Now With More Officially Sanctioned Cup Series

Mazda today made an announcement that will delight legions of the Miata nation: The new 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata will be raced in a new Global Cup series slated to be held in North America, Europe, and Asia. The announcement, made at the bizarre Las Vegas horsepower bazaar known as SEMA, is pretty vague, but the accompanying reveal of the MX-5 Cup car seen in these images tells us pretty much everything we need to know. 

Stating only that the action will start in 2016 and use identically prepped cars in multiple series worldwide, the maker at this point hasn’t even indicated which countries will be involved, only saying that full details of the Global MX-5 Cup will be announced as they are confirmed. 

What Mazda is sure of, however, is that the series will culminate at the end of 2016 with a Global Shootout at (natch) Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, to crown the series champion. A one-day test in Mazda’s top-level Tudor United States SportsCar Championship Skyactiv prototype race car will top the list of prizes bestowed on the champion.

2016_GlobalMX-5_08

Although Mazda’s 2.0-liter Skyactiv-G four-cylinder engine will be the spec engine for the series, Mazda hasn’t revealed any additional technical specs. A source within the company told C/D that the race car is likely to get the same rash of cold-air intake, header, spec exhaust, and coil-over suspension as today’s MX-5 Cup spec car. Over the winter, Mazda Motorsports plans to conduct development and testing “to select the optimum suspension, tire, powertrain, and safety modifications” for the series. 

Final specs will be announced sometime in 2015, when Mazda will start taking orders for the 2016 series. For the first time, the Global MX-5 Cup race cars will be sold “ready to race” from one supplier. Will this be Mazdaspeed, the company’s in-house performance group? So many questions, so few answers.

Mazda is confident enough in the new series to announce that 2015 will be the final season of pro racing in North America for the third-generation MX-5. After the season’s conclusion at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in October, existing third-gen MX-5 Cup cars will be eligible for club racing only. While that sounds like a bit of a bummer, we’re focusing on the awesomeness of seeing the ND MX-5 Miata tearing up racetracks. (Not to mention how excited we are to drive, you know, the regular 2016 MX-5 Miata!)