Copyright RACER
The morning fog had barely lifted over the Berkshire foothills on Saturday when the first wave of Mazda Miatas rolled into Lime Rock Park for MiataCon. Soon the infield was packed with pink, black, red, silver, yellow, blue, green, purple and dozens of custom Miatas, more than 400 of them, all parked bumper to bumper beneath the fall-turned maples that surround B Paddock. For two days the Connecticut circuit became a gathering place for the Mazda faithful from across the country. They came for MiataCon, a celebration of the small, lightweight Japanese sports car that has connected generations of drivers for four decades. This year marked the third edition of the Lime Rock Park-produced event, and its growth reflected the car’s enduring pull. Fans arrived from across the globe. But, one car came from farther than anyone could have imagined, a bright yellow MX-5 that had spent five weeks crossing the Pacific from Hawaii in a shipping crate before joining the paddock in Lakeville. “The car community in Hawaii is small but tight knit,” said owner Paul Gronski, who took two flights to get to the mainland and waited weeks for his car to catch up. “We mostly do autocross because there aren’t many racetracks, so coming to Lime Rock feels like stepping into a dream.” Eight engineers and designers from Mazda’s Hiroshima headquarters also made the trip to celebrate the Mazda spirit, eager to see how their creation continues to bring people together half a world away. “For Mazda, everything comes back to the Miata,” said Sergio Gonzalez, Northeast District Retail Operations Manager for Mazda North America. “The MX-5 represents unity, hospitality and friendship. We love seeing people come together simply because of a car and a brand. That’s why this event is so meaningful, it’s about community.” Gonzalez said MiataCon captures what Mazda calls its One Mazda concept, a belief that the company’s identity is rooted as much in relationships as it is in performance. “When people talk about Mazda, they don’t just talk about speed,” he said. “They talk about connection.” That spirit of connection was visible everywhere at The Park. Lime Rock Park named Bill Emerson as this year’s Grand Marshal. At 85, Emerson represents the event’s grassroots spirit, having restored his bright yellow 1999 Miata named Tweety, after the yellow cartoon canary, and traveled more than 10,000 miles with his wife, Nancy Ball, a journey chronicled in their book Making Many Miata Miles that has inspired drivers across the nation. “When they asked me to be Grand Marshal, I couldn’t say no,” Emerson said. “Every stop I’ve made, every person I’ve met, they all have a Miata story. To see hundreds of them here together feels like an extended family reunion.” Across the B Paddock a crowd gathered around another car that told a very different story. Crispy, a 2004 MazdaSpeed Miata, survived a house fire before being rescued and rebuilt by Connecticut driver Alex Giroux. Rather than hide the damage, Giroux kept it visible. The mirrors are melted, the dash foam exposed and burn holes freckle the hood. “When the fire department posted photos of this car online, I went looking for it,” said Giroux. “I’ve owned 67 Miatas (not a typo, he’s owned 67 Miatas!) but this one was special.” Giroux rebuilt the suspension for drifting but left everything else untouched. “People think I made the car look like this on purpose, but this is exactly how it came from the fire,” he said. “The engine’s all original, even the A/C and original headlights work. It gets driven, not parked.” Throughout the weekend the paddock buzzed with the sounds of engines and laughter. Drivers tested their cars in MiataX, an autocross experience on the FCP Euro Proving Grounds, on Friday and Saturday. Strangers gathered to take small road trips with the Nutmeg Miata Club on Friday through Lakeville County, then swapped stories about rebuilds and first drives that changed their lives during the Moss Miata Car Show and Car Corral. By late afternoon Saturday, sunlight spilled across a scene that looked like a living timeline. Four generations of Miatas, from the original NA with its pop-up headlights to the newest ND, sat side by side. A young couple who were brought together by their passion for the Miata even got engaged as their matching pink Miata NAs smiled back at them in approval. For Gonzalez, watching it all unfold reaffirmed what makes the Miata different. “It’s amazing to see people of all ages here,” he said. “When you drive an MX-5, especially a Miata, you don’t want to sell it. You want another one.” For people ready to add to their Mazda collection or to join the Miata lifestyle, Mazda of Milford and Whaling City Mazda representatives were on location with a fleet of new Mazdas for fans to explore, test and imagine taking home to start their own stories. While the paddock buzzed with the spirit of the Miata lifestyle, the main circuit roared with thrilling MX-5 competition. The closest finish happened during the Tom Matano Memorial Enduro Race as Peter Tonelli II’s Yellow 1992 Mazda Miata NA edged out co-drivers Ric Hosley and Thomas Machi’s Blue 1999 Mazda Miata NB by 0.131-seconds to claim the checkered. The enduro race required a minimum five minute pit stop and Earl Tucker III with a time of 5m00.058s was fastest off the box while Hosley laid down the fastest lap of the weekend during qualifying with a 58.882s flyer. Exciting prize packages added extra incentive for the drivers, with Hoosier Tire East sponsoring contingency prizes for top finishers. Each class winner received a pair of high-performance Hoosier racing tires, while the rest of the podium finishers were awarded a single Hoosier Tire each. Additionally, class winners earned the title of “Miata Master” and the chance to return to defend their title at MiataCon 2026, with Lime Rock Park underwriting the entry fees. Winners also received complimentary entry to an Advanced Lapping Day with the Lime Rock Drivers Club, and second and third-place finishers were awarded two weekend passes to any 2026 Lime Rock Park event. SCDA contributed gift certificates for podium finishers, rounding out a generous prize pool for MiataCon competitors.
