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| June 13, 2012 News |
| Formula Car Challenge: National Championships to be Decided at Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma |
The Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear has decided to move the 2012 National Championship event to the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma this season.
"The past two years we have have 30+ cars at the Indy GP, as well as a great mix of all the FCC car classes," stated series official Ben Hettema. "We met with Mazda and both parties agreed that this was going to be the biggest FCC event of the year, and that it would make a lot of sense to make this our National Championship event."
Registration for the event is open to all FCC region competitors now. Top performers from every region are expected to attend the Indy GP of Sonoma, as they have in past seasons.
It was announced earlier in the season that Mazdaspeed would be offering $14,000 in cash contingency awards to Regional and National Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear drivers. FCC National Champions would also be eligible for the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Driver ladder program.
The MAZDASPEED ladder has been a critical part of the success of up-and-coming racers including Raphael Matos, John Edwards, Conor Daly, Joel Miller, Connor De Phillippi, Dane Cameron, Jason Saini, Todd Lamb, Eric Foss, Michael Cooper, Trent Hindman, Danilo Estrella, Adam Christodoulou, Sage Karam, Spencer Pigot, Felix Serralles, Tristan Vautier, Petri Suvanto, and Scott Anderson. Last season Elliot Skeer was the Mazda Shootout winner. When told that he had won the shootout, a prize valued at $75,000, the richest in all of club racing Skeer noted, "Without this shootout and the MAZDASPEED ladder, the path to the top looks like a giant maze. This just changed my life and is helping me realize that it is possible to make my dream a reality and become a professional driver."
Given that each of the finalists will have proven themselves on the track by winning a championship, the criteria to move up will be more encompassing. To succeed on the professional level requires a balance of both on-track and off-track skills. The winning racer will need to demonstrate fast and consistent laps, understand vehicle dynamics and suspension, have the ability to evaluate vehicle handling, analyze data, and improve vehicle handling, as well as be able to create business proposals and presentations, and have solid PR skills.
Each year Mazda invites a panel of outside judges to make the selection. The judges bring a wealth of both on-track, and off-track expertise. Over a dozen professionals are involved in either the preliminary business proposal review, on-track activities, or both.
After a full day of both driving, and classroom activities, the judges add the objective and subjective scores and discuss the merits of each driver to determine a winner.
The total prize package is valued at over $75,000 and is the largest prize in club racing. Included is $50,000 for the running of the car for the season, $10,000 in parts support, a MAZDASPEED driving suit and helmet, professional media training courtesy of MAZDASPEED, 10 sets of BFGoodrich tires - one set per race courtesy of BFGoodrich Tires, and 10 entry fee waivers courtesy of SCCA Pro Racing.
"Mazda enjoys a leadership position within the grassroots motorsports world," stated MAZDASPEED Competition Manager Steve Sanders. :With leadership comes responsibility. We have chosen to promote outstanding club racers to the professional ranks as the best way to clearly demonstrate our commitment and responsibility to both our customers and the sport at large."
"Our series and drivers really appreciate that Mazda recognizes the FCC presented by Goodyear as being worthy of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Driver ladder program," added Hettema. "We also really appreciate the amount of investment both in time and money that Mazda makes in the sport we all love. Many of our racers, mechanics, and officials drive Mazdas as their everyday vehicles and share their love of all things Mazda with fans and other event participants on a regular basis."
The 2012 Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear season continues on June 16-17, with the West Coast Region competing at Infineon Raceway and the Midwest Region at Road America as part of the prestigious June Sprints. |
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