Vintage race Miatas?

I know, we have seen Miatas at vintage before, but SVRA has just announced a dedicated program for the cars:

MAZDA, SVRA TEAM FOR NEW VINTAGE RACING CHAMPIONSHIP “Mazda Miata Heritage Cup” Five-Race Series Offers New Entry Point For Aspiring Racers

The Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) announced today a relationship with one of the most formidable manufacturer brands in all motorsports, Mazda, to jointly organize a new class of vintage racing. The cars are first generation 1.6-liter spec Miatas of 1990 to 1993 vintage and will compete in a five-race points championship named the “Mazda Miata Heritage Cup.” Each weekend will crown a Mazda Miata Heritage Cup race event winner. The races will be given a distinct class but will be presented on SVRA event weekends at Auto Club Speedway, Road America, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Portland International Raceway and Virginia International Raceway.

“This new offering associates us with a hugely respected brand in Mazda Motorsports but also opens the door to a terrific new entry point in vintage racing,” said Tony Parella, SVRA president and CEO. “We now have an affordable, more recent vintage race car that a younger generation driver can relate to. Younger drivers remember them and once they enter our sport they can build from there. As we infuse new blood into our sport it is also a nice tie to our recently announced driver school and accelerated path to competition licensing.”

The new vintage spec Mazda Miata Heritage Cup is the latest enhancement to what the SVRA calls its season of motorsports festivals where fans yearning for the days of wide variety in car design and engine noises can have their fill. The new Mazda Miata Heritage Cup will have its own distinct races as do other run groups such as the Historic Trans Am cars. Professional Trans Am also shares the stage with the SVRA at various points throughout the season. The festival format of America’s premier vintage racing series with cars spanning 100 years of history also frequently includes Motostalgia car auctions, car shows and music concerts by iconic bands.

Mazda Motorsports will provide support resources to the SVRA in organizing the Mazda Miata Heritage Cup events and season championship. The Mazda races will run with the SVRA at the following 2017 events: April 28-30, Auto Club Speedway; May 18-21, Road America; June 22-25, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course; July 27-30, Portland International Raceway and September 21-24, Virginia International Raceway.

“We are pleased to support the SVRA in this enhancement to their race weekends,” said John Doonan, director for Mazda North American Operations. “Mazda Motorsports has a long history dating back to the 1960’s, so it is only fitting that we work with the SVRA. The Miata is a well-proven, time-tested racing platform and cars are widely available as well as parts. We know racers will enjoy the experience they have in the Miata and with the SVRA, who has impressed us with their growth and expertise in organizing racing events.”

Mazda Motorsports boasts the most comprehensive auto racing development ladder system of any auto manufacturer in the world. The Mazda Road to 24 program offers a number of scholarships to advance drivers up the sports car racing ladder, beginning with the Global MX-5 Cup series and culminating with the Mazda Prototype team. The Mazda Road to Indy is a similar program that includes Mazda-powered categories of USF2000, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights. In grassroots road racing, more Mazdas race on any given weekend in North America than any other manufacturer. Mazda is also the title sponsor of Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California.

Hard to believe the first Miatas are now over 25 years old. Damn it sucks getting old. I remember when they were new and novel.

Ovid_and_Flem wrote: Hard to believe the first Miatas are now over 25 years old. Damn it sucks getting old. I remember when they were new and novel.

Me too. I still remember the very first Miata I ever saw. A guy drove a white one out to our local autocross. Of course I was an Alfa snob at the time and didn't give it much notice. I of course was wrong and now own a '93, one of half a dozen Miatas I've owned over the years.

I'd like to see a rules set for this class as I have tying to decide what to do with the '93.

From what I read about this elsewhere the cars are simply the 1.6 liter SpecMiatas. Should be easy to build ,or buy one. I sold mine in 2007, should have kept it.

When I had my 90 Miata i took some glee in thinking about the reactions some people would have to seeing it driving around on antique tags (25 and older here in Texas). Too bad i traded it for a broken 924 before i could register it and then traded that for a new set of Rs-3s, but whatever.

Anyway, how am i the first person to +1 this news? Seems like a great thing to me!!

I can get my head around calling a Miata "vintage."

The thought of calling a Miata "vintage" never crossed my mind, honestly. Maybe it's just because I still see plenty of early Miatas just driving around, commuting, etc. It's like calling a 1991 Honda Civic "vintage" or something.

Or maybe it just speaks to the fact that the Miata was a "modern-looking" car when it came out, so it just dosn't seem all that old when I see one - even though when I see a 1991 BMW 325, it DOES seem old/vintage to me. Guess it's just how old "the design" looks.

I've been waiting for this to happen and couldn't be more delighted that Miatas are going to be included at vintage events. I joined the SCCA 27 years ago and one of our local members got the first Miata in town.

Think about age this way back when the Miata was introduced if you owned a 27 year old sports car it might be a Porsche 356 or an series 1 E type Jag. Yes they are that old.

Tom

As a Miata owner and driver of a Triumph Spitfire vintage racer I am on the fence on this one. I guess I am kind of old school on the vintage race part that is why I compete in a 1964 car. At my last SVRA event at Mid-Ohio there was not a bunch of track time. Adding another group dilutes it a little bit more. I suppose it is a natural progression. It should bring a whole new group to the track though.

It's hard to fathom, but when the Miata came out, you could vintage race a 2.5 Trans Am car- which was last run in 1974. A mere 15 years before.

We are 10 years beyond that envelope.

For many of us, Vintage racers are from when we were kids, and the Miata time frame is well within our driving era (I started driving in 1982, 2 days before I was 15). It's hard to fathom that time frame.

Ovid_and_Flem wrote: Hard to believe the first Miatas are now over 25 years old. Damn it sucks getting old. I remember when they were new and novel.

Me too cause I bought one in the middle of the early release days madness.

Lot's of '90-'93 Spec Miata cars sitting in garages all over the US because the '99-'00 cars are too tough for most people to beat.
It was a matter of time before a race series figured this out so they could all have a place to race and feel competitive IMO.

I think it's great. I have a vintage racer (63 triumph tr4). I love the old stuff but geez, the cars are getting ancient, the drivers are too.. it's good to bring in fresh stuff rather than being stuck to the 1972 gcr.

alfadriver wrote: It's hard to fathom, but when the Miata came out, you could vintage race a 2.5 Trans Am car- which was last run in 1974. A mere 15 years before. We are 10 years beyond that envelope. For many of us, Vintage racers are from when we were kids, and the Miata time frame is well within our driving era (I started driving in 1982, 2 days before I was 15). It's hard to fathom that time frame.

I was just thinking that...for example when the Miata came out, the newest MGB's were 11 years old.

fornetti14 wrote: Lot's of '90-'93 Spec Miata cars sitting in garages all over the US because the '99-'00 cars are too tough for most people to beat. It was a matter of time before a race series figured this out so they could all have a place to race and feel competitive IMO.

And SVRA was smart enough to put them in their own group just in case the "Spec Piñata" attitude came along with the cars.

VARA has had a couple of Spec Miatas run in with them. I think the folks who drive them understood the idea behind vintage.

Tom

I have already organized a comparison test between my TR3 and a Spec Miata, which should make for a fun story.

Is this comparison test posted anywhere? New owner of a 1990 1.6 SM I want to vintage race. Real interested to see. Thanks!