A Roller Coaster Weekend

New Team, New Season, New Challenges

March in Georgia wasn’t what I expected—cold, rainy, and windy. But I was ready to take on the conditions, and I was excited for my first race with the Mazda Motorsports Factory Club Racing Team! This journey wouldn’t be possible without the incredible support from my partners and sponsors, and I’m grateful for everyone who has helped me get here.

Seat Time, Seat Time, Seat Time

Practice day at Road Atlanta went relatively smoothly. Every single lap, I felt more and more comfortable in the car. Together with everyone at Mazda Motorsports and Slipstream Performance, we were making great progress, and the car was super fast. Although I struggled to feel consistently comfortable and fast in the car, I knew it would take time, and my best move was to remain patient and keep learning.

In addition to driving Mazda’s car during the Thursday practice day, I was also shaking down my personal car with Advanced Autosports. We were breaking in a new engine, which would prove extremely important just two days later.

Qualifying

As I was learning, Road Atlanta is not the easiest track to pass at, and with a field of 30 cars, qualifying would be key. The most important part would not only be putting a good lap together but also getting a good tow throughout the entire lap. Unfortunately, in both sessions, I did not effectively get a tow, and as a result, I qualified P21. It was a frustrating result, considering just how much more pace was in the car.

Post-qualifying, I still wasn’t entirely confident with the rear of the car. We made some adjustments to try and alleviate the issues and finally gain some consistency. Starting Race 1 from P21, knowing that I had so much pace to unlock, I was super aggressive from the start.

“I Just Flipped The Car, But I’m Okay”

On lap 2, going through the esses as the field bunched up, I set up a run to make an overtake going into Turn 6. I got to the throttle way earlier than normal. as a result, the car began to understeer towards the gravel trap. I continued to stay on the throttle, hoping the car would eventually grip up, but once I hit the gravel and the car started porpoising, I knew I was going into the wall. As the car continued bouncing, I made a steering input to the left in hopes of hitting the wall parallel and bouncing off. What I didn’t take into account was the location of an apex kerb from an alternate track layout. As a result, the right side of the car came off the ground. Once I hit the wall, the car spun instantly, and with the right side off the ground, the car began to barrel roll. I ended up flipping three times before landing right side up and coming to a stop. My first words on the radio were: “I just flipped the car, but I’m okay.”

My First Crash ever!

The Turn 5 crash at Road Atlanta was not only my first major crash but also my first crash in a car. In my two previous years of racing Spec Miata, I finished with every single piece of original bodywork, never having a single incident. 

Crashing will always be a part of motorsport, and this sport will always be inherently dangerous. However, there has never been a safer time to race as this sport is only getting safer day by day. Every single safety item on the car did its job as designed, and I am so grateful to Mazda and Slipstream Performance for building such a safe car.

Back On The Horse

Mazda stood by me. They wanted me in my personal car for Race 2 on Sunday. Although I felt fit to race, I expressed my concern to them that the car was not going to be competitive. They then told me, “We don’t care if you finish last and get lapped; we want to see you back out there.” That meant everything. I was ready to race again.

One Last Run

Starting last, my goal was simple: move forward and finish strong. Most importantly, I wanted to show everyone that I was back at full strength. I climbed from 29th to 23rd, showing my best consistency yet in Spec MX-5. I gave my heart out there, and it felt great to have everyone’s support when I came into parc ferme at the end of the race.

Looking Ahead

In a few weeks, I’ll be back at it—another new track, another shot at proving myself with Mazda at Virginia International Raceway. The motivation has never been stronger. Together, we will push forward, and things will only improve from here. 

Team Stiglette for the win!