World Challenge had their TC class season opener at Virginia International Raceway this past weekend, and it was quite a turnout – over 100 cars among all the TC and GT classes! It’s fun to see VIR during a pro race like that. All the teams and drivers love coming to the track, and it’s fun to hear all the positive feedback about the circuit and how beautiful the facility is.
Long Road Racing was on site in support of a new direction for Mazda’s Global MX-5 Cup car, as it’s eligible for the TCA class. Currently, the third-generation (NC) MX-5 is the reigning champion in that class. There were several competitors who entered the TCA class in their the fourth-generation Global MX-5 Cup cars, and they only had to make minor changes, like putting on Pirelli tires, meeting the series-approved weight, and adding a hard top.
In the end, the Global MX-5 Cup car ended up sweeping the weekend, winning both TCA races! It was exciting to see, and it’s neat that Mazda competitors have multiple professional venues in which to run their spec homologated MX-5.
After the World Challenge event, Long Road Racing stayed at VIR to test their in-house Global MX-5, which was fitted with an upgraded sequential gearbox. This was an extremely cool piece to test and we’ll continue to develop it as an option for track day enthusiasts who want to upgrade. (Sorry, Global MX-5 Cup competitors!) Stay tuned for more development and package offerings from Long Road Racing in the coming months! In the meantime, we’ll be campaigning the car at the Grassroots Motorsports Ultimate Track Car Challenge at VIR in a few short weeks.
I was also on the West Coast last week doing some testing for our Mazda prototype program, which is always a great opportunity for development. We had a positive couple of days at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and the cars are now off to Austin, Texas, for the upcoming IMSA weekend at Circuit of the Americas.
I’m really excited about the performance we had in our most recent race at Long Beach, and we’re looking to take that momentum and improve upon it for this coming weekend. Hopefully, this year won’t be quite as hot since the race is in May instead of September! Follow along on my Twitter and Facebook for updates throughout the race weekend.