Mike Iler went from winner of BFGoodrich® Tires’ Driver Enough Challenge to competing in the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge at Road Atlanta.

BFGoodrich® Tires, a long-time partner of Mazda Motorsports in the Mazda MX-5 Cup and supplier of the tires for the recent Mazda Road to 24 Shootout, in conjunction with TEN: The Enthusiast Network, set out to find the nation’s top amateur performance driver. What started with on- and off-road testing at Willow Springs International Raceway in California culminated in the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge during the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich® Tires finale at Road Atlanta in October.

The Driver Enough Challenge started with 56 drivers submitting videos, six of whom were brought to Willow Springs where the champion, Mike Iler of Redlands, Calif., scored the top combined lap times on on- and off-road courses. Iler took home a set of BFGoodrich® Tires for winning. However, Iler’s performance was so strong that BFGoodrich® Tires extended the program, sending Iler to the Skip Barber Racing School to be trained to compete in the MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge.

At Road Atlanta in damp conditions, Iler finished fifth in his first professional race. He followed that up with a seventh-place finish in the second race.
Watch Iler’s journey from amateur driving contest winner in the video above, and videos to follow in the coming days.