SCCA

James Wilson usually drives his Mazda2 B-Spec car to the track. But when he tows, he tows in style and keeps it in the Mazda family.

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Wheel-to-wheel racing is perhaps the ultimate motorsports thrill. If you’re thinking about it, here are some pointers to help you get started.

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The SCCA Mid-States Conference used the 2.370-mile road course at Kansas Speedway as a tune up for the end-of-the-season SCCA National Championship Runoffs presented by Garmin VIRB at Daytona International Speedway, running Round Seven and Eight on a hot, humid weekend.

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Track day events allow even the greenest of drivers to get out on track in a relatively safe environment with low commitment.

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For getting your feet wet in motorsports, it’s tough to beat autocross. It’s fun, safe, low key and requires minimum investment.

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Are you a karter wondering whether you are ready to make the leap to sports car racing? 15-year old Max Nufer just made the transition and has some interesting takeaways to consider in his impressive debut. Keep your eye out for Max!

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The Spec Miata race at the 2015 SCCA National Championship Runoffs will be held after dark at Daytona; Mazda help means no combined classes at Runoffs. Friday Night Lights at the Runoffs® presented by Mazda highlights the 2015 event schedule for the SCCA National Championship Runoffs Presented by Garmin VIRB® at Daytona International Speedway, where […]”

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Andy McKee’s RX-7 has gone through several classes, wining at every stage. It’s now a 350hp, 2000lb. winged and very fast  beast. Andy McKee’s X Prepared 1993 RX-7 has spent most of its life as a dedicated SCCA Solo competition vehicle, getting more extreme along the way. As it sits now, prepped to the X […]”

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Western Conference Majors event in the heat of the Southern California desert sees several records fall at Buttonwillow Raceway Park. With temperatures scorching into the mid-90s in the California desert, it felt more like the first weekend of August than the first weekend of May. But the track records that fell on Saturday felt a […]”

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Sunshine and rain mess with racers at Blackhawk Farms as the Northern Conference Majors Tour begins its season in Illinois. On a weekend where the  Southeast Conference was crowing its champions, the Northern Conference season was just starting at Blackhawk Farms Raceway in Illinois. Not starting until May ensures no snow, and in this case […]”

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Three Mazda racers double up with wins on two days while Spec Miata features two winners.

Day one of the SCCA U.S. Majors Tour at VIRginia International Raceway ran  under sunny skies, but halfway through Sunday, the skies opened up. The races served as Rounds Nine and 10 for the Southeastern Conference and was the season-opening race for the Northeastern Conference.

Drivers in each of the eight race groups, made up of 28 Runoffs-eligible classes, took to the 3.27-mile, 17-turn circuit for 25-minute sprit races on Saturday and 16-lap races on Sunday.

Spec Miata led Saturday off in a big way. With oil-dry on the course near the finish line, the opening moments saw six cars make contact just after taking the green flag. Three of those cars were able to continue the race, while three were not. The rest of the race, restarted on lap five, proved to be just as intense with a multi-car battle for the lead that included eventual race winner Dillon Machavern. Jonathan Goring won Spec Miata on Sunday.

Three drivers doubled up with a pair of victories, scoring in both the sprint races and the features on Sunday. Ken Kannard (Miata) won F Production both days, as did Ray Stephensen in GT-3 (RX-7) and Robert Noell in Formula Mazda.
 
SCCA Northeastern/Southeastern Conferences Majors
VIRginia International Raceway
Alton, Va., April 18-19, 2015

Saturday Mazda Winners

Class,Driver,Hometown,Car Formula Mazda,Robert Noell,”Cary, N.C.”,Formula Mazda F Production,Ken Kannard,”East Troy, Wis.”,Mazda Miata GT-3,Ray Stephenson,”Miami, Fla.”,Mazda RX-7 Spec Miata,Dillon Machavern,”Charlotte, Vt.”,Mazda Miata

Sunday Mazda Winners

Class Driver Hometown Car
Formula Mazda Robert Noell Cary, N.C. Formula Mazda
F Production Ken Kannard East Troy, Wis. Mazda Miata
GT-3 Ray Stephenson Miami, Fla. Mazda RX-7
GT-Lite Michael Kamalian Marietta, Ga. Mazda Miata
Spec Miata Jonathan Goring Norfolk, Va. Mazda Miata

A beautiful Northern California Spring weekend met racers at the SCCA Western Conference Majors Tour at Thunderhill Raceway. Perfect Northern California Spring Weather greeted SCCA racers for Rounds Seven and Eight of the Western Conference Majors Tour at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, Calif. A field of 130 drivers in seven race groups ran 30-minute sprint […]”

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Four Mazda racers take double victories in Mid-States Conference Majors at Oklahoma circuit. Gambling on precipitation during the 25-minute timed races on Saturday at the SCCA Mid-States Conference Majors Tour at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit rewarded many drivers while catching others out. The first day started sunny, but by the third race of the afternoon […]”

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Track near Palm Springs hosts Rounds Three and Four of Western Conference, with eight Mazda winners.

Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, a 17-turn, 2.68-mile track in Desert Center, Calif., hosted its first Majors races, Rounds Three and Four the SCCA U.S. Majors Tour Western Conference. Saturday’s on-track events included 15-minute qualifying sessions, divided into seven race groups, for the 25 National Championship Runoffs-eligible classes what were present. Following the mid-day lunch break, those same seven race groups competed in separate 30-minute sprint races. On Sunday, each race was 20 laps.
As this was the first trip to the venue for the Majors Tour, new lap records were on the chopping block. A total of 13 lap records were reset over the two-day race weekend.
Dan Erickson, of Chandler, Arizona, took home a narrow 0.692-second victory over Doug Nelson in Formula Mazda on Saturday. Nelson was the better of the two drivers during the qualifying session, but Erickson drove his No. 6 Brawndo Formula Mazda to the eventual win. Larry Mason was the Sunday winner in FM.
Clement Lee, of San Diego, California, cruised to an atypically large margin of victory in Spec Miata on Saturday. Lee qualified his No. 33 RM Autosports Mazda Miata in third, but did what he needed to do to lead the field to the line.
On Sunday, Steven Powers, of Mesa, Arizona, turned the tables on Lee. After finishing second to Lee the day before, Powers came home first in his No. 145 Amerifirst Financial Mazda Miata. Lee finished the feature race in second.
Derrick Ambrose (Mazda2) and Mike Henderson (RX-7) were double winners in B-Spec and GT-3, respectively.
The next two rounds of the SCCA U.S. Majors Tour Western Conference Championship will be held at Thunderhill Raceway Park on April 11-12.

SCCA Western Conference Majors Tour
Chuckwalla Valley Raceway, Desert Center, Calif.
March 21—22, 2015
Round Three Mazda Winners

Class Driver Hometown Car
Chuckwalla B-Spec Derrick Ambrose Vancouver, Wash. Mazda2
Formula Mazda Dan Erickson Chandler, Ariz. Formula Mazda*
GT-3 Mike Henderson Alpine, Calif. Mazda RX-7
Spec Miata Clement Lee San Diego, Calif. Mazda Miata

Round Four Mazda Winners

ClassDriverHometownCar

B-Spec Derrick Ambrose Vancouver, Wash. Mazda2*
Formula Mazda Larry Mason Burbank, Calif. Formula Mazda
E Production Anthony Jimerson Benicia, Calif. Mazda RX-7
GT-1 Richard Gray Moorpark, Calif. Mazda RX-7
GT-3 Mike Henderson Alpine, Calif. Mazda RX-7*
Spec Miata Steven Powers Mesa, Ariz. Mazda Miata

SCCA Southeastern Conference U.S. Majors Tour features dichotomous weather to test racers.

As the Southeast Conference of the U.S. Majors Tour hit the halfway point with this past weekend’s event at Road Atlanta, Saturday and Sunday were like two different events with very different weather, allowing drivers to display their skills in both warm and sunny conditions and in the wet.

Saturday’s 25-minute timed races were met with warm sun. In Spec Miata, Dillon Machavern (No. 24 Heritage Mazda Miata) held his position in the lead pack as he, Jonathan Goring and Danny Steyn broke away from the field in Spec Miata. Machavern rode in second for the majority of the race, then moved to the front with one to go. Ready to race, Machavern held on out front for the final lap, with Steyn a half-second behind at the stripe.

In Formula Mazda, Joseph Harris (No. 132 Formula Mazda) battled with Darryl Wills (No. 2 Hillenburg Motorsports Formula Mazda) until lap 15, when a car from a different class tried to sweep around the pair through a corner. Wills jumped on the brakes to avoid contact, but the move caused him to spin and Harris was left alone for the win.

For Sunday’s 20-lap races around the 2.54-mile, 12-turn track, a steady downpour provided drivers the opportunity for drivers to prove themselves in a limited-traction environment. Some drivers who shone on Saturday saw their fortunes reversed, as did some who weren’t able to grab victory the day prior.

Goring’s No. 18 Jonathan Goring Motorsports Mazda Miata nearly saw all the early work he’d put in erased with just a few minutes to go in the Spec Miata race, when a car slid off the end of the back straight and came to rest in the gravel trap. That brought out a full-course caution with the 40-minute time window winding down, and erased a five second lead for Goring. With a host of rivals in his mirrors, Goring again got away on the one-lap dash to the end. At the checkered flag, Goring was 1.109-second ahead of Steyn’s Miata, and almost two seconds ahead of Saturday winner Machavern.

With heavy rains falling, Nick Leverone piloted his No. 31 Flatout Motorsports Mazda Miata to the front of a field that traditionally features quicker and more powerful cars to take the Super Touring Lite win.

Conner Kearby (No. 56 K-Hill Motorsports Swift 016/Mazda) repeated in Formula Atlantic after spending the early part of the race chasing his father, Gaston Kearby. The elder Kearby was still in front on lap 13 when suddenly his machine failed to accelerate out of a corner, done for the day. From there, Conner was alone on the lead to the finish line.

Joseph Harris’ No. 132 Formula Mazda finished an impressive second overall, the only other car on Kearby’s lead lap. The win capped a sweep of the weekend in class for Harris.

Two more drivers were able to prove their ability to win in any condition. Ken Kannard won F Production in his No. 39 Northwest Cable Mazda Miata, and Michael Kamalian of nearby Marrietta, Georgia took GT-Lite in his No. 99 RevolutionSpeed.com Mazda Miata.

SCCA Southeastern Conference Majors
Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia
March 21-22, 2015
Round Seven Mazda winners

Class Driver Hometown Car
F Production Ken Kannard East Troy, Wis. Mazda Miata
Formula Atlantic Conner Kearby Corpus Christi, Texas Swift 016/Mazda
Formula Mazda Joseph Burton Harris Cresson, Texas Formula Mazda
GT-Lite Michael Kamalian Marietta, Ga. Mazda Miata
Prototype 1 Jim Downing Atlanta, Ga. Peach/Mazda
Spec Miata Dillon Machavern Charlotte, Vt. Mazda Miata
Super Touring Lite Nick Leverone Mendon, Mass. Mazda Miata

Round Eight Mazda winners

Class Driver Hometown Car
F Production Ken Kannard East Troy, Wis. Mazda Miata
Formula Atlantic Conner Kearby Corpus Christi, Texas Swift 016/Mazda
Formula Mazda Joseph Burton Harris Cresson, Texas Formula Mazda
GT-3 William Wilson Englewood, Tenn. Mazda RX-7
GT-Lite Michael Kamalian Marietta, Ga. Mazda Miata
Prototype 1 Jacek Mucha Highland Beach, Fla. JM016CP/Mazda
Spec Miata Jonathan Goring Norfolk, Ct. Mazda Miata
Super Touring Lite Nick Leverone Mendon, Mass. Mazda Miata
Super Touring Under Thomas Lyttle Decatur, Ga. Mazda RX-7
Touring 3 Tyler Kicera Manheim, Pa. Mazda MX-5

Five class winners score two victories on the SCCA Majors weekend; Spec Miata produces different winners each day. The SCCA Majors Tour race weekend at the 2.75-mile, 16-turn NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, La., was all about the doubles. As is every Majors weekend, this one was a doubleheader. It also doubled up on conferences, […]”

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The 2014 SCCA Formula Mazda National Champion finally found the top step of the podium. Mike Anderson may have been born into racing – his father started racing in the ’70s and his first trip to the SCCA Runoffs was in the womb – but it took him several attempts to actually claim his first gold […]”

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