Car & Driver's Larry Webster Finishes Fourth in MX5-Cup Debut

Larry Webster, Technical Director of Car & Driver, made his series debut Sunday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif., in the new SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Hankook.

Starting 10th, Webster moved up to the top six at the end of the first lap. In a race filled with battles for every position, Webster's race was no different as he battle back and forth toward his eventual 4th place finish.

"This was a dream result for me--the MX-5, the Hankook tires, Mazdaspeed, the SCCA Pro officials and our crew helped make this race weekend a genuine success," Webster said. "We ran out of time to get our own Advantage Racing Technologies MX-5 car ready for the race, so Mazda was kind enough to introduce us to John (Kuitwaard) and Ben (Hohn) at P1 Motorsports."

"We drafted in our own crew to run my car along with the P1 staff, and man, we learned so much about the car in just one weekend. I'll be in our own red #19 MX-5 for the rest of the season, and we'll be sure use all the lessons learned at Laguna Seca."

Advantage Racing Technologies (ART) is run by Marshall Pruett with Larry Webster for the MX-5 series.

Matt Cross, 2005 Northern California Spec Mazda Miata Challenge champion, and Jason Hoover, entrant of Cross's car, serve as Larry Webster's driver coach and chief mechanic, respectively. Cross, 2005 NorCal Miata Challenge champion, is wanting to move up into the MX-5 Cup, and is actively working with the team to secure an additional car and sponsorship to form a two-car ART effort with Webster. Hoover, through his Jason Hoover Motorsports/Hooverspeed company, is an associate sponsor of the team for the 2006 season.

Webster, as Technical Director of Car and Driver, was quick to put his experience having tested the world's fastest and best cars, and his years of amateur racing experience to make the seamless transition to SCCA Pro Racing.

"A lot of people don't know that I've been racing for a few years now and have done a lot of endurance racing, so while I still have a lot to learn, stepping up to race towards the front in the Sirius Satellite Mazda MX-5 Cup is something I've been ready for ever since the new series was announced," Webster said. "It's a perfect series for great racing on the track, and great marketing and promotional opportunities off the track. I think the MX-5 Cup is only going to get bigger and stronger."

Using Car & Driver's radio program on Sirius as a platform to bring his experiences of racing the ART/Mazda/Hankook MX-5 to the millions of Sirius subscribers, Webster looks forward to spreading the word about the wildly competitive and wildly fun MX-5 Cup racing.

"SCCA Pro Racing and Mazda have a great thing here--with Sirius now on board as the title sponsor of the series, it's a great platform to use satellite radio to bring more fans and partners into the MX-5 Cup."

Still searching for a primary and associate sponsors of his own, Webster's 4th place finish is a great start to his season.

"I can't wait for our next race at Lime Rock in three weeks time--it doesn't cost much to get involved in the series," Webster said. "And I can only hope we find sponsors and partners to help us make our team even stronger." Team or sponsorship inquiries can be made through the team's http://www.advantageracetech.com website.

A special thanks to eprodius.com - a web/print design & development company owned by SPEED Touring Car and Pro Spec Mazda Miata veteran Johnny Kanavas, specializing in catering to race teams and drivers, has joined the ART/Webster effort as webhost and promotional partner.