MAZDASPEED announced a partial 2012 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy MX-5 Cup Schedule at the annual Performance Racing Industry Trade Show in Orlando, Fla. It was also announced that the grids would be growing considerably with the addition of a class for Skip Barber Racing School MX-5 Cup competitors.
“The 2012 MX-5 Cup will expand with the addition of a new partner, the Skip Barber Racing School. The Skip Barber cars will add considerable depth to the fields," declared John Doonan, director of motorsports, Mazda North American Operations. "While we are not ready to announce the complete schedule, we are happy to announce that we have locked in our season kickoff and finale at two of the biggest road-racing weekends in the works – Sebring and the Petit Le Mans. We'll also be making a stop at our home track, Mazda Raceway, and are in active discussions with another half-dozen tracks. The final 2012 schedule will be one that will meet the needs of our fans, partners, and racers.”
Skip Barber Racing School has run the MAZDASPEED Challenge race series, since 2007 for Mazda MX-5 Cup racecars. In 2011, SBRS ran a fleet of cars at the Homestead and Road Atlanta MX-5 Cup races at Petit Le Mans with favorable feedback. For 2012, SBRS will provide an arrive-and-drive race programs with coaching to customers who want to race at a higher level with the professionals without the required investment in capital and other resources to establish their own team.
The MX-5 Cup series champion is promoted to a series above via the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Ladder. 2011 MX-5 Cup Champion Mike Cooper will be racing a MAZDASPEED3 in the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car Championship. Mazda also promotes a top club racer to the MX-5 Cup. 2011 NASA Western Region Spec Miata Teen Challenge Champion Elliott Skeer will be joining the MX-5 Cup Championship in 2012.