On January 9th at the Tokyo Auto Salon 2015, Mazda used its stand as a platform for announcing two important pieces of motorsports related news.

The first of these was that the Global MX-5 Cup Series, which was announced last November, will be opened in Japan. With the series set to begin in 2016, the Asian segment of the season will initially be held in Japan, after which the number of participating countries is set to be gradually increased. In order to unify vehicle specifications with those of the American and European series (to be held concurrently with the Asia series), in Japan, also, Mazda will be providing complete export spec ND type MX-5 Cup Cars, equipped with 2 liter engines, on a purchase or lease basis. Those drivers who achieve top results in their respective series will be granted the chance to compete in a “Global shootout” event to be held at the end of 2016 at California’s Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. In addition, the Roadster Party Race II, which allows Roadster owners to compete with their own beloved registered cars, is set to continue, while a race simulation system, dubbed “iRacing,” will be incorporated with the series to allow entry users and those who have yet to reach driving age to enjoy the MX-5 Cup.

The other announcement was the establishment of a project for supporting the participation of “Women in Motorsports” through collaboration with Ms. Keiko Ihara, well known for her membership in the FIA’s (Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile) “Women in Motorsports Commission.” Specifically, female participants who wish to participate will be recruited from all over Japan and those who have an aptitude for racing will be chosen as driver or mechanic candidates and trained with the goal of seeing them compete in full fledged races. A plan to choose participants within this group to step up even further to higher categories of racing will be examined in the future. Mazda fully endorses the spirit of “Women in Motorsports” promoted by the FIA and JAF (Japan Automobile Federation) and to that end will provide dedicated practice vehicles and locations to carry out training. The only recruitment condition is that participants possess an ordinary driver’s license that is not restricted to automatic transmissions. There is no requirement to have had racing experience or even a circuit license.

What do you think about that? Regardless of gender, a driver that competes on the world stage may be born out of one you, our dear readers. And of course, if that was to happen, MZRacing would be there every step of the way to report on their road to success.

Photo by MZRacing