What an incredible week at Sebring! Not only did we have perfect weather every day, but the racing was another one for the history books. There was so much great racing on tap for the week, and it was wonderful to see fans, who are such a traditional part of the 12 Hours of Sebring, back in full force.
Among the many events during the week were the two Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup races. My continued role with that series includes being a part of the development team with Flis Performance and a member of Race Control. The latter can be a tough job at times, but also very rewarding when you have an incredible caliber of racing like we saw at Sebring.
The MX-5 Cup races were absolutely sensational. Race one had a storybook ending. There were four lead changes on the final lap, with three of them occurring in the last half-mile to the finish line! The amount of respect the top three drivers had for each other—giving each other racing room but also not willing to give up an inch—was truly admirable and created the second-closest finish in series history. They crossed the finish line three-wide, with less than one-thousandth of a second separating them.
At Daytona, I thought for sure we had already seen the best race finish of the season. However, race one at Sebring proved that the MX-5 Cup Series has even more excitement in store for us.
And then in race two, we had another dramatic final lap, with a pass for the win going into the final corner. Such exciting finishes are the norm for this series, and it’s what we have come to expect from MX-5 Cup. In all four races this year, there has been a lead change coming to the finish line.
Next on tap for MX-5 Cup is the streets of St. Petersburg. This beautiful street circuit venue always creates some exhilarating racing, and it is the third event of the year in Florida. I expect more of the same thrilling racing from the series.