Lime Rock Park in Salisbury, Connecticut, came alive this past month with the vibrant energy of over 500 Mazda Miatas for the much-anticipated Miatacon. Enthusiasts of the beloved two-seater Japanese sports car gathered from across the country to celebrate a vehicle that has dominated the roads for decades and captured the hearts of enthusiasts worldwide.
Being the second year of the event, the nearly doubled growth from the first event is nothing short of impressive. Lime Rock Park saw a whopping 55% increase in race entries, an 80% increase in MiataX participation (autocross track lapping), and a 25% growth in coral attendance.
The incredibly positive energy at the track was parallel with the event’s success. Thousands of visitors joined together at the park to witness one of the largest gatherings of Mazda Miatas and Miata enthusiasts in the world, while outside the paddocks, guests and drivers alike participated in heated track battles and autocross.
Community
Miata enthusiasts are, without a doubt, among some of the most devoted and creative within the car community. Being easy-to-work-on little cars, one can transform the platform into anything one can dream of. Walking the paddock highlighted the creativity of Miata owners. From spec Miata race cars, to road-rubbing and stanced SEMA concepts, all the way to NAs stuffed with some of the most ridiculously huge engines that no one would expect to fit in the tiny engine bay, everything was in attendance at Miatacon this year.
For example, take a look at this amalgamation. An NA Miata with butterfly doors, Rick and Morty door inserts, a two-foot-long upward-slanting exhaust pipe, and packed with a Corvette’s LS2 engine. This example was only the tip of the ice berg in terms of uniqueness seen in the paddock. I had the pleasure of speaking with a handful of owners in attendance who all share a similar mindset in regards to their vehicles: they have a passion that this tiny sports car caters to perfectly. The Miata is the perfect budget enthusiast car.
What is incredible about Miatas, and especially exemplified in an event as large as Miatacon, is that as common as these cars are, they are almost always unique to the owner. Miatas serve as a mirror to the personality of the owner. It was beautiful to be able to document the melting pots of personalities and backgrounds gathered in the paddock to celebrate this silly little car. Owners new and old jumped at the chance to speak about their own car’s story: when and why they purchased it, what modifications they installed, how this dent got there, and anything else they could tell.
Perhaps one of the more charming aspects of this event was the amount of original owners participating. Older enthusiasts who had purchased their NAs all the way back in 1989 were abundant for a car that is popularly bought second or third hand to a far younger generation of enthusiast. Owning a car for almost 30 years makes the machine a part of your family, and to have as many Miata families in the paddock as there were this year was a wholesome and heartwarming experience almost exclusive to Lime Rock Park’s Miatacon.
Motorsport at Miatacon
Miatacon 2024 delivered an action-packed race weekend as the Lime Rock Park circuit hosted a number of MX-5 races. Notable drivers such as SCCA National Champions Evilan Goulart and Jonathan Goring. Even more impressive was Ethan Goulart, the reigning SCCA National Spec Miata champion, who, juggling his racing commitments with school, arrived just in time to compete in Saturday’s Enduro.
The Spec Miata class was the most closely contested event of the weekend, with a nearly 40 car line-up. The competition reached an intense finish as Mathew Carr out paced Sean Noonan by a thin margin of just 0.167 seconds to claim the pole. Outside of the Spec Miata class, Ric Hosley etched his name in MiataCon history by setting the fastest lap time of the weekend of 59.141 seconds in the NB Open X class.
Adding to the weekend’s allure were the enticing prize packages sponsored by Hoosier Tire East and the SCDA, crowning the class winners as “Miata Masters.” Victors also received prizes, including high-performance Hoosier racing tires and access to an Advanced Lapping Day with the Lime Rock Drivers Club.
