2022 Mazda MX-5 Cup

2022 Mazda MX-5 Cup

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2021

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The 2022 Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BF Goodrich was a single-make motor racing championship, the 18th season of the Mazda MX-5 Cup and the 2nd under a new sanctioning agreement with the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA). The series began on January 27 at Daytona International Speedway, and concluded on October 1 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta after 14 rounds. Jared Thomas won the driver's championship by a narrow margin of 10 points over Connor Zilisch, who was awarded Rookie of the Year. Hixon Motor Sports earned the entrant's championship.

Schedule

The schedule was announced on August 6, 2021, featuring 14 rounds across seven double-header weekends. ^[1] All races are 45 minutes in length.

Rnd.	Circuit	Location	Dates	Supporting
1	Daytona International Speedway (Road Course)	Daytona Beach, Florida	January 27–30	IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
2
3	Streets of St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg, Florida	February 25–27	NTT Data IndyCar Series
4
5	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio	May 13–15	IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
6
7	Watkins Glen International	Watkins Glen, New York	June 23–26	IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
8
9	Road America	Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin	July 1–3	NASCAR Cup Series
10
11	Virginia International Raceway	Alton, Virginia	August 26–28	IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
12
13	Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta	Braselton, Georgia	September 28–October 1	IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
14
Source: [2]

Entry list

All competitors utilize the Mazda MX-5 Cup car, modified to their homologated racing specification by Flis Performance.

Team	No.	Driver		Rounds
Carter Racing Enterprises	08	Michael Carter		1–5
Copeland Motorsports	2	Maximilian Opalski [3]	R	1–4, 6–7
	7	Matt Curry [4]	R	1, 3
	31	Jameson Riley [5]	R	All
	51	Tyler Gonzalez [6]		1–4, 6–7
		Maximilian Opalski [3]	R	5
Spark Performance	5	Gresham Wagner [7]		All
	24	Aaron Jeansonne [7]		All
	33	Alex Bachoura [7]		All
	48	Rossi Lee [8]		2–3, 6
Hixon Motor Sports	10	Thomas Annunziata [9]	R	6
	21	Bruno Carneiro [10]	R	1–6
	27	Dante Tornello [11]	R	1–5
	65	Bryce Cornet [12]	R	1–6
	72	Connor Zilisch [13]	R	All
	80	Ethan Tyler	R	3–6
	85	Bruno Smielevski [14]	R	6–7
	87	Selin Rollan [15]		All
McCumbee McAleer Racing	13	Jenson Altzman [8]		All
	15	Aidan Fassnacht [16]	R	All
	28	Sam Paley [17]		All
	39	John Jodoin [8]	R	All
	48	Rossi Lee [8]		1
	53	Mark Kvamme		7
	55	Moisey Uretsky [8]		1–5
	76	Matthew Dirks [8]		All
	89	Justin Piscitell [8]		All
Thunder Bunny Racing	22	Laura Hayes	R	All
	75	Parker Kligerman [18]	R	5
JTR Motorsports Engineering	23	Glenn McGee		All
	69	Anthony McIntosh	R	1–5, 7
	81	James Hayosh	R	4–5
	82	Woody Heimann		All
	88	Sean Varwig	R	1–2
		Cameron Lawrence		7
	96	Jared Thomas		All
Formidable Racing	32	Chris Nunes [19]		1–6
	43	Joey Atanasio [19]	R	All
	44	Mickey Thomas	R	2
Slipstream Performance	36	David Staab		All
	37	Michael Staab	R	1–3, 5–7
Sources: [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26]

 R  = Eligible for Rookie's Championship

Race Results

Bold indicates overall winner.

Round		Circuit	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver
1	R1	Daytona	#28 McCumbee McAleer Racing	#96 JTR Motorsports Engineering	#51 Copeland Motorsports
			Sam Paley	Jared Thomas	Tyler Gonzalez
	R2		#72 Hixon Motor Sports	#5 Spark Performance	#96 JTR Motorsports Engineering
			Connor Zilisch	Gresham Wagner	Jared Thomas
2	R1	St. Petersburg	#23 JTR Motorsports Engineering	#89 McCumbee McAleer Racing	#96 JTR Motorsports Engineering
			Glenn McGee	Justin Piscitell	Jared Thomas
	R2		#23 JTR Motorsports Engineering	#89 McCumbee McAleer Racing	#87 Hixon Motor Sports
			Glenn McGee	Justin Piscitell	Selin Rollan
3	R1	Mid-Ohio	#76 McCumbee McAleer Racing	#28 McCumbee McAleer Racing	#5 Spark Performance
			Matthew Dirks	Sam Paley	Gresham Wagner
	R2		#76 McCumbee McAleer Racing	#08 Carter Racing Enterprises	#96 JTR Motorsports Engineering
			Matthew Dirks	Michael Carter	Jared Thomas
4	R1	Watkins Glen	#72 Hixon Motor Sports	#21 Hixon Motor Sports	#51 Copeland Motorsports
			Connor Zilisch	Bruno Carneiro	Tyler Gonzalez
	R2		#24 Spark Performance	#76 McCumbee McAleer Racing	#15 McCumbee McAleer Racing
			Aaron Jeansonne	Matthew Dirks	Aidan Fassnacht
5	R1	Road America	#72 Hixon Motor Sports	#5 Spark Performance	#72 Hixon Motor Sports
			Connor Zilisch	Gresham Wagner	Connor Zilisch
	R2		#72 Hixon Motor Sports	#5 Spark Performance	#72 Hixon Motor Sports
			Connor Zilisch	Gresham Wagner	Connor Zilisch
6	R1	Virginia	#15 McCumbee McAleer Racing	#51 Copeland Motorsports	#51 Copeland Motorsports
			Aidan Fassnacht	Tyler Gonzalez	Tyler Gonzalez
	R2		#15 McCumbee McAleer Racing	#96 JTR Motorsports Engineering	#72 Hixon Motor Sports
			Aidan Fassnacht	Jared Thomas	Connor Zilisch
7	R1	Road Atlanta	#28 McCumbee McAleer Racing	#76 McCumbee McAleer Racing	#72 Hixon Motor Sports
			Sam Paley	Matthew Dirks	Connor Zilisch
	R2		#72 Hixon Motor Sports	#39 McCumbee McAleer Racing	#51 Copeland Motorsports
			Connor Zilisch	John Jodoin	Tyler Gonzalez

Championship Standings

Points System

Championship points are awarded at the finish of each event according to the chart below.

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30+
Points	350	320	300	280	260	250	240	230	220	210	200	190	180	170	160	150	140	130	120	110	100	90	80	70	60	50	40	30	20	10

For each race, bonus points are awarded for the following:

Award	Points
Pole Position	10
Most Race Laps Led	10
Fastest Race Lap	10

• The ten (10) additional points for achieving pole position are not awarded if the starting grid is determined by “Other Means”.
• In the case of a tie for the most laps led, the competitor that finishes the highest in the running order is declared the winner.
• In the case of a tie for the fastest Race lap, the competitor that first achieves the fastest Race lap is declared the winner.

Driver's Championship

IMSA recognizes driver champions based on the total number of championship points earned during the season.

Pos. Driver DAY STP MOH‡ WGL ELK VIR ATL Bonus Points 1 Jared Thomas 5 1 1 6 2 1 5 3 26 2 17 4 5 8 50 3610 2 Connor Zilisch 4 7 17 2 17 17 22 6 1 1 2 1 1 6 90 3600 3 Gresham Wagner 21 2 2 7 1 5 8 13 3 4 3 2 23 2 50 3465 4 Selin Rollan 3 6 3 1 6 2 28 11 4 20 19 6 2 7 30 3225 5 Sam Paley 9 5 6 3 9 8 25 8 29 13 5 3 4 4 30 3010 6 Justin Piscitell 16 16 7 4 5 3 7 24 8 5 6 7 22 5 20 2910 7 Joey Atanasio 12 3 4 14 12 4 2 9 12 19 26 26 7 3 0 2815 8 Matthew Dirks 26 27 19 9 3 16 24 7 7 3 4 5 6 16 35 2565 9 Jenson Altzman 19 30 11 17 19 9 6 21 10 9 12 10 10 11 0 2400 10 Aaron Jeansonne 10 17 12 8 16 14 4 23 6 6 20 20 11 22 10 2395 11 Tyler Gonzalez 1 20 28 10 26 7 1 28 1 24 3 1 10 2390 12 Glenn McGee 15 15 8 20 15 15 23 12 13 7 9 15 23 21 20 2160 13 Bruno Carneiro 6 11 9 13 11 12 9 2 5 21 27 DNS 10 2110 14 Chris Nunes 2 4 5 19 23 13 10 19 9 8 25 25 0 2100 15 Alex Bachoura 24 14 21 16 19 20 12 15 16 15 10 13 8 19 0 2060 16 David Staab 11 12 20 12 20 23 19 18 18 12 16 18 15 13 0 2015 17 Aidan Fassnacht 17 23 25 25 12 11 3 1 23 27 7 22 19 23 20 1945 18 Laura Hayes 20 24 22 15 25 25 18 17 11 11 13 11 17 15 0 1870 19 John Jodoin 18 26 24 18 13 18 16 15 28 10 28 12 12 12 10 1860 20 Maximilian Opalski 8 25 DNS DNS 14 12 13 14 24 DNS 8 17 18 9 0 1705 21 Jameson Riley 23 9 10 11 24 29 14 10 19 23 15 14 DNS DNS 0 1675 22 Woody Heimann 30 8 18 27 22 24 21 16 14 17 22 16 16 17 0 1605 23 Michael Carter 7 29 13 5 4 19 15 27 2 22 10 1580 24 Bryce Cornet 13 10 26 26 8 6 11 4 30 24 23 DNS 0 1485 25 Anthony McIntosh 22 28 29 21 18 21 29 29 15 26 14 14 0 985 26 Michael Staab 28 18 23 28 28 28 28 DNS 24 23 21 20 0 820 27 Bruno Smielevski 14 8 13 18 0 710 28 Dante Tornello 27 21 30 25 17 22 22 14 0 700 29 Ethan Tyler 27 27 27 25 17 18 18 21 0 665 30 Sean Varwig 14 13 15 24 0 580 31 Moisey Uretsky 29 19 16 DNS 29 22 26 26 27 DNS 0 535 32 Rossi Lee DNS DNS 14 DNS 21 26 21 19 0 490 33 James Hayosh 20 20 21 16 0 470 34 Cameron Lawrence 9 10 0 430 35 Thomas Annunziata 11 9 0 420 36 Matt Curry 25 20 0 170 37 Parker Kligerman 20 25 0 170 38 Mickey Thomas 27 23 0 120 39 Mark Kvamme 20 DNS 0 110 Pos. Driver DAY STP MOH‡ WGL ELK VIR ATL Bonus Points

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points classification Blue Non-points classification Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired, not classified (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold - Pole position Italics - Fastest lap Underline = Most Laps Led

‡: Race 1 at Mid-Ohio shortened due to weather, half points awarded except for pole position bonus points.

Entrant's Championship

Each entrant receives championship points for its highest car finishing position in each race. The positions of subsequent finishing cars from the same entrant are not considered in the results and all other cars are elevated in the finishing positions accordingly.

Pos.	Driver	DAY		STP		MOH‡		WGL		ELK		VIR		ATL		Bonus	Points
1	Hixon Motor Sports	3	6	3	1	6	2	9	2	29	1	2	1	1	6	130	4340
2	McCumbee McAleer Racing	9	5	6	3	3	3	3	1	7	3	4	3	4	4	125	4085
3	JTR Motorsports Engineering	5	1	1	6	2	1	5	3	13	2	9	4	5	8	70	4300
4	Spark Performance	10	2	2	7	1	5	4	13	3	4	3	2	8	2	60	3935
5	Copeland Motorsports	1	9	10	10	14	7	1	10	19	23	1	14	3	1	10	3800
6	Formidable Racing	2	3	4	14	12	4	2	9	9	8	25	25	7	3	0	3675
7	Slipstream Performance	11	12	20	12	20	23	19	18	18	12	16	18	15	13	0	3165
8	Thunder Bunny Racing	20	24	22	15	25	25	18	17	11	11	13	11	17	15	0	3160
9	Carter Racing Enterprises	7	29	13	5	4	19	15	27	2	22					10	2420
Pos.	Driver	DAY		STP		MOH‡		WGL		ELK		VIR		ATL		Bonus	Points

‡: Race 1 at Mid-Ohio shortened due to weather, half points awarded except for pole position bonus points.

References

1. "Mazda MX-5 Cup unveils 14-race 2022 schedule". racer.com. August 6, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
2. "Schedule". www.mx-5cup.com. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
3. "Max Opalski Joins Copeland Motorsports for 2022 MX-5 Cup Season". www.mx-5cup.com. December 2, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
4. "Matt Curry Joins Copeland Motorsports in Daytona for Mazda MX-5 Cup Opener". www.mx-5cup.com. December 30, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
5. "Copeland Motorsports Adds Jameson Riley to 2022 MX-5 Cup Program". www.mx-5cup.com. December 2, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
6. "Tyler Gonzalez and Copeland Motorsports Reconnect for 2022". www.mx-5cup.com. December 20, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
7. "Spark Performance Expands to Three-Car MX-5 Cup Effort in 2022". www.mx-5cup.com. January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
8. "McCumbee McAleer Ready for 2022 MX-5 Cup Season Opener". www.mx-5cup.com. January 25, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
9. "Thomas Annunziata Boosts HMS Up to Seven Drivers for VIR". www.mx-5cup.com. August 20, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
10. "Bruno Carneiro Joins Hixon Motor Sports". www.mx-5cup.com. January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
11. "Dante Tornello Joins Hixon Motor Sports for 2022". www.mx-5cup.com. January 18, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
12. "Hixon Motor Sports Adds Bryce Cornet to Mazda MX-5 Cup". www.mx-5cup.com. January 11, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
13. "Connor Zilisch Commits to HMS with Late Apex Storage for 2022 Season". www.mx-5cup.com. December 21, 2021. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
14. "Hixon Motor Sports Expands by Adding Bruno Smielevski". www.mx-5cup.com. August 20, 2022. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
15. "Selin "The Machine" Rollan is Back with HMS in 2022". www.mx-5cup.com. January 5, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
16. "Aidan Fassnacht and Sword Performance Set for 2022 MX-5 Cup". www.mx-5cup.com. January 27, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
17. "Sam Paley Returns to MMR for 2022 MX-5 Cup Campaign". www.mx-5cup.com. January 4, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
18. "NASCAR Fan Favorite Parker Kligerman Will Race Mazda MX-5 Cup at Road America". www.mx-5cup.com. June 23, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2022.
19. "New Team Hits MX-5 Paddock-With 100 Years' Experience". www.mx-5cup.com. January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
20. "2022_MX5_Rolex24_PreEvent_EntryList.pdf" (PDF). IMSA. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
21. "01_Grid_Race 1_Official.PDF" (PDF). IMSA. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
22. "2022_MX5_MidOhio_PreEvent_EntryList.pdf" (PDF). IMSA. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
23. "MX-5 Watkins Glen Official Entry List.pdf" (PDF). IMSA. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
24. "01_Grid_Race 1_Official.PDF" (PDF). IMSA. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
25. "2022_mx5_vir_preevententrylist.pdf" (PDF). www.mx-5cup.com. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
26. "2022_mx5_roadatlanta_preevent_entrylist.pdf" (PDF). www.mx-5cup.com. Retrieved February 25, 2023.

External links

• Official Website