Mazda MX-5 Cup car means business

Mazda is embarked on a major development program for its MX-5 Cup car.

Two engineering evaluation cars are now undergoing component testing, ahead of the company later in the year announcing a locked-in specification for the 'turn-key' cars that will race against each other in the one-make series. Mazda will announce a price for the cars at the same time.

The one-make MX-5 Cup race series is potentially a highly lucrative program for Mazda and its aftermarket performance arm, Mazdaspeed, which is very active in motor sport in the USA.

Heading up the development program at California's Laguna Seca track (Mazda Raceway) is Tom Long, a veteran MX-5 pilot who has competed in all three previous generations of Mazda's compact sports car. He is assisted in his work by fellow Mazda drivers Kenton Koch and Andrew Carbonell.

"Testing the new MX-5 racer for the Global MX-5 Cup has been an incredible fit so far," said Long, as quoted in a press release.

"The lightweight nimble chassis design, along with its increased power-to-weight ratio, makes this new platform balanced and a real thrill to drive. Taking the key elements that made the original MX-5 chassis so popular and successful, has come back to its roots in a reborn look."

The testing process is a combination of track work and computer-aided analytics and simulations. And there's no shortage of bits to test on the cars.

Long and his team are assessing competition parts from seven tyre manufacturers, eight brake suppliers and seven suspension component specialists. According to Mazda, the possible permutations are up to "392 base combinations".

"The response from the industry has been amazing with a wide variety of companies approaching Mazda to become involved," said Mazda North American Operations director of motorsports John Doonan.

"Our goal is to develop a car that is just as rewarding to drive for the expert as the novice. Tom Long has experience with racing every generation MX-5 and is enthusiastic about the latest car.

"Tom will work with our engineers and racers to develop the next generation MX-5 race car to maintain our position as the most road-raced car in the world."