The MX-5 Spec Series race car gave me one of the purest driving experiences ever

“The Miata Is Always The Answer.” An age-old saying that has transcended generations, evolving from what could’ve been a mere marketing stunt into a modern-day meme of sorts.

Regardless of its roots or what it is now, the adage still holds true. The Mazda MX-5 is almost like a Swiss Army Knife—a fun, rear-wheel-drive roadster viable as a daily driver on weekdays but can double as a track car on weekends. I was fortunate enough to have been able to drive the current-generation Miata a while back, and simply put, I enjoyed it. Big time. If I had to rank the best demo units I’ve tried out in this lifetime, the MX-5’s right up there.

Little did I know then, though, that the best Miata experience was still yet to come.

Recently, we were handed over the keys to another MX-5. But this wasn’t your ordinary sports car—this was an MX-5 Spec Series race car. It was built specifically for the MSCC Miata Spec Series, a one-make sports-car racing series that had just concluded its third season in 2024. Why? Because Mazda Philippines asked Alex ‘Banaweboy’ Lim to break it in, and he suggested we lucky kids from Top Gear Philippines help do so. So break it in we did.

The task was simple: Keep driving it and clock in as many kilometers as we can. Banaweboy was also lent an MX-5 himself—a Club Edition Miata, to be exact—so we all took to the north and went on a ‘quick’ road trip.

Watch: Breaking in the Mazda MX-5 Spec Series Race Car

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We started out early and we had the perfect setup. Radios were ready, batteries were all charged, and cameras and mics were all mounted. And most important, both Miatas had full tanks of fuel.

The Miata being a top-down also made for the perfect shooting vehicle, so our video content producer Charles Banaag could easily switch between cars to take photos and footage. He would eventually spend more time in Alex’s red Miata, of course, because the focus was the Cup car.

I reckon they both enjoyed seeing me in their mirrors and shooting me from afar, because the Miata is simply a darn beautiful car, and it just looks way cooler in Spec Series form. With the roof down for the most part on the expressways, the shiny blue roll cage was in full view, complete with the orange net on the sides, and the Sparco racing seats with the bright red five-point harnesses. Anyone who had a glimpse of this car on the road knew full well that this meant business.

Me being the one behind the wheel, on the other hand, had an even better time. Sure, the Cup car rode stiffer than the Club Edition they were in, but we drove on asphalt for the most part, so it wasn’t so bad. Even if the Cusco suspension underneath my MX-5 was built for the racetrack, it was still bearable especially on the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway where we were able to stretch the car’s legs.

Make no mistake, though, this is still a Miata through and through. Mazda Philippines president Steven Tan told us that this wasn’t exactly a “better car,” only one that’s been equipped specifically for the track. It still has the same 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine that puts out 184hp and 205Nm of torque mated to a six-speed manual transmission. It still has, surprisingly, a head unit with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity and with a proper speaker setup. It still has air-conditioning, too.

The only thing Mazda has done here is to change the gearing for shorter shifts and more low-end power. Of course, the aforementioned race-oriented bits like the suspension, cage, and seats have been added. Lest we forget, there’s also an absurdly loud exhaust to remind you and other road users that it is, in fact, a race car. The advanced driver-assist systems have all been taken out as well, but not that we care. All that being said, at the end of the day, this is still a road-legal sports car with a convertible roof.

At its core, it was still a Miata. And that was the beauty of it.

It was still the sports car we’ve all grown to love. The biggest difference? The driving experience was…more pure. Almost crude. This spec of the Miata is the Miata in possibly one of its rawest forms, and driving it was sheer bliss.

I remember our EIC Dinzo Tabamo once said that the ‘purest driving experience’ in a Miata is with a manual transmission. Now I know that the most unadulterated form of that is with this Miata Cup car. I endured every bump on the road. I heard the constant clunking of the harness on the empty seat beside me and the fire extinguisher on the floor below it. I felt each sway, or the lack thereof, each time I switched lanes or blitzed through a corner. I heard the engine and the exhaust roar endlessly through my eardrums the entire way and back. Yet I had no complaints.

If anything, it was all smiles. My only gripe through our near-500km drive that day was that we didn’t take on enough twisties. And even if I probably won’t get another chance to do so, that’s okay. Even if I may have ended the day with a sore back and some tingling in my ears, it’s all well and good. Because if there was a ‘one for the books’ kind of drive, this was it. This was surely it.

Mazda Philipines asked us to break in this Miata, but it broke us in instead. Driving the Miata Spec Series race car was eye-opening, and I might never be able to replicate that experience again. Driving it reminded me of what Mazda’s humble sports car is truly about: It’s fun and affordable, plain and simple. With just a few tweaks here and there, you can turn it into a full-on race car, albeit still road-legal.

The Miata Spec Series race car is also a testament that in whatever shape or form, the Mazda MX-5 will go down as one of the most fun cars ever built, full stop. And in whatever shape or form, it will always be the answer.

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