MX-5 RACERS HEAD TO SPAIN FOR EURO CUP FINAL PRIZE
Henderson (above) gets to put his title-winning skills to the test against Europe's best MX-5 racers – Photo: Jon Elsey
This week will see a momentous occasion for two of our drivers that compete in both of our Mazda MX-5 championships, as Godalming’s Oliver Allwood (Mk1 MX-5 Championship) and County Durham’s Alan Henderson (Mk3 MX-5 SuperCup) will board a plane to Spain this week to attend the European MX-5 Cup Final at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona in Montmelo.
Allwood and Henderson secured their places after registering for the Cup prior to their respective championships’ triple headers at Anglesey. At that meeting, both Oliver and Alan secured results that were good enough.
Despite only beginning his MX-5 career with us in 2014, Allwood’s rapid progression in the Mk1s has been all too evident, no less thanks to the efforts of Ali Bray and his AB Motorsport outfit. Their expertise have helped Oliver get onto the pace of the frontrunners and firmly assert himself as a championship contender so far this season.
As for Henderson, his history goes a little further back as his MX-5 journey began in 2010 where he ran in the Mk1 Championship until 2014. He made the switch to the Mk3 SuperCup and instantly took to it like a duck to water, blitzing the season and clinching the title in the final rounds at Donington last October. This season has already seen him take two race wins at Snetterton and Anglesey, however the competition this season has stepped up a notch, making Henderson's title defence that little bit more challenge.
Both drivers will take part in a series of tests that make up the European MX-5 Cup Final, where they’ll compete against some of Europe’s best MX-5 racers from championships in Austria, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden as well as those who also qualified from the UK. In addition, they’ll also be joined by 3 drivers that qualified from the official virtual online championship powered by the racing simulation iRacing. Those who are successful will then earn a chance to race in the Autumn in the final round of the Global MX-5 Cup at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California, USA.
Speaking about the prize just after Anglesey, Allwood remarked “I’m really excited and quite pleased to be leading the championship at this stage, if a little surprising as well. I’m very much looking forward to the challenge of pitting myself against the top drivers from the respective championships around Europe. It should be an amazing experience.”
Henderson was equally upbeat and inquisitive, saying “It’ll be good to test the new MX-5 race car but I think all the Global Cup cars are left hand drive. I’ve never driven a left-hand-drive car before – it should be fine, just the gearstick is on the wrong side! Hopefully we can show that the UK’s one of the most competitive places for motorsport. It’ll be great to meet up and see what the other drivers are like.”
From everyone involved in the Mazda paddock and in the Club, we wish Oliver and Alan the very best of luck, as we know they will do the BRSCC and the Mazda MX-5s proud whatever the result. We’ll see them back in action just one weekend later when the second half of the season kicks off at Brands Hatch on July 9/10. Buena suerte, guys!
Scott Woodwiss
