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Mazda Confirms Road To 24 Finalists
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Mazda has announced the 23 finalists for in the Mazda Road to 24 Shootout, which offers a $100,000 scholarship package to the winning driver.
Launched in 2006 as the Club Racer shootout, the Mazda Road to 24 Shootout has annually promoted one talented club racer into the professional ranks. The $100,000 scholarship package supports a drive in the 2016 Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup. For 2016, this will be in the all-new Global MX-5 Cup car, which officially went on sale on October 1.
The criteria for the shootout is to identify the aspiring professional racer who has the best range of skills required to succeed. These skills include speed, consistency, race craft, technical feedback and off-track business, marketing and PR skills.
“Our annual shootout has become a signature event for Mazda Motorsports,” said John Doonan, director of Mazda Motorsports. “This year, faced with dozens of worthy candidates, we worked with our key partners at the SCCA, NASA, iRacing and other industry experts to identify those racers with the greatest potential to succeed on the professional level. This promises to be our best-ever shootout, as none of the eligible racers have raced a fourth-generation MX-5. Only a handful of racers have even tested it. That will quickly change as we have more than 70 deposits from racers ready to compete with us in the 2016 MX-5 Cup.”
To advance to the next level, the 23 semi-finalists will submit a business proposal and a short video presentation from which the finalists will be selected. It is anticipated that there will be six to eight finalists. The finalists will be announced the week of October 19, and the final shootout will be at Carolina Motorsports Park, in Kershaw, S.C., on November 8–10. The racers will be tested on the track for their driving skills and in the garage for their technical understanding of the sport. This is a winner-take-all competition; there is no second place.
The semi-finalists for 2015 are as follows:
Joshua Allen – NASA PTD West Champion
Ben Anderson – NASA PTE West Champion
Michael Avansino – Formula Car Challenge Champion
Joseph Burton-Harris – SCCA Runoffs Formula Mazda
Bruno Carneiro – At Large Nominee
Mark Drennen – NASA Spec Miata Champion
Richard Eklund – iRacing Champion
Mason Filippi – NASA Teen Challenge (West Coast)
Jonathan Goring – SCCA Runoffs Spec Miata Champion
Jason Kohler – NASA PTE East Champion
Ethan Loree – NASA Teen Challenge (Rocky Mountains)
Alex Mayer – At Large Nominee
Glenn McGee – iRacing Champion
Tazio Ottis – Formula Car Challenge Champion
Hunter Pickett – Formula Car Challenge Champion
Eric Powell – At Large Nominee
Matthew Powers – NASA Race Of Champions
Matt Reynolds – At Large Nominee
Will Rodgers – At Large Nominee
Michai Stephens – At Large Nominee
Deriann Taylor – NASA Teen Challenge (Texas)
Jon Van Canegham – NASA Super Unlimited Champion (West)
Cal Vandaalen – Toyo Tires Spec Miata Championship (Canada)
Launched in 2006 as the Club Racer shootout, the Mazda Road to 24 Shootout has annually promoted one talented club racer into the professional ranks. The $100,000 scholarship package supports a drive in the 2016 Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup. For 2016, this will be in the all-new Global MX-5 Cup car, which officially went on sale on October 1.
The criteria for the shootout is to identify the aspiring professional racer who has the best range of skills required to succeed. These skills include speed, consistency, race craft, technical feedback and off-track business, marketing and PR skills.
“Our annual shootout has become a signature event for Mazda Motorsports,” said John Doonan, director of Mazda Motorsports. “This year, faced with dozens of worthy candidates, we worked with our key partners at the SCCA, NASA, iRacing and other industry experts to identify those racers with the greatest potential to succeed on the professional level. This promises to be our best-ever shootout, as none of the eligible racers have raced a fourth-generation MX-5. Only a handful of racers have even tested it. That will quickly change as we have more than 70 deposits from racers ready to compete with us in the 2016 MX-5 Cup.”
To advance to the next level, the 23 semi-finalists will submit a business proposal and a short video presentation from which the finalists will be selected. It is anticipated that there will be six to eight finalists. The finalists will be announced the week of October 19, and the final shootout will be at Carolina Motorsports Park, in Kershaw, S.C., on November 8–10. The racers will be tested on the track for their driving skills and in the garage for their technical understanding of the sport. This is a winner-take-all competition; there is no second place.
The semi-finalists for 2015 are as follows:
Joshua Allen – NASA PTD West Champion
Ben Anderson – NASA PTE West Champion
Michael Avansino – Formula Car Challenge Champion
Joseph Burton-Harris – SCCA Runoffs Formula Mazda
Bruno Carneiro – At Large Nominee
Mark Drennen – NASA Spec Miata Champion
Richard Eklund – iRacing Champion
Mason Filippi – NASA Teen Challenge (West Coast)
Jonathan Goring – SCCA Runoffs Spec Miata Champion
Jason Kohler – NASA PTE East Champion
Ethan Loree – NASA Teen Challenge (Rocky Mountains)
Alex Mayer – At Large Nominee
Glenn McGee – iRacing Champion
Tazio Ottis – Formula Car Challenge Champion
Hunter Pickett – Formula Car Challenge Champion
Eric Powell – At Large Nominee
Matthew Powers – NASA Race Of Champions
Matt Reynolds – At Large Nominee
Will Rodgers – At Large Nominee
Michai Stephens – At Large Nominee
Deriann Taylor – NASA Teen Challenge (Texas)
Jon Van Canegham – NASA Super Unlimited Champion (West)
Cal Vandaalen – Toyo Tires Spec Miata Championship (Canada)
