MONTEREY Cali., (25 September 2019) After a hard-fought championship battle closed with a double-header shootout on Saturday at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, the Battery Tender® Global Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires® Championship celebrated another outstanding season with a year end banquet Sunday evening at the Monterey Plaza Hotel and Spa in Monterey.
The 12-race 2019 campaign saw the series race alongside NTT IndyCar Series events at each of the six event weekends, with an astounding 2,665 on track passes, an average grid size of 28 Global Mazda MX-5 machines, the launch of the new ND2 class and a second consecutive season that featured six drivers being mathematically eligible for the championship in the final event weekend.
The drivers, sponsors, team members, and Global Mazda MX-5 series staff celebrated another outstanding season of competition and camaraderie as over $375,000 in prizes and scholarship support from Mazda were awarded during the year-end prize-giving gala.
With Andersen Promotions founder Dan Andersen opening the night with his greetings to the guests on hand, awards were presented by Evin Prelec Dyon, Battery Tender’s Director of Advertising and Marketing, Peter Calhoun, Motorsports Marketing Manager for BFGoodrich Tires, Mazda Director of Motorsports John Doonan, Andersen Promotions Series Managerz Keith Dalton, and hilariously hosted by Global Mazda MX-5 Cup public address lead, Tony LaPorta.
Leading the way was Bryan Ortiz, who claimed a $200,000 championship package from Mazda after clinching the title Saturday afternoon. It wasn’t Ortiz’s only visit to the stage Saturday evening as he also claimed the popular vote by fans for the Mazda Move of the Year.
Five wins, including one in the season finale, positioned 2018 Rookie of the Year Selin Rollan second in the overall championship standings, receiving $30,000 in support from Mazda.
Robert Stout was also beaming following a very big weekend, winning the opening race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca earlier on Saturday, taking third in the championship.
After a nearly perfect season, John Dean II clinched the 2019 ND1 championship early and with it $100,000 in support from Mazda to continue his racing career in 2020.
The Battery Tender Mechanic of the Year went to Brian Zellner of Atlanta Speedwerks, with rookie David Staab being honored with the Spirit of Mazda award.
The VP Racing Fuels Clean Image Award was presented to White Racing for the team’s season-long professional paddock presentation, while Team of the Year was earned by Sick Sideways Racing.
Finishing fourth on the season to cap off his Rookie of the Year title was Michael Carter, who netted $75,000 in support from Mazda for that accomplishment.
“We say it all the time, that the Global Mazda MX-5 Cup championship is more like a family than I think anything that I’ve experienced, and that seems even more true when we have the chance to get together and celebrate a season like this one,” said Mazda’s Director of Motorsports John Doonan. “It was incredible to have six drivers come into the weekend with a chance to get $200,000 in support from Mazda, and a huge congratulations to Bryan Ortiz as well as John Dean II for what they accomplished this year. We are already looking forward to 2020.”
The evening concluded with Doonan outlining the 2020 schedule and Mazda scholarship and contingency prizes for the 2020 season to the competitors, which will be released to the public in the upcoming weeks.