Mazda Road to 24 Scholarship Winner Carter Selects Team

Michael Carter will compete in 2019 Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich season with Copeland Motorsports

 IRVINE, Ca. (March 14, 2019) – After winning the 2018 Mazda Road to 24 Shootout and a full-season scholarship from Mazda, Michael Carter has selected Copeland Motorsports as his team for the 2019 Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich season.

“I think right from the get-go, Dean and Kevin Copeland and myself we were on the same page and spoke the same language when it comes to racing,” said Carter. “They have been a tremendous help to us, are hardworking guys and want nothing more than for me to succeed this year. Being with Copeland allows for my Dad to still be involved in my racing, like he has all along. Having a fast teammate in Bryan Ortiz is going to be extremely valuable as we visit tracks I have never driven before.

“This season, I am going after Rookie of the Year honors. I want to focus on consistent finishes throughout the season and see where that puts me going into the last two weekends, and if I am in contention, I will push for the championship.”

Having driven the ND1 Mazda MX-5 Cup car at the Shootout, Carter is enjoying the additional performance from his new, ND2-based car.

“We received my new 2019 Mazda MX-5 Cup car a couple of weeks ago and have had it on track at Barber Motorsports Park,” said Carter. “The ND2 is a blast to drive on track with the additional RPM and horsepower. It pulls about the same as the ND1 up until the ND1 shift point and then it takes off. The engine sounds great at the higher RPMs and I cannot wait to race it.”

Carter and Copeland Motorsports will compete in the first MX-5 Cup race event of the season at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas on March 23-24, which will be streamed live to MazdaMotorsports.com.