A gaggle of Touring 4 MX-5s provide close racing excitement at GingerMan Raceway during Rounds 7 and 8 of the Northern Conference Majors Tour.

Moderate and nearly perfect weather provided the ideal environment for SCCA Northern Conference Majors Tour Rounds 7 and 8 at GingerMan Raceway, just seven miles fro the western beaches of Lake Michigan. The 10-turn course was repaved in June, giving the drivers a chance to experience brand-new asphalt. Many commented on the surface, with positive reviews on grip and texture.

Spec Miata was the first race to hit the track after lunch on Saturday. The 28-car pack delivered the same close racing that has come to be expected, with Justin Hille taking the victory. The big surprise was a Touring 4 race later in the day that looked more like a Spec Miata race.

The top four Touring 4 cars, all Mazda MX-5s, maintained the closest racing of the group through the entire race. Michael Novak started on the pole in his No. 17 Roush/Caldwell Race Prep MX-5. Voytek Burdzy started second in class in his No. 7 Advanced Autosports MX-5. The two raced nose-to-tail for the duration of the 30-minute race. Burdzy got his best opportunity to take the lead on lap 12.

Coming out of Turn 2, Burdzy got a run on Novak, but lacked the power to take the line going into Turn 3. He fell back in behind Novak and was not able to reemerge for the remainder of the race. As a consolation, Burdzy did set a new track record for Touring 4 with a time of 1:43:835, and then took the win on Sunday.

On Sunday, Spec Miata resumed its place as the class to watch for great racing action. Hille started on the pole with his No. 48 Hilltrux Mazda Miata, then fell back to 14th on the first lap due to a stutter in the engine. After two laps, the issue corrected itself and Hille started his march back to the front. By lap seven, Hille was up to fifth and catching the lead pack of four cars quickly.

On lap 10, Hille took the fourth position. Then on lap 11, he made up two additional positions. His final target was the No. 9 Roush/Caldwell Race Prep Miata of Michael Novak. Hille got beside Novak in Turn 3 on lap 12, but wasn’t able to hold on, falling back to second by Turn 6. Two laps later, he was able to initiate a pass in Turn 2, clear Novak by the exit of Turn 3, and never look back. Hille’s final margin of victory over Novak was nearly eight seconds.

The Northern Conference Majors Tour returns to action with Rounds Nine and 10, July 25-26 at Road America.

SCCA Northern Conference Majors Tour
GingerMan Raceway
South Haven, Mich., July 11-12, 2015
Saturday Mazda Winners

Class	Driver	Hometown	Car
F Production	Michael Sturm	Grafton, Wis.	Mazda Miata
Formula Mazda	Steve Johncock	Bellevue, Mich.	Star Mazda
Spec Miata	Justin Hille	Canfield, Ohio	Mazda Miata
Touring 4	Michael Novak	Highland, Mich.	Mazda MX-5

Sunday Mazda Winners

Class	Driver	Hometown	Car
F Production	Michael Sturm	Grafton, Wis.	Mazda Miata
Formula Mazda	Steve Johncock	Bellevue, Mich.	Star Mazda
Spec Miata	Justin Hille	Canfield, Ohio	Mazda Miata
Touring 4	Voytek Burdzy	Shiller Park, Ill.	Mazda MX-5