TOPEKA, Kan. (Sept. 10, 2008) – Following the successful launch and three-straight years of growth with the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup, Mazda North American Operations and SCCA Pro Racing have finalized an agreement to continue sanctioning services of the series through 2011.
SCCA Pro Racing’s relationship with Mazda’s spec series based around the iconic Miata convertible began in 2002, when SCCA Pro Racing sanctioned seven stand-alone Miata Cup events. The affiliation continued as the Miata Cup developed into a full-fledged championship series from 2003 to 2005 and was reinvented once again in 2006 as the MX-5 Cup with the new MX-5 Miata and a single-championship format.
“We are very proud to continue our strong partnership with Mazda and the MX-5 Cup program,” SCCA Pro Racing President and CEO Robert Wildberger said. “We’ve demonstrated that we operate this highly competitive series fairly and efficiently. Our talented staff cannot be given enough credit for that. The Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup program is an important part of the SCCA Pro Racing portfolio and will contribute to our company’s continued growth in the industry.”
In its first three seasons, MX-5 Cup has flourished. The MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder has successfully bridged the gap from SCCA Club Racing to SCCA Pro Racing by selecting talented Club racers to promote to MX-5 Cup and awarding the MX-5 Cup Champion with an SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car ride. Additionally, Mazda’s recent partnership with Playboy Enterprises has produced exciting new promotional and broadcast opportunities.
“In just three years, MX-5 Cup has established itself as one of the best talent showcases in all of sports car racing – the success of Jim Daniels and Jason Saini in the SPEED World Challenge and Andrew Caddell in the Miller Mustang series being solid proof,” Mazda North American Operations Alternative Marketing Manager Jim Jordan said. “Our first MX-5 Cup race of 2008 saw a series-record grid size of 31 cars, and given the excellent partnership with Playboy and our one-hour per race TV broadcasts, we have a great future for the series. We’re pleased that we are able to extend our relationship with SCCA Pro Racing for another three years.”
There are currently three rounds remaining in the 2008 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup. Round Six of the eight-race series will take place Sept. 19 – 20, at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. Round Seven follows, Sept. 26 – 28, at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J. The 2008 season finale will take place where MX-5 Cup was born, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Oct. 17 – 19.
All 2008 MX-5 Cup races are aired on select DirecTV, Dish Network and regional cable stations in a one-hour, tape delayed format. All races are also posted on the MX-5 Cup YouTube channel following their TV debut and can be found at http://www.youtube.com/mazdamx5cup.
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On behalf of ALARA Racing, MER, HOOVERSPEED, and Hale Motorsports, THANK YOU MAZDA for a great series and investing in its future.
Come on you SM guys, lots of cars in build and in the secondary market, you too can be racing in this great series. Just call your favorite MX-5 CUP team and sign up!
quote:Originally posted by Kent Carter: Pretty big news that Mazda chose SCCA over some of the other sanctioning bodies...
Kent,
The current contract runs out at the end of this year and Mazda announced to us a few months ago that they would be sending out an RFQ to a number of sanctioning bodies, which had not been done in the past. Bob Wildberger and his staff are to be commended for putting together a package that fits Mazda's needs and is benificail to our Pro Racing program.
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Brian did the package include dates? The MX-5 cup schedule is not really that attractive to make a jump up.
MEAT
-------------------- Mike Collins MEATHEAD Racing http://www.SHEETZ.com The MEATHEAD Racing 2010 Calendar is up!!!! www.MEATHEADRacing.com SMAC Member WDCR-SCCA SM Drivers Rep. ALL OPINIONS ON RULES OR SPECIFICATIONS ARE JUST THAT, MY OPINIONS!
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quote:Originally posted by Mike C: Brian did the package include dates? The MX-5 cup schedule is not really that attractive to make a jump up.
MEAT
Dates are set by Mazda. There has been a lot of input from the series participants to Mazda regarding the schedule and the TV package. I am sure it will be even better next year. This year's schedule got demolished by the open wheel merger. We lost Houston, Cleveland, and Portland as prestige dates. Mazda turned a negative into a positive and took over the Portland date. It was awesome. The Road America date was great and NJ should be good too. The back-to-back weekends and the numerous treks across the nation have been difficult, but it is the best that could be done given the circumstances.
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MEATHEAD Racing is taking a hard look at it. It seems to be the next natural progression, but the travel expenses and dates looked a bit difficult.
-------------------- Mike Collins MEATHEAD Racing http://www.SHEETZ.com The MEATHEAD Racing 2010 Calendar is up!!!! www.MEATHEADRacing.com SMAC Member WDCR-SCCA SM Drivers Rep. ALL OPINIONS ON RULES OR SPECIFICATIONS ARE JUST THAT, MY OPINIONS!
quote:Originally posted by Mike C: MEATHEAD Racing is taking a hard look at it. It seems to be the next natural progression, but the travel expenses and dates looked a bit difficult.
The numbers I've heard from one National Champ who ran part of the season this year were $250,000 for the whole season! Ouch! Just a few years ago, a season of Touring in World Challenge was $100,000.
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"The numbers I've heard from one National Champ who ran part of the season this year were $250,000 for the whole season! Ouch! Just a few years ago, a season of Touring in World Challenge was $100,000."
That number is at little high, but if you can find someone to pay that let me know.
You could rent a MX5 from one of the team for around 9,000 to 10,000 per weekend. That will leave you 170,000 for travel, food, and Patron.
Randy Hale Motorsports Team Patron
-------------------- Randy Hale Hale Motorsports Team Patron
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and crash damage...
-------------------- Kim
91 BRG SMT RIP 06 MX-5 Cup
"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting 'Holy sh*t...what a ride!'" - Unknown
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The cost of an MX-5 Cup race season varies based on the schedule (transport is a BIG part of the cost). The cost range is (in broad numbers) from $65 to $75K if you have a car. More if you rent.
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