motorntv.com - SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup at Autobahn

The SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup series gets an infusion of excitement this weekend when, following a single-race trial at New Jersey Motorsports Park, both races at the Harrah’s Autobahn Grand Prix presented by Mazda will feature standing starts instead of the traditional double-file rolling starts to take the green flag. And when the lights go green, the competition will find themselves locked in one of the tightest Championship battles anywhere in motorsports. Michael Cooper capitalized on the standing start in the second race at New Jersey to earn his first professional win, starting third and quickly making his way to the front of the field in the No. 84 AMG/Bromante Landscaping & Design MX-5. Once on the point, Cooper ran away and hid, dominating the field to the checkered flag. With the win, Cooper now trails Championship leader Justin Piscitell by just two points. Piscitell’s No. 89 Team MER/DAMG Worldwide Mazda MX-5 finally earned his first win, also at New Jersey, after a season and a half of podium finishes in the MX-5 Cup. Piscitell earned a third and a fourth-place finish last season at Autobahn, the top finishes of a returning driver.

Just 28 points back is Brad Rampelberg, driving the No. 4 AMG/Mazda/Cobalt Brakes Mazda MX-5. Rampelberg, who in addition to two wins this season has been mentoring his less experienced AMG Racing teammates (including Cooper and Mark Carpenter), has run at the front of the pack in each round this season and will be among the favorites in Joliet. Carpenter, driving the No. 14 AMG Racing/GGS Technical Publications, is a defending SCCA Club Racing National Champion and is searching for his first professional podium. He’s been quick, however, turning the fastest lap of the race in the season opener at VIRginia International Raceway. Carpenter is sixth in the Championship. A pair of ALARA Racing teammates complete the top five in the points battle. Jesse Combs, driving the No. 77 ALARA Racing/coolgas.com MX-5, earned a pole position at New Jersey Motorsports Park and is also looking for a podium this weekend at Autobahn. Ara Malkhassian, in the No. 11 ALARA Racing/Bulldog Productions machine, has seen the podium and is looking for more after two runner-up finishes this season. Lyonel Kent, in the No. 13 ALARA Racing/Bulldog Productions MX-5, did earn that elusive win at Road Atlanta, and his season has been nothing short of spectacular – thought not necessarily in the ways he’d like. His high in Atlanta was grounded by a last-lap crash at Road America that destroyed his car and put him in a new machine for New Jersey. A whirlwind week left him exhausted but with one more podium finish, and the machine and driver are ready for a doubleheader again this weekend. Nick Evans, one of three former MAZDASPEED Shootout winners in the series (along with Rampelberg and Piscitell), is driving the No. 28 Team MER/Mazda/Sparco MX-5 as a Team MER teammate to Piscitell. Evans has been very fast at times in his first season in a production car-based race series after the 21-year-old began his career racing open-wheel cars. Also bolstering the Team MER stable is Jeff Mosing, who was the other car involved in the tangle with Kent at Road America. Mosing is six-for-six in top-10 finishes in the No. 30 Frank’s International/RaceNowForAutism MX-5. Dean Copeland is still searching for the magic he found in the season-opener at VIR, a track he knows well, when he ran for the lead and finished second in the closest race in Series history to Rampelberg. Driving the No. 7 Copeland Motorsports MX-5 in a single-car team, he sits 10th in the Championship despite missing two rounds early in the season. Kristine Craine visits Autobahn Country Club 11th in the Championship, driving the No. 39 Pinktop Racing MX-5. Tim Probert returns in the No. 26 ALARA Racing Mazda MX-5, just behind Craine in the points. Through six races, five drivers have won races, six have turned fastest race laps, and seven different drivers have led laps. Who will step up to join that group at Autobahn this weekend? The beauty of running a spec-series is that driver talent really has a chance to shine through. In MX-5 Cup, however, the additional alluring aspect is the car; the nimble, dependable and undeniably fun Mazda MX-5. Mechanically, all MX-5 Cup cars will remain essentially stock, as delivered from the dealer, with only bolt-on modifications to the intake and exhaust systems. While the stock MX-5 Miata produces 170 hp, an MX-5 Cup car will produce in excess of 200 hp. All MX-5 Cup vehicles will be equipped with a six-speed manual transmission and may be run with the optionally available limited-slip rear differential. Suspension will incorporate a fully-adjustable coil-over kit with double-adjustable shock absorbers and specified spring rates, as well as adjustable anti-roll bars front and rear. All cars will run a 17x8” wheel of a specified weight – again, to level the field and minimize costs, as well as the spec BFGoodrich g-Force R1 Tire. Additionally, brake pads, fluid and lines will be upgraded to racing components. All MX-5 Cup cars will run with full safety equipment, including an eight-point roll-cage welded into the car, a racing seat, racing seatbelts and will incorporate a fire-extinguishing system. As always, all components for the cars will be sold directly through MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development, which also supports the program monetarily with contingency awards to successful drivers. Event Entry List #, Driver / Hometown, Sponsors / Car 4, Brad Rampelberg/San Jose, CA, AMG/Mazda/Cobalt Brakes Mazda MX-5 11, Ara Malkhassian/Houston, TX, ALARA Racing/Bulldog Productions Mazda MX-5 13, Lyonel Kent/Knoxville, TN, ALARA Racing/Bulldog Productions Mazda MX-5 14, Mark Carpenter/Charlotte, NC, AMG/GGS Technical Publication Mazda MX-5 18, Dan Bender/Glencoe, IL, Team MER/Autobarn Mazda Countryside Mazda MX-5 24, Richard Fisher/Evanston, IL, Team MER/Autobarn Mazda Countryside Mazda MX-5 26, Tim Probert/Houston, TX, ALARA Racing Mazda MX-5 28, Nick Evans/Powell, OH, Mazda/Team MER/Sparco Mazda MX-5 29, David Walker/Dallas, TX,Team MER Mazda MX-5 30, Jeff Mosing/Austin, TX,Team MER Mazda MX-5 39, Kristine Craine/Portland, OR, Pinktop Racing Mazda MX-5 66, Joel Weinberger/Hilsdale, IL, ALARA Racing/Continental Mazda of Naperville Mazda MX-5 68, Michael Vitarelli/New York, NY, AMG Mazda MX-5 77, Jesse Combs/Houston, TX, coolgas.com Mazda MX-5 84, Michael Cooper/Syossett, NY, AMG/Bromante Landscaping & Design MX-5 89, Justin Piscitell/Weston, CT, Team MER/DAMG Worldwide Mazda MX-5 09, Alfred Caiola/New York, NY, B&L Management Mazda MX-5 Attached: A full field of MX-5 Cup cars return to action this weekend at Autobahn Country Club. Credit: Shaun Lumley/SCCA