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LIME ROCK, Conn. (July 25, 2016) – Mazda MX-5s finished 1-2-3 in a dominating performance at the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series this past weekend at Lime Rock Park. Chad McCumbee and Stevan McAleer teamed to drive the Freedom Autosport No. 25 ModSpace MX-5 to a convincing win in the two-hour, 30-minute race. The duo crossed the line with a 10.66-second margin of victory. Finishing second was the Alara Racing No. 34 Mazda with drivers Terry Borcheller and Christian Szymczak, who led the race in the opening segment. Andrew Carbonell and Liam Dwyer teamed to finish third after starting ninth in the Freedom Autosport No. 26 Mazda MX-5.

Mazdas started in the top-three positions, and led every lap of the race. This is the second win of the season for McAleer and McCumbee, who also triumphed at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in April for Freedom Autosport. This was also their first pole position of the year. The defending series champions, McCumbee and McAleer are now unofficially seven points out of the points lead with four races remaining this season. It is the best finish of the year for Alara Racing, and the second-best finish for Dwyer and Carbonell, as they finished second at Mazda Raceway.

“Mazda gives us such a great platform to run with the MX-5,” said McCumbee, who won the pole position and then led the race in his opening stint. “The Freedom Autosport guys had our ModSpace Mazda on a rail. The car is great on long runs, and the caution-free race enabled us to get a huge lead and take advantage of all the car can do.”

The third Freedom Autosport entry, the No. 27 Trumpf Mazda MX-5 with drivers Danny Bender and Britt Casey Jr. finished 12th after recovering from an unscheduled pit stop mid-race for a flat tire. The No. 66 Riley Racing Mazda with drivers Jameson and AJ Riley dropped from the race early after qualifying third.

Mazda is now second in the manufacturers standings in the ST class of the Continental Tire series.

Mazda Motorsports

Mazda Motorsports boasts the most comprehensive auto racing development ladder system of any auto manufacturer in the world. The Mazda Road to 24 (#MRT24) program offers a number of scholarships to advance drivers up the sports car racing ladder, beginning with the Global MX-5 Cup series and culminating with the Mazda Prototype team. The Mazda Road to Indy (#MRTI) is a similar program that includes Mazda-powered categories of USF2000, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights. In grassroots road racing, more Mazdas race on any given weekend in North America than any other manufacturer. Mazda is also the title sponsor of the renowned Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. Follow all of the latest news at MazdaMotorsports.com, @MazdaRacing on Twitter, and MazdaMotorsports on Instagram and Facebook.

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Contact:
Jade Gurss, Mazda Motorsports (317) 517-4121
MazdaMotorsports@icloud.com

Dean Case, Mazda Motorsports (310) 318-4582
Mazdaspeed@MazdaUSA.com