Houston, TX – January 25, 2016 – ALARA Racing is excited to announce an expanded, two-car effort in the 2016 Continental Tire Street Touring class. Building on its inaugural 2015 season that showcased the potential of the ALARA Racing Mazda MX-5 with five poles, two additional front row starts, and three podiums, 2016 will be a year to challenge for the championship.
Leading the charge in the #34 will be ALARA Racing’s own MX-5 Cup champion and Mazda Road to 24 driver, Christian Szymczak. With a year of experience running up front in the Continental Series in 2015, ALARA Racing and Christian are prepared to contend for victories in the competitive class.
Joining Christian at the series opener at Daytona will be ALARA Racing’s Justin Piscitell. With a powerhouse performance in 2015 with five poles and two additional front row starts, four podiums, and having lead in the majority of the races of 2015, Justin’s blistering pace is well-matched to the agile ALARA Racing Mazda MX-5.
“I’m pleased that we are able to put together a strong program for 2016. We have a great pairing for Daytona and hoping for some more exciting news about drivers for Sebring and beyond. Our Daytona driver pairing achieved a lot of success in the last year together.” Said ALARA Racing Team Principal, Ara Malkhassian “We want to thank Twister Trailers for helping this effort come together for these two drivers” He added.
“I’m looking forward to a strong season this year, we learned a lot last year and we are ready to make a run at the championship. It’s great to have Justin in the car with me at Daytona. With Kent Stacy managing our technical program, we have come a long way in getting ready for this season.” added Szymczak.
“To have customer teams and young drivers climb the Mazda development program ladder is exactly what our Mazda Motorsports program strategy is all about. ALARA Racing has been a pillar in the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich® Tires. To have a team and its personnel grow from MX-5 Cup to higher level series while staying in the Mazda family is a key goal for the Mazda brand,” commented John Doonan, Director of Motorsports, Mazda North American Operations.
In addition to his racing career, Piscitell is the driver coach for many of the ALARA Racing team drivers and is a highly-sought instructor at the Monticello Motor Club. Christian Szymczak earned his Mazda Road to 24 scholarship by scoring the 2013 championship in the Mazda MX-5 Cup series.
Mazda MX-5 Cup’s three-time “Team of the Year” and series back-to-back champions, ALARA Racing is the Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup series’ longest standing and largest team, preparing cars and winning since series inception in 2006. ALARA Racing’s technical team has been responsible for dozens of poles, track records, race fast laps, and victories.
With their entry in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, ALARA Racing offers both professional sprint and endurance racing options. ALARA Racing is seeking funded drivers for the 2016 Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series. Houston, TX-based ALARA Racing can be reached at and sales@alararacing.com or (713) 398-3314.