Under an agreement inked between BFGoodrich and Mazda, Goodrich is the official tire and exclusive rubber supplier for the Sports Car Club of America Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup Series throughout the 2009 season, which began May 1-3 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga.
Each Cup car during the 10-round racing series will be outfitted with the company’s g-Force R1 tires under dry conditions and g-Force T/A KDW tires when rain is in the air.
“Given the vehicle setup, handling characteristics and track configuration, the 2009 MX-5 Cup is a great platform for us to showcase our ultra-high performance tires while supporting the sport’s up-and-coming competitors,” says Roberts Kukainis, Goodrich’s brand sponsorship manager. “We’re confident that the drivers, teams and spectators will get a full dose of what our g-Force family of racing tires can do.”
During the selection process to determine the official tire, Mazda invited several teams to test various tires from an array of different manufacturers on the track.
“To keep 100 percent objective, we didn’t know which tire was which during the test,” reports Charles Espenlaub, development driver for the Mazda Speed division.
The winning tire, which turned to be Goodrich’s g-Force R1 entry, “had a great feel and a high fun factor,” he says. “They were also very consistent over long runs, which will be great for the MX-5 Cup series as the drivers will be able to go flat-out the entire race.”
Kukainis notes that the tire is engineered “for drivers looking for a competition-ready tire with superior grip and sharp steering response.” He points out that a “symmetric, non-directional tread design also provides for excellent cornering power and precise turn-in, which stimulates confidence for garnering the quickest lap times in road racing competition.”
Making his series debut at Braselton this past weekend, Marc Miller of Holland, Mich. won Round One of the series, which was part of the Classic Motorsports Magazine Walter Mitty Challenge at Road Atlanta. Mark Jenkins, of Fairview, Texas finished second, followed by Justin Piscitell, of Patterson, N.Y.
Starting fifth, Miller played it cool on the start and opening laps to ensure his No. 28 Team MER/MOCA/RaceForAutism MX-5 stayed in one piece for the full 22-lap, 55.58-mile race.
“I checked up a little bit at the start,” Miller recounts. “This is my first MX-5 Cup race and I’ve seen a lot of race video of things happening on the first lap. I knew the car was really good, so essentially I just checked up and slotted into fourth. I was comfortable there and I waited for the race to come to me.”
Indeed the race would come to Miller, but first he’d have to wait through a four-lap caution period, while corner workers cleared the No. 7 Copeland Motorsports/King Rat/Syncs car of Dean Copeland from Turn Seven. When green flag racing resumed on lap eight, Miller was still fourth behind then-leader Ara Malkhassian, followed by Lyonel Kent and Jenkins.
Kent would fall back shortly after the restart with transmission trouble in his No. 13 ALARA Racing/eData Solutions car, leaving Jenkins and Malkhassian to battle for the lead. Miller then took advantage of a passing attempt by Malkhassian to get by the No. 11 ALARA Racing car.
“It looked like Ara went in to pass and I rolled around the outside of him in 10B and up the hill,” Miller recalls. “I got by him again, he went through Five and jumped around, then I was able to pull alongside and get him going into Six.”
From there, it was a three-way fight for the lead between Miller, Jenkins and Piscitell, as the trio worked the draft around the 12-turn, 2.54-mile road course. With two laps to go, Miller was able to break free, crossing the line with a 2.474-second margin of victory
“Once I started to relax a bit, the car felt better,” Miller says. “The competition is so close, you’re really just trying to manage the car throughout the race. The last two laps, when I got a little bit of breathing room, I put my head down and ran two really good, clean laps. Once I broke the draft, they couldn’t do anything with me.”
Although it was Miller’s first MX-5 Cup race, he is no stranger to the series, working with Team MER as an engineer for the past two seasons. The father of two was thrilled to score a win for the team and for a cause close to his heart, Race Now for Autism, which was founded by Miller and his wife Jackie, whose son Evan was diagnosed with autism.
“I feel unbelievably ecstatic,” Miller says. “I’m extremely excited to be representing a team that (previous Champions) Jason (Saini) and Eric (Foss) have done such a good job representing over the last two years. I’m happy to have the opportunity to race and equally to have Race Now For Autism and the Mazda Owners Club of America on the car. I feel like this car represents a good group of people and it makes me feel extremely proud to get the win and get some exposure for them.”
Jenkins made it a one-two finish for Team MER at Road Atlanta. The driver of the No. 25 Team MER/JBR/Traxxas/BFG/Simpson car started the race in third and led for several laps following the full-course caution, but dropped out of the top five with four laps remaining. Jenkins set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:42.517 (89.195 mph) in his charge back to the front.
“When I was up front for a good part of the race, I was trying to break free from the draft of the guys behind me,” Jenkins says. “I was working the car pretty hard and I needed to back off of it a little bit, but I backed off too much and was right back in shark-infested waters. Someone caught me from behind at 10A and sent me for a ride, which put me back, but I was able to work back up to second,” he explains.
“The draft here is huge, so it was like a merry-go-round of a race, there was a lot of give-and-take for position. But, with five minutes to go, you take the gloves off and you just lay it down, go for it and give it what you got.”
Currently in his third season of the MX-5 Cup, the runner-up finish was a career-high for Jenkins and his first-ever podium finish.
Driving the No. 89 ALARA Racing/DAMG Racing car, Piscitell finished third in his first MX-5 Cup race. The winner of the Mazda Speed Cup shootout event fell victim to the draft in the closing laps, but then used it to his advantage to earn a podium finish.
“This is a big drafting track, so it has a lot of give and take,” Piscitell says. “We were all working together to pull away from the mid-pack, so I think I have to thank a few MER drivers and they’ve got to thank a few of ours. “I think at four to go I was in first, then I was in second and then I was in fifth. On the last lap, in the last turns, I was able to squeeze my way in, three-wide up the middle, pop back into third and hold it until the finish.”
Mark Jenkin’s brother Mike, of Fairview, Texas, also earned a career-best finish at Road Atlanta, coming in fourth in the No. 47 Team MER/JBR/Traxxas/BFG/Amsoil car. Starting 10th, Jenkins earned the Carbotech Hard Charger award for advancing the most positions in the race.
Brett Smrz of Coeur D’Alene, Idaho completed the top five in the No. 6 Smrz Racing/In Touch Physical Therapy car. The 18-year-old was running fifth before getting caught in the incident with Copeland, spinning at Turn Five and dropping to 15th. Smrz rocketed to ninth on the lap following the restart and continued to pick off cars for a remarkable comeback.
Zach Ply finished sixth ahead of Kent’s ailing vehicle, which had started on the pole. Chris Rhoades, Stan Wilson and Ara Malkhassian completed the top 10.
Round One will begin airing on syndicated cable networks May 25. A full television schedule is to be available soon.
Here is the remaining SCCA 2009 Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup Schedule:
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
May 15-17
Monterey, Calif.
New Jersey Motorsports Park (doubleheader event)
June 12-14
Millville, N.J.
Barber Motorsports Park
July 17-19
Birmingham, Ala.
Autobahn Country Club
July 24-26
Joliet, Ill.
Road America
Aug.14-16
Elkhart Lake, Wis.
Miller Motorsports Park
Sept. 18-20
Tooele, Utah
Virginia International Raceway (doubleheader event)
Oct. 2-4
Alton, Va.
