Mazda Motorsports Champions Crowned, First of 2014
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This past weekend saw the 2014 season finales for the three Mazda Road to Indy Championships in Sonoma, California, and the clinching of the Cooper Tires IMSA Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda title at Virginia International Raceway.
"When Mazda established the MAZADSPEED Motorsports Development Ladder System in 2006, we were seeking to grow the sport by allowing talent to move to the next level.
We're happy to celebrate the success of Florian, Spencer, Gabby, and Mikhail this season with more championships coming this fall," noted John Doonan, Director of Motorsports for Mazda North American Operations.
Mikhail Goikhberg clinched the 2014 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda title at Virginia International Raceway with his seventh win of the year.
Goikhberg will be officially crowned when the series wraps up at Road Atlanta as a part of the Petit Le Mans week.
After ten of 12 races completed, Kenton Koch leads the 2014 Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship.
Drake Kemper is the points leader in the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge Class. The season concludes with a doubleheader at Road Atlanta as a part of the Petit Le Mans week.
In the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, Mazda remains in a three-way battle with Porsche and BMW for the 2014 Street Tuner Manufacturers championship.
Mazda is represented by Freedom Autosport and CJ Wilson Racing. The final two races of the season are September 20 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and October 3 at Road Atlanta.
In the Pirelli World Challenge, Mazda has been represented by multiple racers in the Touring Car, and Touring Car A classes with Adam Poland and Ernie Francis Jr.
both scoring wins with MX-5s. The World Challenge season will conclude on September 13 at the Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.
Finally, in a new twist for Mazda Motorsports, simulator racing plays a part with the creation of the iRacing MX-5 Cup. The first champion was Evan Maillard, while the second champion will be determined on October 20.