This past week was the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the official kickoff to the 2025 IMSA racing season. Even the incredibly cold and challenging weather at the start of the week couldn’t slow down the excitement and on-track action.
I was thrilled to be participating in the event on behalf of Mazda. In addition to being there in my traditional role as a Mazda MX-5 Cup Series ambassador and coach, I was also driving the 1991 RX-7 GTO in the inaugural HSR IMSA Classic.
In the past, historic racing has been a condensed showcase on Saturday morning, prior to the Rolex 24 start. However, this year was a much more expansive event, with several on-track sessions, including two races—including one that was under the lights on Friday night.
It was a tremendous amount of fun getting to run this car, which I’ve been privileged enough to drive before. But to race it under the lights on the high banks of Daytona, in good company with lots of other GTP and GTO machinery of that era, was a new and unique thrill.
In addition to fun, we were also successful! We won both the night race and Saturday morning’s event, so we got to celebrate in Daytona’s Victory Lane with the entire Flis Performance team, who deserve so much credit for preparing an immaculate race car.
It was special to celebrate the weekend’s success in Victory Lane on Saturday morning before the Rolex24 with the entire Flis Performance team.
At the same time, I was also busy with the season opener for the Mazda MX-5 Cup Series, which had its first two rounds at Daytona for the 4th year running. We had a record field of 36 cars, and it was incredible to witness so many spec cars take to the high banks for two competitive races.
The first race, on Thursday evening, did not disappoint: not only was it under the lights, but we were also greeted with a bit of precipitation, which necessitated rain tires while cars were on the grid for the start. The racing was intense throughout the field, and all the drivers did an amazing job managing the slick conditions, resulting in a green-flag race up until the final minutes. A series regular, Tyler Gonzalez, took the first win of the season, followed by rookie and late entry Ethan Goulart.
Not only was it the opening round to the 2025 Mazda MX-5 Cup season, but it was also the celebration of the 35th anniversary of the Mazda MX-5! A special display was setup in the midway for fans to enjoy the heritage of the MX-5 in all its generations, including this special 35th anniversary edition.
Speaking of rookies, there were five of them finishing inside the top 10, showcasing just how deep the talent pool is in this series. The Mazda Scholarship drivers are proving to be competitive right away!
During Friday morning’s second race, things didn’t get off to as smooth of a start, with an unfortunate pile-up while heading into turn one. The incident collected many cars, but kudos to the IMSA team for getting this cleaned up quickly so there was still plenty of time for green-flag racing. After that, the race remained green until the checkers fell for previous series champion Jared Thomas. It was also exciting to see a new face on the podium as Todd Buras, who was a local entry for this event, finished second.
The series has a short break, until they’re back in action on the streets of St. Petersburg during the IndyCar Grand Prix, which is the first weekend of March.