Thunderhill Raceway

Spec MX-5 Challenge 2021 Round 9 & 10
July 31st – August 1st
Pre-Event Info

Hello Everyone,

This past weekend (July 24-25), I was racing in a Spec Miata SCCA San Francisco Region race at the infamous Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca.

I was joined by Aaron Jeansonne on my team. The 2020 $110k Mazda MX-5 Cup Scholarship Winner.

There were 2 Races held last weekend. 1 Race on Saturday, 1 Race on Sunday, with a qualifying session on both days.

I managed to take my first ever Spec Miata Pole Position out of 40 cars! Aaron, at his first time at the track, qualified 3rd and had an amazing finish of 2nd on both days!

Unfortunately, on the first lap of the race, the subframe on my car broke, which affected the handling of the car drastically. The car would move on its own from side to side every time I applied the brakes.
The subframe on the car is what holds the Engine, Gearbox, and some parts of the suspension to the main chassis, therefore being broken made the car very soft, and hard to drive.
After losing the lead on lap 2, I was battling for 3rd and 4th on lap 7, and that id where the car finally gave out, and I went shooting off the track at Turn 2.
I am glad that I am okay, and that the car gave out in a safe place and not a dangerous spot that could put the car and I at risk.

The damage was unrepairable on-site, which ended my weekend a day early.

On the Upside, I was able to coach Guangyuan (Tim) Wang, a driver who I have known for a few months, (who was racing in Spec Miata from my recommendation) who was also racing for the first time this weekend.
Tim approached me on Saturday after qualifying to ask for some tips, and as luck worked out, I was able to coach him full-time on Sunday! Tim made some massive improvements in his driving and will be driving at the racetrack more in the future!

What to expect:

This weekend at Thunderhill is the last race weekend on the West Coast for the Spec MX-5 Challenge Championship.

If you have been to Thunderhill, you will know the usual 3-mile track layout, this weekend things will be running a little bit differently. The track layout will stay the same, only to be run in the opposite direction for our race!

I have driven Thunderhill in the Normal direction, but not in the opposite direction. I am excited to see how the track will be, and how the weekend goes!

How to follow:
The race results will be posted and shown live during/after every session on the RaceHero App. RaceHero is available on the Apple App Store, and the Google Play Store.

YouTube Videos:
I will be posting all my in-car videos from this weekend on my YouTube Channel, Alex Berg Racing (Click on the blue text!)

Other News:

Marketing opportunity in Idemitsu MX-5 Cup Presented by BF Goodrich:

I am looking to race in an Idemistsu MX-5 Cup Race at the end of the season, and am searching for some funding support to do so. If you are interested please reply to this email or call/text me on my cell, +1(403) 479-2882.
The Idemitsu MX-5 Cup runs alongside IMSA on the same weekend/day of most IMSA events.
It is televised on NBC Sports and is live-streamed on IMSA.com.

I can provide you with more information and details about the race.

Partners:

As always, I would not be able to go racing without the help of my partners.

I would like to thank Mazda Motorsports USA, Max Papis Innovations, Haag Performance, Penn Elcom, Spec MX-5 Challenge, Polo America Racing & Polo America Magazine, MySim.ca, and Foxxr Digital Marketing, the success of this weekend wouldn’t happen without the help of all my partners.

Please check out my website: AlexBergRacing.com, made by Foxxr Digital Marketing to find the websites of all of my partners.