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Since its launch in 1989, the MX-5 has become a bestseller for Mazda.
In 2006, the company introduced the Mazda MX-5 Cup series.
Now in its eighth season, the MX-5 Cup is popular with competitors and fans.
The series is part of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder that promotes champions of the Mazda series to the next level of their career. The motivation for drivers to enter the MX-5 Cup division is an opportunity to earn a factory-supported ride in next year’s SCCA Pro Racing Speed World Challenge Touring Car Championship. All Mazda MX-5 Cup cars receive only minor upgrades. Bolt-on modifications include a new intake manifold and exhaust system, which increases the engine output from 170 to 200-horsepower. All vehicles have a six-speed manual transmission and a limited-slip differential. BF Goodrich tires are mounted on 17X8” wheels. The suspension uses a coil-over kit with double adjustable shock absorbers and roll bars. Brake pads, fluid and lines are upgraded for the demands of racing. The Mazdas are fitted with an eight-point roll-cage welded into the car, racing seatbelts and a fire extinguishing system for safety. In December 2011, it was announced that the series would include a second class. Beginning this year, there is a category for Skip Barber Racing School competitors. The Skip Barber Racing School will provide an arrive-and-drive program in their Mazda MX-5s. The program costs $6,875 for a single race and $50,000 for the entire season of eleven rounds. The cost includes a test day, tires, fuel, entry fees, in car-video and data feedback, in car radio setup and television exposure. The 2013 season consists of twelve forty-minute timed races spread over six weekends. All weekends will be doubleheaders with the exception of Coronado and Houston, which will host a single contest. The first event of the year will be held in March at Sebring International Raceway and the year will end at Road Atlanta in October.
Rounds seven and eight of the 2013 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup were held at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Drivers would compete on the ten-turn 2.459-mile road course for forty-five minutes.
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The start of the weekend’s final race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for round eight of the 2013 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup. Leading the field of twenty-five competitors into corner one is the No. 34 Alara Racing Mazda MX-5 of the pole-sitter Christian Szymczak. Immediately behind Szymczak is the other front-row qualifier, Elliott Skeen, driving the No. 17 MAZDASPEED Mazda MX-5. |
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The winner of round eight was Christian Szymczak. This was Szymczak’s fourth victory of the season. He put the No. 34 Alara Racing Mazda MX-5 on the pole and led all but one lap. Elliott Skeer moved to the front on the second circuit, but Szymczak retook the position. He started first in the finale and led until the final lap. Going into turn eight, Skeer drafted past Szymczak, leaving him in second-place at the checkered flag. |
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Title contender Elliott Skeer qualified second for the weekend’s first contest at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. During the race, the driver of the No. 17 MAZDASPEED Mazda MX-5 found himself in a battle with Ara Malkhassian. On lap-24, the pair went wide, allowing John Dean to move to second, which resulted in a third-place finish Skeer. On Sunday, a last-lap pass on Christian Szymczak gave Skeer the win. |
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The leader of the Sick Sideways team, John Dean, drove the No. 16 Research Projections / Sick Sideways Mazda MX-5. Dean qualified third for Saturday’s contest. During the race, he dropped to fourth-place, but a battle that led to contact between Ara Malkhassin and Elliott Skeen allowed him to finish second. The next day Dean started in fifth. He fought with the leaders and led two laps before finishing in the third spot. |
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The Canadian Tire Motorsport Park podium for round seven of the 2013 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup. The race’s pole-sitter and winner, Christian Szymczak, stands in the center. This was Szymczak’s fourth victory of 2013. On the left from Sick Sideways is the runner-up, John Dean. Completing the rostrum is the second-fastest qualifier and third-place finisher, Elliott Skeer. |
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This season’s Skip Barber Racing School MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge has been dominated by Kenton Koch. In the first six rounds of 2013, Koch has qualified on the pole, led the most laps and won each event. He started on the pole for round seven in the No. 63 Skip Barber Racing Mazda MX-5 and earned another victory. However, all good things must come to an end and Koch ended his weekend with a sixth-place finish. |
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The No. 99 Skip Barber Racing School MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge entry was piloted by Drake Kemper. After six championship rounds, his best results were a pair of runner-up finishes at Sebring and Mid-Ohio. In the weekend’s first race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, Kemper qualified second but finished fifth in class. He started second in the finale and collected his first series victory. |
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The podium for round eight of the 2013 Skip Barber Racing School MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge. In the center is Drake Kemper, the winner. Kemper’s victory on Sunday ended Kenton Koch‘s streak of seven first-place finishes in as many starts. Standing on the left is Robby Foley. Foley repeated Saturday’s performance with another second-place finish. The final spot on the rostrum belongs to David Knight. |
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| FINISH | START | CLASS | DRIVER | TEAM | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | MX | Christian Szymczak | Alara Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 2 | 3 | MX | John Dean | Sick Sideways/Projections Research - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 3 | 2 | MX | Elliott Skeer | MAZDASPEED/Pelican Windows - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 4 | 6 | MX | Ara Malkhassian | Alara Racing/Alara Garage - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 5 | 4 | MX | Patrick Gallagher | MAZDASPEED/Howard Concrete - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 6 | 5 | MX | Sebastian Landy | Excitations.com - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 7 | 7 | MX | Nathanial Sparks | OOTSK Performance/Bimmerworld - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 8 | 8 | MX | Jeff Mosing | Alara Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 9 | 9 | MX | Forrest Landy | Excitations.com - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 10 | 15 | MX | Chris Windsor | Windsor Customs/Child Print ID - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 11 | 16 | MX | Bryan Hixon | MAZDASPEED/Alara Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 12 | 14 | MX | Brent Mosing | Alara Racing/Twister Trailers - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 13 | 11 | MX | Harrison Williams | Alara Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 14 | 13 | MX | George Jackson | NA - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 15 | 18 | MX | Randall Posejpal | Alara Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 27 | - |
| 16 | 12 | MX | Daniel Bender | Bravo Trailers - Mazda MX-5 | 27 | - |
| 17 | 17 | MX | Charles Paquin | Track Pro - Mazda MX-5 | 26 | - |
| 18 | 10 | MX | James Vance | Exposystems - Mazda MX-5 | 0 | Did Not Finish |
| 1 | 1 | SBMX | Kenton Koch | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 2 | 3 | SBMX | Robby Foley | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 3 | 5 | SBMX | David Knight | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 28 | - |
| 4 | 6 | SBMX | Bryan Silas | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 27 | - |
| 5 | 2 | SBMX | Drake Kemper | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 27 | - |
| 6 | 8 | SBMX | Fred Chin | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 27 | - |
| 7 | 7 | SBMX | Russell Muck | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 23 | - |
| 8 | 4 | SBMX | Lucas Bize | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 16 | Mechanical |
| FINISH | START | CLASS | DRIVER | TEAM | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | MX | Elliott Skeer | MAZDASPEED/Pelican Windows - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 2 | 1 | MX | Christian Szymczak | Alara Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 3 | 5 | MX | John Dean | Sick Sideways/Projections Research - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 4 | 9 | MX | James Vance | Exposystems - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 5 | 6 | MX | Nathanial Sparks | OOTSK Performance/Bimmerworld - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 6 | 12 | MX | George Jackson | NA - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 7 | 7 | MX | Sebastian Landy | Excitations.com - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 8 | 4 | MX | Ara Malkhassian | Alara Racing/Alara Garage - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 9 | 10 | MX | Harrison Williams | Alara Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 10 | 11 | MX | Daniel Bender | Bravo Trailers - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 11 | 13 | MX | Forrest Landy | Excitations.com - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 12 | 14 | MX | Brent Mosing | Alara Racing/Twister Trailers - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 13 | 15 | MX | Chris Windsor | Windsor Customs/Child Print ID - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 14 | 16 | MX | Bryan Hixon | MAZDASPEED/Alara Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 15 | 18 | MX | Charles Paquin | Track Pro - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 16 | 17 | MX | Randall Posejpal | Alara Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 17 | 8 | MX | Jeff Mosing | Alara Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 5 | Mechanical |
| 18 | 3 | MX | Patrick Gallagher | MAZDASPEED/Howard Concrete - Mazda MX-5 | - | Did Not Start |
| 1 | 2 | SBMX | Drake Kemper | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 2 | 3 | SBMX | Robby Foley | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 3 | 6 | SBMX | David Knight | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 4 | 7 | SBMX | Russell Muck | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 5 | 4 | SBMX | Lucas Bize | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 6 | 1 | SBMX | Kenton Koch | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 25 | - |
| 7 | 8 | SBMX | Fred Chin | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 22 | - |
| 8 | 5 | SBMX | Bryan Silas | Skip Barber Racing - Mazda MX-5 | 18 | Accident |
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