The holidays are over, the calendar has turned to a new year, drivers have been signed, testing is complete, and it is finally time to start the 2022 Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich® Tires season. With the opening rounds taking place at the famed Daytona International Speedway during the annual Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona weekend, Hixon Motor Sports (HMS) drivers will be put on the grandest of stages as they begin their quest for race wins, podium results and the overall series crown in 2022.
“It has been a busy few months, but we are excited to finally get things going,” explained Team Owner, Bryan Hixon. “We have put together a strong driver lineup and an overall program that will rival the best teams in the series, so we are quite confident as a team heading into Daytona. It is a long year of racing, but we would like nothing more than to start it off with a couple of wins/podiums and build momentum for the rest of the season.”
Five drivers will fly the Hixon Motor Sports branding in Daytona including championship contender and multi-time 2021 race winner Selin Rollan and Mazda Scholarship Award Winner Connor Zilisch who will be joined by 2021 Mazda MX-5 Cup Scholarship Runner-Up, Bryce Cornet, plus Bruno Carneiro, and Dante Tornello.
Team Manager, Shea Holbrook, added, “While we are looking forward to a winning weekend on the track, we also enjoy our fun times off of it. Daytona will mark the return of the autograph session that has been missing since before the pandemic began, and we would like to invite all the fans, spectators, and enthusiasts to come by and meet our drivers and grab one autograph, or all five. We will have team branded hero cards available for the taking, with or without autographs, and I know our drivers will be excited to meet and greet all of you team and fans of this incredibly competitive racing series. We’d like to thank our loyal fans and family for the support in the past and as we head into the future.”
The autograph session and your opportunity to meet the Hixon Motor Sports quintet will take place on Wednesday, January 26, at One Daytona, the shopping center across the street from the Daytona International Speedway. The IMSA run event will run from 6pm - 8pm and be a festival like atmosphere that allows fans and spectators to get close to the cars and meet and greet with drivers. Hixon Motor Sports competitors will be out in full force and taking part in the autograph session from 7:00 to 7:30pm. Be sure to stop by and say hi, grab an autograph and snap a pic!
The first 2 races out of fourteen in the 2022 Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich Tires will take place at Daytona International Speedway during the renowned Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona weekend, January 26-28. If you cannot attend in person, you’ll be able to watch all of the Hixon Motor Sports teammates racing live with commentary all-season long on www.Racer.com or www.IMSA.TV. Please check out this week’s schedule below with all times Eastern:
Daytona Event Schedule
Wednesday, January 26th
Practice 1: 3:00 - 3:30pm
Autograph Session: 7:00 – 7:30pm
Thursday, January 27th
Practice 2: 9:00 - 9:30am
Qualifying: 12:55 - 1:25pm
Race #1: 5:30 - 6:15pm
Friday, January 28th
Race #2: 10:15 - 11:00am