Everything an eligible racer needs to know to compete for the 2015 Mazda Road to 24 Shootout and the scholarship to compete in the 2016 Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup that goes with it.
Background: Since 2006, Mazda Motorsports has provided one deserving racing competitor a scholarship to compete in the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires. The criteria for the shootout have been created to identify the aspiring professional racer who has the most complete set of skills required to succeed in motorsport. These skills include speed, consistency, race craft, technical understanding, and off-track business and PR skills. History has shown that a driver will be limited in success if he or she is lacking in multiple areas. Each Mazda Road to 24 (MRT24) nominee will be required to submit specified information outlined below to be considered a finalist. Historically, three to eight nominees have been selected as finalists to compete on-track during the shootout, where additional assessment is conducted. A panel of judges selects one of these finalists to receive a scholarship valued at $100,000 to compete in the upcoming year’s Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup.
Eligibility criteria:
• Any driver winning a recognized (Full MAZDASPEED contingency paying) club racing national championship with the SCCA or NASA using Mazda power.
• NASA Teen Challenge Spec Miata champions.
• The Skip Barber Racing School MAZDASPEED MX-5 Winter and Summer series champions.
• Formula Car Challenge national champions.
• Recognized Mazda-powered club champions from Canada – as nominated by Mazda Canada, Inc.
• Identified iRacing MX-5 Cup champions.
• Mazda Race of NASA champion.
• At-large bids from NASA, SCCA, and other outlets.
Mazda’s objectives:
• Discover and retain a fast and consistent racer able to win professional championships, improving the odds that the shootout’s scholarship recipient reaches his or her dream of racing at a top-level series, while illustrating to the (potential) racing community that Mazda’s development system has the most talented racers, encouraging more drivers to race Mazda’s.
• Partner with the scholarship recipient in a 12-month co-op marketing effort to:
1. Build his or her brand and network, increasing his or her odds of partnering with another entity to help climb the MRT24 ladder.
2. Raise favorable opinion of and familiarity with the Mazda brand and its vehicle line-up.
3. Drive engagement within the Mazda Motorsports community.
• Deliver on our passion to help those ambitious and deserving drivers fulfill their dreams.
Timing:
Oct. 7 Rules posted for all eligible competitors
Oct. 8 11:30am PST optional conference call with competitors to answer questions
Oct. 16 Business plan, bio, and video submission deadline
Oct. 18 Conference call with competitors to announce finalists
Nov. 8-10 Day 1 (afternoon): Interviews; day 2: on-track; day 3 (morning): possible top 2 on-track
Nov. 12 Conference call with competitors to announce winner
Nov. 13 Press release announcing winner
Required content: The written proposal is three parts as follows:
1) Racing bio; two-page maximum in length. Highlight your racing career, noting which other top drivers you raced against during the past three seasons, if applicable. Provide a copy of your final championship points standings for the last three seasons, if applicable. Include three reputable references in the racing community (e.g., series officials) and your social media information (e.g., Twitter handle and number of followers; Facebook page and number of friends, etc.).
2) Work resume. To highlight your working and professional experience. If you do not have one, please provide your educational experience or a reason for not providing it.
3) Social media and website marketing co-op plan with Mazda; four-page maximum in length. To build both parties’ brands, provide a detailed outline of what your proposed strategy and plan with Mazda are during the next 12 months. The purpose of this plan is to help you achieve your two-to-three year goals; consider including exhibits, such as a current, real business plan you aim to present, social media marketing or newsletter example, calendar of events and social media entries before, during, and after a race event, etc.
These three documents should be submitted as a single PDF with the file name: YourName_2015_Mazda_Proposal_.pdf (see “Required Format” below for the procedure to submit)
Video; four-minute maximum in length. Outline your plan to achieve your two-to-three year racing goal; then explain your Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-related (SMART) objectives to help achieve these goals; and finally outline your tactics to help achieve each objective; for example:
• Goal #1: Win the 2017 Idemitsu MX-5 Cup championship;
• SMART objectives to achieve goal 1:
∗ #1: Raise $100,000 in funds by middle of the 2016 season for the 2017 season, and
∗ #2: Enhance understanding of data analysis and vehicle dynamics during each race weekend in the 2016 season;
• Tactics to accomplish these objectives:
∗ #1: Network with “X, Y, Z” companies during SEMA, and
∗ #2: Spend Y time meeting with data coach at each 2016 Idemitsu MX-5 Cup event.
Required Format: Post this video to YouTube with the title “2015 Mazda Road to 24: Your Name.” Then, email the YouTube link and your written proposal, as a PDF that does not exceed 4MB in size, to David Cook (DCook13@MazdaUSA.com) by 9:00pm PST, Friday, October 16, 2015.
Thank you and good luck with your submissions!