Elkhart Lake, Wis. (June 11, 2014) - The WeatherTech Chicago Region SCCA June Sprints has been a top-tier event for amateur racers for more than a half century. Some of the most notable names in SCCA history have raced at the Sprints that have been held at Road America for 60 years. This has become one of the long-standings do-not-miss events on the SCCA calendar.
As each year passes, the storylines heading into this historic event have changed. Here is a summary of what to look for when following this year’s edition of the event:
A Return to the Past: The 60th running of the WeatherTech Chicago Region June Sprints includes a return to the traditional single race format. Despite this, the weekend will count as two races in the Northern Conference championship point race. For example, a class winner will receive credit for two 25 point finishes, while a seventh place class finish will score two 14 point finishes. Drivers will be able to drop one of these two finishes, if applicable, at the end of the season.
New Mazda MX-5 Cup car on Track: Mazda Motorsports continues with ongoing component and durability testing for the 2016 Global Mazda MX-5 Cup car this weekend during the SCCA June Sprints at Road America. Mazda racer, and test driver, Tom Long will be running the 2016 MX-5 Cup car on-track during Spec Miata practice sessions on Friday. The team will also be on-hand throughout the weekend to answer questions about the new car.
The next generation 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata will be raced in a new Global Cup series slated to be held in North America, Europe, and Asia; full details of the Global MX-5 Cup will be announced as they are confirmed. The series will culminate at the end of 2016 with a Global Shootout at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California, to crown the Global MX-5 Cup overall series champion. A one-day test in Mazda’s top-level TUDOR United SportsCar Championship SKYACTIV prototype race car will top the list of prizes bestowed on the global champion.
Big-Time Big Bores: The GT-1, GT-2, GT-3, American Sedan and Touring 1 race group will have the spotlight shown on them this weekend, a June Sprints tradition. Since they are one of the fastest race groups at the track, they will be given two extra laps for their point-scoring race over the weekend. With that in mind, a total of 37 cars, across five classes, are registered to take to the course’s rolling elevations changes of the Kettle Moraine.
Spectacular Spec Racing: Among the three ‘spec’ classes – including Spec Miata, Spec Racer Ford and Spec Racer Ford Gen3 – a total of 91 entries are scheduled to take the green flag this weekend. Thirty-nine cars make up the Spec Miata field, the largest single class of the weekend for their Saturday afternoon race. Large fields should make for some great competition from the front of the pack on back.
Attached: The field approaches Turn 14 before the climb up the front straight at Road America.
Credit: Mark Weber
