype finish for the diesel program, which happened at Watkins Glen. Certainly SpeedSource is accustomed to winning races and championships, and we’re excited about the 2016 season ahead and all the potential of the new package we’ve been testing.

This year was also my first opportunity to be a development driver on such a grand scale as the Mazda Global MX-5 Cup program. We had a fantastic and reliable platform from the beginning, which made the process so enjoyable. After all of the simulation testing and on-track miles, we’re really pleased with the final result.

Just recently, the Mazda Road To 24 Shootout participants had the opportunity to be the first competitors in the new car. Congratulations to Glenn McGee on being the winner in the closest competition in Shootout history – he’ll have a $100,000 scholarship for the 2016 Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship.

The next step for the MX-5 will be its toughest test yet: Robert Davis Racing (RDR) will run a fleet of four of the new cars at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill this weekend. They are the first four production cars to come off the assembly line at Long Road Racing. You can follow their progress in the race at MazdaLIVE.com.

Coaching Ashton at the SIC at Roebling.

One of my passions is the opportunity to coach drivers, whether they are developing a racing career or simply driving enthusiasts who want to hone their skills. My clients, many of whom I’ve mentioned on this blog throughout 2015, come from different backgrounds and have different goals, and it’s been an exciting opportunity to work with them all year. I’m looking forward to continued success for them in the upcoming season!

2016 is shaping up to be another exciting season for me. I look forward to bringing you all of the updates here, so stay tuned!

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Rising Stars at the MRT24 Shootout

During the past several days, I was fortunate enough to be a part of the MRT24 (Mazda Road to the 24) Shootout, which consisted of eight finalists who drove the 2016 Mazda Global MX-5 Cup car at Carolina Motorsports Park. Not only were these drivers lucky enough to be chosen as finalists, but they were also lucky enough to be among the first to drive the new MX-5 in its official race trim!

Sunday afternoon consisted of interviews for all eight finalists. They had to present a business plan for creating value to Mazda Motorsports and all of its partners, such as BF Goodrich Tires and Battery Tender. The finalists also interviewed with the driving judges: Andrew Carbonell, Charles Espenlaub and myself. We discussed their knowledge of data acquisition, in-car video analysis and general car setup dynamics.

This was a really great experience because it allowed all of the judges to meet the finalists and really understand their backgrounds and get some insight into their personalities. These interviews and presentations were critical in the decision-making process because it’s not just about the on-track performance, but a driver’s total package in their ability to represent partners and brands for the other 340 days they aren’t racing! The winner of the Shootout has to be someone who is well rounded in all aspects of being a race car driver.

Monday brought persistent rain with cold temperatures: very uncharacteristic for the fall in the Southeast. All of the drivers got to experience BF Goodrich’s new rain tire, which surprisingly had so much grip that lap times in the rain were only several seconds slower than the dry time. All of the competitors were raving about the performance of both the tire and the new MX-5 platform.

Throughout the day, competitors got several on-track sessions in which Andrew and I did data review with each individual to help them asses their performance and to give them feedback to help them continue improving.

It was a lot of fun to review so many different drivers’ data. Andrew and I each worked with all eight drivers, and we really got to see the differences between them since they were all driving the same spec car.

All seven judges got together to determine who the two finalists would be, and those two continued on to the next day. The two finalists were announced at dinner that night: Glenn McGee, who has an i-Racing simulation background, and Mark Drennan, who is an SCCA Runoffs champion and NASA Spec Miata champion. Not only were both drivers’ on-track performances impressive, but their off-track preparedness and professional presentation were apparent.

The sun came out for the final day, although it was still damp in the morning. Mark and Glenn got to really experience every possible condition at CMP – from the rain to the damp to completely dry!

The competition was incredibly close and kept everybody on the edge of their seats. It will be a tough decision about who will become the MRT24 Shootout winner and take the $100,000 scholarship prize. The winner will be decided at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday. The judges really have their work cut out for them!

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Finalizing the Specs for the Mazda Global MX-5 Cup Car

Deliveries of the stock cars are beginning to arrive from Japan, so we are really getting excited as we move into building the cars that will fill the 2016 Global MX-5 Cup grids. Long Road Racing will be busy over the winter getting all of those cars prepped.

Now that the offseason is here, it has been a busy time for testing as we begin preparations for next season. I’ve been testing with both SpeedSource and the new Mazda Global MX-5 Cup car.

For the MX-5, Mazda had aligned with their partners for the program, like tires, wheels, brakes and damper products. With those things set in place, we are now doing the final testing for the car. Knowing the specifics for each aftermarket product on the car helps us finalize the formula for what will become the 2016 spec.

Most recently, the biggest areas of our focus have been the tire and damper. For the tire, things like sizing, compound and even the right look for the new series next year have been considered. For the damper, we’re finding the final spec by perfecting the travel, valving and adjustability to ensure everything provides the right handling characteristics and capability.

We were able to utilize a wide range of surfaces and conditions for the tire testing. We evaluated different compounds and got to really work the tires to get feedback for both the Long Road Racing development team as well as the tire development team. It was a really rewarding test, especially since we got to evaluate the tires in a variety of conditions, even in the wet and dry.

We’ve been able to do some initial testing with all of these manufacturers’ products in place as one spec package, and everyone has been really pleased so far. Recent testing has been focused mostly on tires, and damper testing will continue during the next few days.

By the end of this week, we’ll be near our final spec – just in time for the MRT24 Shootout that starts early next week! Finalists in the Shootout will be able to drive the new Global MX-5 Cup car, and they will be among the first competitors to drive with the new spec tires, wheels and damper. We want to give them a car that will be very similar to the final spec for 2016. I think they will be pleased with the handling and grip characteristics, as well as the true driving excitement that this Global MX-5 Cup package generates.

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Championships at Roebling and the Road to the 24

Coaching Ashton at the SIC at Roebling.

This past weekend was the Southeast Division championship for the SCCA, which is known as the Southeast Invitation Challenge (SIC). It’s held at Roebling Road Raceway every year – I remember competing at the SIC in 2001 in Showroom Stock. It was my first championship win, so it was fun to be back at that event last weekend.

I was coaching Ashton Harrison again as she prepared to wrap up a successful 2015 season. She competed in Spec Miata all season and was looking forward to capping it off with a good outcome at the SIC.

Ashton had never raced at Roebling before, and it’s a very different type of racetrack – it’s very flat and high speed, so it requires a different type of driving style with a lot of flowing momentum and slow steering hands. There aren’t the heavy braking zones or tight corners that you find at other tracks.

We used the test day to get Ashton adapted to the track before qualifying on Saturday. She qualified 12^th, which was really encouraging for her first time racing there. That afternoon, she raced the enduro for practice and track time. We drove in 20-minute segments and focused on different things that we knew we needed to work on from analyzing data and video. It was essentially a 1.5-hour practice session!

Sunday morning was the big championship race, and it was an exciting one. The lead pack was battling the entire race, so it was a lot of fun to watch. Ashton was at the front of the second pack, running just outside the top ten. She mixed it up with some really good drivers, so she certainly rose to the challenge.

It was a great end to the season, and I think it left Ashton hungry to continue developing her racecraft over the winter. In the past year that I’ve worked with Ashton, I’ve seen huge development in her racing skills and overall preparedness for the weekend. She comes into each race armed with notes and knowledge from studying video and iRacing, and she’s improved at analyzing data. All in all, she’s a more mature race car driver, and her results reflect that.

There was a lot of buzz among the Spec Miata racers at the SIC about the new 2016 Global Mazda MX-5 Cup car. Now for sale, the car is considered one of the best values in sports car racing. Transitioning from club racing into the pro ranks can be a very difficult task, and typically one of the main reasons is that the costs associated with pro racing are much higher.

Spec Miata racing is such a great value for club racers, and the transition to the Global MX-5 Cup Series is a perfect segue into pro racing because it has a lower entry cost. It’s a not just about the cost of the car: there are only six venues on the calendar, and each is a doubleheader weekend– you get 12 races for the cost of six weekends. You also get to race at the best tracks in the country during headline race weekends with IMSA endurance sports car racing and IndyCar. It’s a great step to the Mazda Ladder System, and it’s part of the #MRT24 to help racers get from club racing to the 24 Hours of Daytona.

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Progress at COTA and Global MX-5 Cup Testing

Global MX-5 Cup car test drives at Atlanta Motorsports Park!

The IMSA event at Circuit of the Americas was this past weekend, and it was a very busy weekend for sure, with both the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and Tudor United SportsCar series. The end results of the weekend, for me personally, didn’t go as well as I’d hoped, but I certainly had a lot of fun along the way.

The opportunity to drive again with Freedom Autosport and Britt Casey, Jr., after all the success we’ve had this season, was exciting. On the SpeedSource Mazda side, we had a great week, although the ultimate results didn’t really show it. We made incredible progress with our Mazda SKYACTIV prototype throughout the event.

COTA is one of the world-class tracks we visit, and the circuit itself is very challenging because you have high-speed straights, technical corners and many complex corners that lead into each other. It’s an engineering challenge to make a car work really well there, but we were able to accomplish just that.

Ashton Harrison won her first Spec Miata race in the AMP Spec Miata Challenge, which shared staggered track time with the GMX5 test sessions. She finished 1st of the 13-car field on Sunday for Race1! I’ll be working with her again in a few short weeks for the SCCA SE Championships at Roebling Road.

I had a lot of exciting racing in the first hour of the Tudor race before a small issue sidelined us from finishing. I’m proud of how far we got during the race – there was a lot of intensity in the first hour – and the results truly don’t reflect how the rest of our week went.

On Sunday I went to Atlanta Motorsports Park for a Global MX-5 Cup test day for prospective series competitors – a lot of the participants are current MX-5 Cup racers. It was a beautiful day at an exciting track that has a lot of elevation, and its tight, nimble layout suited the car very well. The drivers were experiencing the car for the first time, and it was refreshing to hear their feedback about how impressive the new platform is and how well refined some of the items are, like handling, braking and even torque.

The car ran for over six hours and did great, and we had a lot of happy drivers who are excited about the upcoming season. The full package specs, including pricing, will be announced soon.

Now I’m off to Daytona for the SCCA Runoffs, which is always an exciting week!

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Introducing the Mazda MX-5 Global Cup Car to the Media

All four generations of the Mazda MX-5 in one picture!

Mazda Motorsports hosted a media event at Willow Springs earlier this week, giving automotive media members a chance to drive the new Mazda MX-5 in its Global Cup trim. Guests actually got to drive all four generations of the race-spec MX-5 around the Streets of Willow. The first two generations were Spec Miatas and the third generation was an MX-5 Cup car.

The media event was unique: every attendee had to wear a firesuit and helmet, so it was more than just a ride and drive. Mazda Motorsports Director John Doonan, Mazda North America Director of Public Relations Jeremy Barnes, and Mazda Motorsports Communications Officer Dean Case were all there. One of the cars available for media members to drive was Jeremy’s own Spec Miata, which just shows how dedicated of a group Mazda has – the people who work at Mazda are so passionate about racing. Racing is in Mazda’s DNA, so it makes sense that the people who work with Mazda share the same outlook.

The event started Monday evening at the local Lancaster Jethawks baseball game. Mazda had a hospitality suite where we got to mingle with the guests and talk about Mazdas while watching the local minor league baseball team defeat the visiting team.

We were up early the next morning for photography – it was a great opportunity to get shots of all four generations of the MX-5 together. Throughout the day we cycled all the drivers through the cars. Some media members were very specific in their approach, starting with the first generation and working their way up, while others jumped around a little bit. For me it was exciting to listen to their feedback about the cars and the personality that each generation has – their opinions really resonated with mine.

The feedback from the media was that the Global Cup car is so well balanced and more refined than previous generations. The technology is advanced, but it’s similarly balanced to the first-generation car, which was so lightweight, nimble and confidence inspiring. Media members were very impressed with the change from the third-generation MX-5 to the fourth, which is definitely the biggest change between generations.

The media event wrapped up Tuesday, and my busy week continues. I’m heading back to the East Coast, but I’ll still be driving an MX-5: I’m teaming up with Freedom Autosport again to compete in the Continental Tire race at Virginia International Raceway! I’ll be co-driving with Britt Casey, Jr. for the second time this season. The last time we drove together was at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, where we finished second. Fans can follow along live at IMSA.com.

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Global MX-5 Cup Update and VIR Success

Andrew Carbonell was one of the Mazda drivers on hand at Autobahn.

After running at the June Sprints, the Mazda Global MX-5 Cup cars made the trip from Road America to Chicago, where they ran a demonstration at Autobahn Country Club. It was a chance for interested Autobahn members and racers to get behind the wheel of the car. They’re a small group of people who can count themselves among the first to drive the new car!

The demonstrations ran during the members’ race weekend, so it was really great to show everyone there how the development program is going. Over 40 Autobahn members have Spec Miatas, and they have their own class during member race weekends. Mazda is already taking deposits for the car, so there’s really a lot of excitement building.

It was a very hot weekend in the Southeast, and I got to spend a few days in triple digit temps at VIR. I coached friend and client Rob Trollinger, who has gone from obtaining his SCCA license through Skip Barber to gaining racecraft skills in Spec Miata earlier this year to, now, racing his 997 Cup car with the Porsche Club of America. Rob has a background in lapping days, but his goal was to go club racing. In one year’s time, Rob has really made remarkable achievements while accomplishing his goals.

Rob’s first PCA weekend was a great success!

This weekend was Rob’s first PCA race with the car, and we were able to get track time during the VIR members’ day, which we used as a test day. We both drove the car so we could overlay reference data and video to get set up for the weekend. With a lot of studying and great execution, Rob was able to finish second in class and sixth overall out of more than 30 racers in his group. During the 1.5-hour enduro on Sunday, Rob put both his physical and driver training to the test because he ended up running the entire enduro on his own! He was smart and consistent, and ended first in his class and third overall. What a fantastic PCA debut for Rob!

The weekend was a lot of fun and we had a great time despite the intense heat. I’m looking forward to the next club race at Road America, which will be a new track for Rob.

Later this week, I’m very excited about returning to one of my favorite tracks on the schedule, Watkins Glen International. Not only do I have childhood memories of going to the track with my dad while growing up, but I’ve also had some professional success there. You can read more about my history at Watkins Glen in this week’s MazdaMotorsports.com Behind the Zoom blog.

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The June Sprints and a Rainy Road America

This last weekend was my return to the June Sprints at Road America, this time for the 60^th annual running of the event. I was there both to do further testing and confirmation runs with the Global MX-5 Cup car and to coach drivers with the Advanced Autosports Spec Miata team.

We ran the MX-5s during the test day to validate all of our previous development, ensuring that what we’ve done so far will be effective at different tracks, including setup and clearances. Our goal is to have the best product possible for MX-5 competitors.

To our excitement, the cars ran flawlessly, were quick, and were incredibly fun to drive -the draft was such an impressive thing at Road America. Because of the track’s layout, we achieved our highest speeds yet. (We also got to do our first rain testing!) We gained a few mph with the draft, and Andrew and I couldn’t get away from each other because the draft was so effective and we were so evenly matched.

The 2016 Global MX-5 Cup Series will have some real excitement with such an equal playing field!

Throughout the weekend, I coached over 15 drivers with Advanced Autosports. I was really excited to work with so many drivers, but because it was the most people I’d ever worked with during a weekend, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I formulated a game plan with track notes and the track map in general for the team, and then after each session I went into greater details with specific references, brake points and car placement, which is so critical in a momentum car like a Spec Miata.

I got to make a quick speech during the SCCA dinner Saturday night, giving an update on the MX-5 and introducing guest speaker David Hobbs. This future Mazda ladder driver was on hand at the banquet!

By the end of the first day, we were reviewing individual data and video to give each driver specific feedback about where they could improve. Although this was very time consuming because there were so many drivers, it proved to be an effective way of coaching because it gave each driver a set of notes to study in preparation for the next day.

With the rainy weather, we were able to work on even more skillsets with discussions about racing in the rain, like altering the race line and brake points, and other subtle adjustments that can give a competitive advantage.

That turned out to be a benefit because the Spec Miata race started in the rain, and the Advanced Autosports drivers were able to move up through the field. It was an exciting, dynamic race, especially as the track started drying out at the end! Three Advanced Autosports drivers finished in the top ten, and seven were in the top 20. There were a lot of new personal best lap times, too.

Overall, all of the drivers felt like they got great insight for their next race, whether it’s dry or wet!

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Development driving with Andrew Carbonell

Driver selfie!

This week we’re doing more testing of the 2016 Global Mazda MX-5 Cup car, and this time Andrew Carbonell will be joining me to drive the second development car. Andrew also drove it at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca two weeks ago, and it’s great to be working with him again.

Andrew’s first race with Freedom Autosport – our first time as teammates – was in 2008 at Iowa Speedway, when he was just 18 years old. We needed to fill a seat for a driver who couldn’t make the race, and we had to pick Andrew up at the airport because he was too young to rent a car! He and I had similar feel for the cars right from the start, and he was really easy to work with.

Andrew wound up qualifying on the front row in that first race with Freedom Autosport, then he got the pole at his next race with the team. We clicked the instant we met, and we’ve had a great relationship ever since that first race weekend together.

For the development of the new MX-5 Cup car, having a second opinion always makes it easier for the crew chief to understand what’s going on and what needs to be done in either the setup of the car or, in this case, the actual development of the car.

For example, at Mazda Raceway, we were talking about spring rates. It was reassuring hearing Andrew’s opinion, which was similar to mine but described in a different way. It allowed us to clearly convey what was happening so we could refine our strategy going forward.

This week, Andrew and I will be on track at the same time, and it will be interesting because we’ll do some double-blind testing with various equipment. We won’t know what brands of components are on the car. After running, we’ll run each other’s cars to see what differences there are between them. Our debriefs will be separate so there won’t be any bias.

Another reason for having multiple drivers is because every driving style is different, and you need various styles to make sure you’re not developing a car for just one driver’s style. The MX-5 has to be right for every racer, so the setup window needs to accommodate a variety of styles and preferences.

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A Warm Welcome for the Global Mazda MX-5 Cup Car

With the public debut of the 2016 Global Mazda MX-5 Cup car at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca last week, the MX-5 Cup competitors as well as the race fans in attendance got to see the car up close, poking their head under the hood and even sitting in the car. That was especially nice for tall drivers because they could see that they can fit, too! Being at the event and participating in the practice sessions was a chance to draw a lot of interest to Mazda’s announcement that they will host a global series for the MX-5 next season.

The car was really well received, and I think people were impressed with the fit and finish on the detail items, even though this is purely a development car. The way the FIA cage integrates into the cockpit and the ergonomics inside the driver compartment are impressive, and it’s a good fit no matter what your height is. That was a surprise for some drivers since this model goes back to the Miata’s roots of being a smaller car.

Other upgrades that people found interesting were the Brembo brake calipers and the upgraded ABS unit, which is technically improved from the previous version and more suited for racing conditions.

Even small elements are notable, like the redesigned shift knob and the optimized gear ratios. We found that the MX-5 was in the powerband more often around Mazda Raceway, and that really paired well with the car’s lightweight, nimble handling.

Overall, we got great feedback from the MX-5 Cup competitors and other racers who are interested in placing an order on one of the new cars. There will be a lot more opportunities to see the car on track. Coming to an MX-5 Cup race near you!

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