I just capped off an absolutely stunning weekend in St. Petersburg, Florida, where I was working with the Mazda MX-5 Cup series at the St. Pete Grand Prix. You couldn’t have scripted better weather, with beautifully low humidity, 70-degree days and a slight breeze: we really enjoyed that Florida sunshine!
We had a record number of entries in the Mazda MX-5 Cup Series at 35 cars. Interestingly, only half the field had been to the circuit previously, so many of the drivers were putting their talent to the test to learn street circuit racing quickly.
Because of an abbreviated qualifying session, the starting grid was mixed with fast drivers throughout the field, creating an interesting dynamic at the start. There was a lot of green-flag racing in the opening half of both races. That was a great chance to showcase close-quarters racing and inch-perfect driving between the walls of the tight St. Pete circuit.
Big news! First to the Finish will be premiering on Amazon Prime starting March 25! This six-episode docu-series showcases the Maza MX-5 Cup series, following the female racers who competed in the 2024 season. I got the unique opportunity of seeing the first episode during a premiere event at St. Pete, and it’s sure not to disappoint!
Two previous winners of the season emerged victorious again, with Jared Thomas winning race one and Tyler Gonzalez winning race two following Sunday’s IndyCar season opener.
In retrospect, it’s interesting that we’ve now had four races with two repeat winners, but the championship is still wide open here at the start of the season. Mazda Shootout Scholarship winner Noah Harmon is fourth in the championship and leading the rookie of the year standings, but he has several other rookies hot on his heels inside the top 10.
The series takes a one-month break now, before returning to another IndyCar event at Barber Motorsports Park the first weekend in May.