Photograph Courtesy Mazda MX-5 Cup
Time for some GRM history.
Back in 2006, the GRM staff helped usher in a new race series called the MX-5 Cup. It took the excitement of Spec Miata–fairly new at the time–but applied it to the then-new, NC-chassis Mazda MX-5.
[Track test and review of the ND-chassis Mazda MX-5 Cup Car]
We built the car in conjunction with BSI Racing and Sports Car Revolution, the TV show hosted by the late Tom Hnatiw.
The racing, as expected, was spectacularly close.
Fast forward to today: The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin celebrates its 20th season in 2025, and IMSA officials just released the upcoming schedule.
For the fifth season in-a-row, the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup season will kick off at Daytona International Speedway as part of the Rolex 24 At Daytona event weekend. The configuration of the legendary speedway has rapidly developed into a must-watch event, producing some of the most thrilling finishes in series history.
Mazda MX-5 Cup stays in Florida for Rounds Three and Four as it joins the kickoff of the IndyCar season on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, February 28-March 2.
After taking the month of April off, MX-5 Cup will rejoin IndyCar at Barber Motorsports Park May 2-4. The series returns to the beautiful circuit outside Birmingham, Alabama, for the first time since 2019 for Rounds Five and Six.
Back with IMSA for Rounds Seven and Eight, the series heads to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, June 6-8. Rounds Nine and 10 take place north of the border at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, with the series’ only trip outside of the U.S. happening July 11- 13 as part of the IMSA event.
August 22-24 MX-5 Cup returns to the rolling green hills of VIRginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia, for Rounds 11 and 12. As it has since 2021, the MX-5 Cup season will wrap up at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, October 8-11, during IMSA’s Motul Petit Le Mans finale.
And I have photos!
If MX-5 Cup cars now all come from Flis Performance, how come ours didn’t? Because back then, you built you own. Then it was inspected. I want to say that certain components, like the engine, transmission, and diff had to be sealed before taking delivery of the car. At least that’s how I remember it.
So we started with a new MX-5 that was then stripped down and turned into a race car.
Filming photos, too!
So, why is there a stool across Tom Hnatiw’s lap?
Excellent question.
He was playing it like a bongo between shoots.
Seriously. Had a good groove going on, too.
Yes, they used sealed components. I was involved in the first race of the prototypes when we took them to the 25 hours of Thunderhill. We discovered the 6-speed trans was good for ~200 laps before the 3-4 shift fork broke. Since we were the Mazdaspeed team, word was passed up to Mazda Japan before the race was even over - and you were then allowed to change the shift fork for a billet one before the trans was sealed.
Are we not calling the ND version the Global MX-5 Cup anymore? Made it easy to distinguish from the NC version, as I don't think the cars have ever raced together. I thought the NC ones are Spec Miatas now.
And some photos of the completed car at Roebling Road. Chip Herr–he just defended his SCCA STU national title–was our driver. Traqmate handled data acquisition. At the time, GPS-driven systems were very high tech.
We have photos of the sealing process–now I remember the specifics. (I mean, I was there to take the photos.)
We met the inspector–Aaron Coalwell–at the local Mazda dealer here in Daytona. Once he was finished, we could take possession of the car.
And Tom really was playing bongos.
May he rest in peace, too.
Love to see street races - glad they're at St. Petersburg.
I would have liked to have met Tom Hnatiw. He seemed like a fun person to be around.
I still use a Traqmate for data. I've got them in each of my race cars and I've collected some spares over the years. Newer options are more refined and have more sophisticated interfaces but the Traqmates do what I need and I've messed with them so much that I'm used to their quirks. I've even done some board level repairs on them.
I like building cars and that's really the only way I can afford them so I don't see myself ever running a series where I have to buy the car but there's really good racing in MX-5 Cup.
In reply to APEowner :
Tom also just required one take.
It was like he threw a switch and, without any prep, just delivered his lines.
Bam, done, and then back to playing bongos on a stool.
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