Champion! That’s what it says on the large gold trophy we were awarded yesterday, for winning the 2023 MX-5 Racing NZ Summer Series, that concluded at Hampton Downs. Except, there was no trophy because this is such a budget racing series based on fun over rewards… in fact, not even a podium presentation. The MX-5s even ran as a supporting sub-class to the Mazda Racing Series that attracts more than 30 RX-8s, in a way more expensive and similarly contested series, yesterday won by Simon Baker.
Buried at the back of the field, metaphorically and partly literally, the MX-5s even run their own grid - so even if the leading cars are faster than any RX-8s in qualifying, they still start from two rows behind the slowest RX-8 on the combined grid.
Nevertheless, after four rounds, four tracks – Manfeild, Taupo, Pukekohe and last weekend’s Super Sprint NZ Final Series event at Hampton Downs - after 12 tough races, our very own DRIVEN Fairview Mazda MX-5 claimed a clean sweep of the weekend with three race wins to claim the championship, and thanks to Sky Sports, CRC Motorsport and trackside commentators Greg Rust, Mark Mallard, Steve McIvor, gave DRIVEN, our MX-5 and the budget racing series a great promotion… did you see it? The Super Sprint coverage is repeating on TV this week in NZ and Australia.
The whole premise of entering and promoting this racing category is fun on a budget and getting fast driving off the street and onto a track. If you’ve ever thought of racing, just get out there and do it – life is short.
The MX-5s are all 1.6-litre NA model MX-5s with control tyres, suspension, exhaust, weight and can be bought for around $8000 ready-to-race. They’re cheap to run, too as being around 850kg, tyres last years, brake pads last multiple rounds, and fuel is around one tank (50 litres) for an entire race weekend.
In its 12th year, the series is born from and based in the Manawatu Car Club in Palmerston North, and holds both winter (mostly at Circuit Chris Amon, Manfeild) and summer (includes other tracks), so there’s a choice for the really budget conscious. Entry fees range between $250-$360 range, meaning it’s easy to get through a race weekend under $500.
After securing this black racecar almost a year ago, we spent $190 on stickers to personalize it, and have been having a tonne of fun.
Round 1, Manfeild: (see full report here)
Our series started at the home of the series in Manfeild, outside of Palmy North, for the TV-broadcast Super Sprint NZ series. With Toyota 86 front-runner Justin Allen in for one round, it was a glorious way to start the championship in our own MX-5-only field. Nick Cummings made a solid start, winning two races, Allen claiming one, and our own MX-5 getting to grips with the car and track and claiming third for the round - also benefiting from some bad luck for two-time champ Markku Braid, whose ECU bugged out on the dummy grid for the final race, not able to take his third spot on the grid.
Round result: 3rd
Round 2: Taupo (see full report here)
Moving north, the MX-5s joined in with the Mazda Racing Series R-8s, to form a huge field of 40 cars. Being around 4-5 seconds per lap faster, after the first lap, the RX-8s are mostly off and away, though sometimes crashes happen, and after three RX-8s got caught up in a scrap, race one winner Nick Cummings slid on oil and into the back of an RX-8 at race speed, heavily damaging his grey MX-5 and putting him out, not just for the round, but for the series, thanks also in part to the flooding and road closures in his Hawkes Bay home area. That opened up the race weekend and championship, and Markku Braid claimed the second and third race wins, ahead of our DRIVEN MX-5 in second and Oliver Sapsford in third.
Round result: 2nd
Round 3: Pukekohe (see full report here)
The Final Fling, hosted by Speedworks, was an event not to be missed. After 60 years, the iconic Kiwi track would close to motorsport and this was the last official motorsport event to be held there – and our first time racing there! In the full field of 40 cars, we claimed out first pole position, loving the high-speed and challenging turn one, and feeling right at home, ahead of Braid in second. Our DRIVEN Fairview MX-5 would go on to claim two race victories, but a fourth place in race two thanks to a half-spin meant Braid’s consistency of a race win and two 2nds claimed the round win. But with 75 points for a race win, and Cummings not able to make the event, it put us into the championship lead by a single point ahead of Braid, with a maximum of 225 points up for the taking per round.
Round result: 2nd
Round 4: Hampton Downs
Another new track to learn, and back under the Super Sprint NZ umbrella with TV coverage, the National circuit offers a great mix of stop-go hairpins and a long climb up the start-finish straight. And wet Waikato weather. Raining or trying to rain for much of the weekend, the first practice session proved wet, but to our favour, fastest by 0.6 seconds, trimming to 0.04 back to Braid in the dry. In qualifying, however, Braid showed his speed, getting pole by 0.4 secs ahead of our MX-5, and Oliver Sapsford, staking his claim for third in the series.
A solid first lap and race one got us into the lead and some defensive driving claimed our race one win, with Braid not getting an easy time by the group of MX-5s each battling for their own piece of (personal) glory. In fact Braid was pushed back to finish fourth, behind 19yo Dom Fransen in second, and HEL Performance brake line’s Shane Hayter in third.
With a three-race format and grid spots based on qualifying, reverse grid and combined results, it’s a challenging battle that allows faster and slower cars to often battle for position. And sometimes that includes the faster RX-8s and the odd RX-7. Following David Ferguson’s RX-7 on the penultimate lap, he slid sideways from a hairpin, and while we dived right to avoid any contact, right behind, Markku Braid had nowhere to go and centre-punched the side of the RX-7; thankfully not enough to put either out for the weekend, but cruelly dropping Markku back to fourth, as we went on to take the unchallenged race 2 win, repeating the race one result, ahead of Fransen and Sapsford.
Needing to finish 5th or better to claim the championship, there wasn’t a need to win, but race 3’s scratch race was back to hard, fair racing, with the RX-8s/7s clearing out after one lap, and Braid and our DRIVEN MX-5 having a battle for much of the race, side-by-side through almost every corner on the track.
With Braid’s faster lap speed, he took the lead with three laps to go, as the last lap board was shown, we kept close and tight as possible for the final, long run up to the chequered flag, slipstreaming and drafting him to pull out and juuust edge ahead by 0.05 seconds for a photo finish, and a clean sweep of all three race wins, and claim the New Zealand championship.
A little unlucky for Markku, but as a two-time champ, sometimes luck doesn’t go your way, though he did finish second in the championship, ahead of a third-placed Oliver Sapsford, both in the final race, and also the whole MX-5 championship. Dom Fransen’s fourth place, and his two second places in race 1 and 2, was enough for earn him second place for the round, with Shane Hayter rounding out the five.
Round result: 1st
2023 MX-5 Racing Summer Series results
1st: Dean Evans
2nd: Markku Braid
3rd: Oliver Sapsford
We came, we saw and we won bragging rights, while the lack of awards (apart from a Hankook podium cap), trophies or prizemoney reinforces the comradery and focus on fun for the MX-5 Racing NZ series. Being able to drive the car onto the trailer at the end of a race weekend, ready for the next one, is the ultimate prize.
So that’s a wrap for our MX-5 racing reporting - but not the series, with the winter series starting on June 4 back at Manfeild, see the MX5 Racing NZ Facebook page for more info.
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