Motul Becomes Technical Partner of the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Series

Motul is honored to be a sponsor and technical partner of the Mazda MX-5 Cup and to be alongside this passionate community of automotive enthusiasts," General Manager of Motul North America Amber Bates said. "Motul prides itself on its storied racing heritage and a partnership with Mazda perfectly aligns with our motorsports DNA. Motul offers a wide range of high performing lubricants and care products, and we look forward to showcasing these products via the Mazda MX-5 Cup and to the loyal community of Mazda racers, owners and fans across North America.

As part of the new partnership, Motul will be presenting the Motul Pole Award to each of the season's 14 fastest qualifiers. At the end of the season, the driver who earned the most pole positions of the season will receive a year-end award and prize.

The 2026 season launched in Daytona for one of the most exciting race weeks of the season as Daytona's fast high banks add a very unique element to sportscar racing, drafting. Drivers must add a new level of strategy as part of their race craft to ensure they gain and maintain the added speed that drafting unlocks. Losing the draft will cause a driver to quickly fall backwards and lose touch with the leaders.

As all of the Mazda racecars are the same spec, it comes down to the drivers and the prep work of the crews to get to the front of the pack and many teams rely on Motul's Oil Lab to provide them with technical expertise to ensure their cars were running at peak performance. These teams provided engine and gearbox oil samples for testing and received detailed feedback regarding the performance and health of their cars.

45 Mazda MX-5 Cup cars hit the track to start the 2026 season and defending series champion Jeremy Fletcher won the first accolade of the year by winning the first ever Motul Pole Award and started race 1 from the start of the grid but it was Noah Harmon who claimed the top step of the podium after 40 minutes of racing for his first ever Mazda MX-5 Cup victory with the Hendricks Motorsports Team.

Race 2 of the weekend saw Glen McGee at the front of the grid as the Motul Pole Award winner but Jeremy Fletcher took the checkered flag to once again stand at the top of the podium to close out the weekend and continue his 2025 season championship winning form.