Photos courtesy of Justin Hunt
This past weekend was the first sanctioned event of the season for the Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Series. The Spring Training test at Barber Motorsports Park allowed both veterans and new series competitors to get some early testing in.
There was a lot of open track time, which was valuable since the first race weekend will be during the Indy Grand Prix at Barber next month, and there will be limited track time.
I was there to coach Ashton Harrison and her new teammate Patrick Wilmot. They’ve had some practice time at the circuit, so this was an opportunity to bring everything together in a more competitive environment before the actual race weekend there. It helped them both get refocused on racing and prepped for the season ahead.
With over 30 entries, the track was busy! It was fun to see the familiar competitors along with meeting those who are new to the series this year. The field was extremely competitive, with top times over the two days having a very narrow margin.
A strong field of Global MX-5 Cup competitors ready to take to the track!
I was excited that both Ashton and Pat were competitive and all of their winter season practice paid off. Throughout the weekend, there were quite a few opportunities for us to integrate some of the Speed Secrets seminar tips that the team learned from Ross Bentley. We also benefitted from it being a two-car team because we were able to utilize the data from each car to help both drivers continue to refine their technique around the very technical Barber Motorsports Park.
By the end of the test, it was exciting to see Pat end up with a top-five combined time from the weekend’s sessions. Ashton made huge gains from last season and was just outside the top ten in combined times. This is a huge confidence booster for both of them, and it will be exciting to see their teamwork continue to pay off as the season unfolds.
The Racing Analytics team making adjustments while testing.
One of the most scenic circuits the series will visit all year…