This weekend marks the opening round of the 2022 Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BF Goodrich and Copeland Motorsports will be there in full force. Entering a quartet of drivers at the famed Daytona International Speedway during the annual Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona weekend, Tyler Gonzalez, Matt Curry, Max Opalski and Jameson Riley will look to put their Mazda machines at the front of the field and start the season off right.
“We have a strong group of drivers, and I am confident in their abilities,” explained Dean Copeland. “We have had a good offseason of both preparation and testing, so we are rolling into Daytona with some momentum. The goal remains the same as it always is to start the season and that is to win, be at the front of the field, and earn the best results possible for all drivers to kick start their season.”
Tyler Gonzalez returns to the Mazda MX-5 Cup driver lineup for 2022 as he will pull double duty in 2022 competing in a pair of different series. Max Opalski has been a part of the Copeland Motorsports efforts for the past year as he took in events in 2021 to learn the series and operations side while spending several days testing and preparing for his series debut. Jameson Riley and Matt Curry enter 2022 with experience as they make the switch to Copeland Motorsports to add knowledge to their program and aim for the top of the results sheets.
Copeland added, “We have done a lot of work this off season and are elevating the level of our perception off the track, as well as our speed on it. We have added a more professional appearance with a hospitality area for our competitors and their families and focused on being proactive to be 110% prepared for the weekend. The more prepared we are heading to event weekends means the more time we can spend making sure our Mazdas are as fast as possible.”
Looking to return to the championship winning form of 2019 where they claimed the series title with Bryan Ortiz, Copeland Motorsports is ready for 2022. Stay tuned to the Copeland Motorsports social media pages for news, information, photos, and results from Daytona.
Event Schedule
Wednesday, January 26th
Practice 1: 3:00-3:30pm
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
Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BF Goodrich Schedule
January 27-30: Daytona International Speedway
February 25-27: Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
May 13-15: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
June 23-26: Watkins Glen International
July 1-3: Road America
August 26-28: VIRginia International Raceway
September 28-30: Road Atlanta
With the start of the 2022 season this weekend, Copeland Motorsports will continue to look to add to their Idemitsu Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BF Goodrich driver lineup for the rest of the season. Interested parties are asked to contact Dean Copeland and Copeland Motorsports.
Graphic Credit: RTD Media