TOPEKA, Kan. (Jan. 10, 2009) For its fourth season, the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup will expand to 10 rounds, making stops at some of the finest road courses in North America, as well as several new venues. The 2009 MX-5 Cup season begins as the previous two did, as part of The Mitty Classic at Road Atlanta. MX-5 Cup will join Historic Sportscar Racing, May 1 3, to showcase the modern fun of MX-5 Cup alongside the classic racing machines of years past.Two weeks later, MX-5 Cup is off to beautiful Monterey, Calif., where the series made its debut in 2006. MX-5 Cup joins the Grand-Am Rolex Series and KONI Challenge, May 15 17, at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the Monterey Festival of Speed.A doubleheader at New Jersey Motorsports Park, in Millville, N.J., follows on June 12 14. The Mazda Grand Prix will bring the Mazda racing family together, as MX-5 Cup joins Star Mazda and the Atlantic Championship at the recently constructed Thunderbolt Raceway.The halfway point of the season is marked by two tracks new to MX-5 Cup. On July 17 19, the series joins Grand-Am once again for the Porsche 250 weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Ala. The teams will then make a short trip north to meet up with their fellow Mazda series once again as well as the SPEED World Challenge Championships, July 24 26, at the Autobahn Country Club. The Mazda Grand Prix marks the first professional event at the Autobahn Country Club, which is located in Joliet, Ill., just outside of Chicago. The MX-5 caravan wont have to travel too far for the following round in Elkhart Lake, Wis. For the second year in-a-row, the series will take part in the combined American LeMans Series/SPEED World Challenge weekend at Road America, Aug. 14 16.From one four-mile track to another, MX-5 heads to Miller Motorsports Park with Grand-Am, Sept. 18 20. The Tooele, Utah course has hosted a round of MX-5 Cup action in each of the series previous three years.The 2009 season ends Oct. 2 4, with a doubleheader at scenic VIRginia International Raceway, in Alton, Va. It will be the series first trek to VIR, where it joins KONI Challenge.I couldnt be happier with the 2009 MX-5 Cup schedule, Mazda North American Operations Alternative Marketing Manager Jim Jordan said. Its the perfect mix of classic American road courses and new, exciting venues. Theres something there for everyone, which will encourage the kind of racing weve come to expect from this great series.SCCA Pro Racing and Mazda have worked together to create a fantastic schedule for MX-5 in 2009, SCCA Pro Racing President and CEO Robert Wildberger said. Its great to see MX-5 heading to tracks SCCA Pro Racing has yet to venture, like Autobahn Country Club and Barber Motorsports Park. Were proud to watch MX-5 Cup expand the SCCA Pro Racing footprint.With an outstanding schedule in place, all races broadcast on cable TV and the continuance of Playboy as a title sponsor, MX-5 Cup appears poised for another successful season. The Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup also remains a part of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder, offering the 2009 MX-5 Cup Champion a Mazda ride in SPEED Touring Car and welcoming one amateur racer to the series via the MX-5 Cup Shootout for Mazda road racing champions.To learn more about MX-5 Cup, visit www.mx-5cup.com.2009 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup ScheduleMay 1 - 3 Road Atlanta with HSRBraselton, Ga. May 15 - 17 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with Grand-AmMonterey, Calif. June 12 - 14 New Jersey Motorsports Park* with Atlantics/Star Mazda Millville, N.J. July 17 - 19 Barber Motorsports Park with Grand-Am Birmingham, Ala. July 24 - 26 Autobahn Country Club with SPEED World Challenge/AtlanticsJoliet, Ill. Aug. 14 - 16 Road America with ALMS/SPEED World ChallengeElkhart Lake, Wis. Sept. 18- 20 Miller Motorsports Park with Grand-Am Tooele, Utah Oct. 2 - 4 VIRginia International Raceway* with KONI ChallengeAlton, Va.*-doubleheaderSCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 CupStepping up in place of the former Mazdaspeed Miata Cup, the Mazda MX-5 Cup made its debut in 2006. Featuring identical MX-5s on spec tires, the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup gives drivers the opportunity to run on high-profile weekends in an economical, entry-level racing series. The 2009 MX-5 Cup schedule features 10 races at prestigious events across North America, and with grids composed of roughly 30 cars at each race, MX-5 Cup has become one of the best shows in motorsports today. For more information, visit www.mx-5cup.com.
