– Mazda the Featured Marque for 48th HSR The Mitty Presented by Hagerty April 23 – 26 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta
– Family-Friendly HSR The Mitty Presented by Hagerty Celebrates Mazda and Sports Cars and Other Road Racing Cars of All Eras; Special MX-5 and Spec Miata Feature Race on Saturday
BRASELTON, Georgia (April 6, 2026) – Mazda is the featured marque of this month’s Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) 48th HSR The Mitty, April 23 – 26 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Both HSR and Mazda are pulling out the stops on the track and in the paddock to celebrate several Mazda anniversaries and present a special feature race open to all Spec Miata and Spec MX-5 (SMX) competitors.
Working with IMSA and HSR, Mazda is opening the door to SMX and Spec Miata racers with a variety of licenses to get in on the HSR The Mitty action. These competitor and fan favorites will run in the HSR Vintage Cup division in addition to being welcome in a bonus Spec Miata/SMX-only race on Saturday, April 25, at no additional entry fee cost.
The “Mazda Feature Race” is a 20-minute sprint offering significant contingency prizes: Mazda will pay out $4,000 for first, $2,500 for second, and $1,250 for third in both Spec Miata and SMX classes. Hoosier Tire will provide a free set of tires to each class winner, and a Penske Shocking Performance award will go to the driver who advances the most positions.
All entries are managed by HSR and require a $25 HSR license fee. The HSR MERG portal for registration and entries can be found here: https://merg.hsrrace.com/. For a full schedule, list of classes and other event information, click here for the official 48th HSR The Mitty event page.
“The passion and competition within the Spec Miata and Spec MX-5 communities are the heartbeat of grassroots racing and reflect the unwavering drive and performance of our HSR community as well,” said HSR President John Doonan. “We are thrilled to give these competitors some time in the spotlight at HSR’s oldest and one of our biggest races so they can experience the incredible competition and camaraderie that HSR offers.”
Crowned by overall victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, and many class victories at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Mazda’s rich history in racing dates more than 60 years and was formalized by the formation of Mazda Motorsports in 1999. Since then, Mazda has become a leader in American grassroots motorsports, driven by the popularity of the rotary-powered RX-7 and MX-5 ‘Miata’ on both the street and the racetrack.
This year marks the 35th anniversary of the Mazda MX-5 as a competition car, the 35th anniversary of Mazda’s overall victory at Le Mans, the 65th anniversary of Mazda’s first use of the revolutionary Wankel rotary engine in a production car, and the 95th anniversary of the Mazda brand.
Additionally, the Mazda Heritage Collection’s own 1989 767B, 1990 787-002,1991 RX-7 GTO and 1992 RX-792P return to The Mitty. The RX-7 GTO will compete in HSR Legacy Racers Group 8 along with other Mazda RX-7 GTO and GTU cars. The 767B, 787-002 and RX7-792P will compete in HSR Historic Trophy Group 6, alongside any other Mazda-powered prototypes.
Driving Mazda’s Heritage Collection vehicles are drivers well-known to the Mazda Motorsports family: Tom Long will pilot the 767B, Joel Miller will be in the 792P, Tristan Nunez will drive the 787 and Alex Bachoura will tackle the RX-7 GTO.
As the organization’s oldest and first blockbuster event, The Mitty is the building block around which HSR was formed, and another stout entry of vintage and historic race cars representing dozens of marques are expected for the 2026 edition. As always, the schedule for The Mitty is packed, with 10 feature races and non-stop sprints for multiple Run Groups.
The Mazda Heritage Collection will have several notable Mazda racing cars on display and in competition at The Mitty, and its trailer will serve as a hub for fans and media, while anchoring the Mazda Competitor Village and serving as a visual showcase for Mazda’s presence.
Mazda began selling cars in the United States in 1970, but it was the introduction of the rotary-powered RX-2 and RX-3 shortly thereafter that truly drew attention to the brand. The RX-2 and RX-3 quickly became fixtures on the track, and several examples can be seen at The Mitty as part of the weekend’s various races, many of which include competition Mazdas of all eras.
In addition to the Spec Miata/SMX-only race, Mazda-related activities on this year’s bill include:
– A Grid Walk preceding a 30-minute Mazda feature race with a grid comprised of HSR cars and Spec Miata and Spec MX-5 cars.
– Activities during track ‘quiet times’ on Sunday including MX-5 street car parade laps, participant and parade lap group photos.
– A Mazda Legends panel featuring a Q&A session with notables including Doonan, Mazda’s Jonathan Applegate and distinguished Mazda drivers such as Jim Downing, Amos Johnson and Roger Mandeville.
Tickets for the 48th HSR The Mitty presented by Hagerty at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta can be purchased online at: https://am.ticketmaster.com/
About HSR: Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) is the premier vintage and historic racing series in North America. It was formed in the mid-1970s with an inaugural event at Road Atlanta and became a part of International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) in 2022. There was one goal then and it remains true today: to celebrate and enjoy the racing cars from the past. As a “time machine” of sights and sounds, HSR provides a venue for competitors and spectators alike to share in the wonderful history and excitement created by the cars that competed at race tracks around the world. HSR currently sanctions eight vintage and historic racing events at some of the world’s most renowned race tracks, including Daytona International Speedway, Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Sebring International Raceway, Watkins Glen International and more. The complete schedule and full event information can be found on HSR’s website at www.HSRRace.com. Look for the HSR Channel on YouTube and follow HSR on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/HSRrace/, on Twitter X @HSR_race and on Instagram @HistoricSportscarRacing.
