News Releases
SEBRING, Fla. (October 23, 2017) – Mazda racers scored five wins on a hot, humid, and occasionally rainy Sunday in Florida, as the National Auto Sport Association (NASA) concluded its season-ending championship weekends with the Eastern States Championships presented by Toyo Tires at historic Sebring International Raceway.
After 45 minutes of intense Spec Miata action, Michael Ross scored a dramatic 0.052 second win over Selin Rollan, with Trevor McCallion in third. With several of the favorites starting from the rear after a multi-car crash during a Saturday qualifying race, Toyo Tires awarded a set of Spec Miata race tires to Christopher Haldeman and John Davison as the hard chargers of the race.
In the NP01 class, where all of the Elan prototypes are powered by Mazda MZR engines, Jay Aranha scored the win over Charles Liniger.
Bryan Putt drove his Mazda-powered Elan DP02 to the win in the Super Unlimited class.
Mazda Miata racers took the top step in both the Performance Touring C and D classes Aaron Michelet won in PTC with Brian Henderson in PTE.
Other Mazda podium finishers:
Michael Globe – Second – PTC – Global Mazda MX-5 Cup
Tyler Harrell – Second – PTE – Mazda MX-5 Miata
Franklin Futrelle – Third – Super Touring 1 – Elan NP01 Mazda MZR
“Congratulations to all of our Mazda racers in Spec Miata, NP01, and the ST, PT and TT classes,” said David Cook, business development manager, Mazda Motorsports. “We saw racers such as Chris Haldeman, Todd Buras, Mike Globe, and others overcome adversity, displaying great effort and heart throughout. The entire Mazda community stuck together and showed once against it’s a tight knit family. Also, hats off to our five champions. We’re excited to add this depth to our nominees for the Mazda Road to 24 shootout with the $100,000 Mazda scholarship on the line.”
A select group of the competing racers from both NASA championships, the SCCA Runoffs, and the regional Teen Mazda Challenge Championships will be eligible for the Mazda Road to 24 (MRT24) shootout, seeking to earn a Mazda Scholarship to compete in the 2018 Battery Tender Global Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires. The shootout will take place in early December. Shootout details will be announced at a later date.
About 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 program offers a number of scholarships to advance drivers up the sports car racing ladder, beginning with the Global Mazda MX-5 Cup series and culminating with the Mazda Prototype team. The Mazda Road to Indy 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, California. Follow all of the latest news at MazdaMotorsports.com, @MazdaRacing on Twitter, and MazdaMotorsports on Instagram and Facebook.
Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 600 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at InsideMazda.MazdaUSA.com/Newsroom.
Follow MNAO’s social media channels through Twitter and Instagram at @MazdaUSA and Facebook at Facebook.com/Mazda
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Contact:
Dean Case, Mazda Motorsports (310) 318-4582, mazdaspeed@MazdaUSA.com
Jade Gurss, Mazda Motorsports (317) 517-4121, MazdaMotorsports@icloud.com
