Mazda Motorsports will award 10 scholarships to help ten talented drivers attend Spec MX-5 Challenge Series Invitationals. The purpose is for Mazda to help identify and gauge top talent for its Mazda Road to 24 Shootout, in which one driver, annually, earns a scholarship valued at $100,000. (To see who earned the MRT24 scholarship in 2019, click here.)

The Spec MX-5 Challenge Series Invitationals are one-weekend, two-race events that allow drivers to qualify and win points toward the Spec MX-5 Championship. The Invitationals provide full arrive- and- drive services for drivers, including the new 2020 Spec MX-5 race car. This makes it convenient for drivers, who are not regularly running in Spec MX-5 competition, to qualify for and compete in the championship. Invitationals are held in conjunction with East Regional Series and West Regional Series Spec MX-5 Challenge races. Invitational events are currently being finalized,  expected to be announced later by next week.

Mazda Motorsports will offer $10K in scholarships to support 10 entries. This support will apply to 10 entrants during the season across the five Invitational events of 2020. The purpose is to help defray entry costs and will be awarded prior to each Invitational. Spec MX-5, LLC is currently inviting applications which have a deadline of February 28, 2020 to earn these awards.

Applications will be reviewed by Mazda Motorsports and Spec MX-5, LLC. The focus for the review process will be on demonstrated driver skills, media appeal, need and growth potential.

“We want to encourage club racers to apply for the Invitationals who desire to be considered for next year’s Mazda Road to 24 Shootout and are not competing in Spec Miata or other cars/classes in which we can clearly benchmark performance,” said David Cook, Manager, Business Development, Mazda Motorsports. “Participation in a Spec MX-5 Invitational will help us gauge their skills. We expect the Spec MX-5 Challenge competition to be demanding, so we will be paying special attention to drivers who run these events and especially those who contend at the Spec MX-5 Challenge Championship,” he added.

To submit an application for a Spec MX-5 Invitational, please submit the form here.