MX5 America: Ashlyn Speed and Sally Mott share female driver prizes at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park
- LIAM REDFORD
- Jul 16
- 9 min read
Ashlyn Speed and Sally Mott each claimed a female driver prize in a competitive Mazda MX5 Cup weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, where Speed secured a career-best P15 in race one and Mott responded with a strong P12 finish in race two after her best-ever qualifying in sixth.
Ashlyn Speed secured her second female driver prize of the season as the Hendricks Motorsport driver achieved a career best result in the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Speed displayed excellent improvements throughout the event as she finished 15th in race one, beating rival Sally Mott by just two hundredths of a second.
Mott fought back by claiming the honours in race two as the JTR Motorsports Engineering racer narrowly missed out on a top-10 result by claiming a 12th place finish. Earlier in the weekend, Mott achieved her best qualifying result of sixth as she underlined her pace at a track she had fond memories of.
Speed and Mott were joined by newcomer Jem Hepworth who lined up for RAFA Racing Team by MMR. It was a challenging debut weekend for Hepworth who finished 18th in race one, before she was involved in an unfortunate incident in the second race of the event.
After an action-packed previous round of the championship at Mid-Ohio, the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup drivers headed north of the border to Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Following another strong weekend last time out where she secured both female driver awards, Sally Mott moved up to 13th position in the overall standings with five top-15 finishes in her last six races.
Mott enjoyed fantastic battles with rival Heather Hadley throughout round four and the Hendricks Motorsport driver was close behind in the standings in 16th after Mid-Ohio. However, due to a lack of funding, Hadley was forced to skip this round of the championship and she was now targeting a return later in the season.
Rookie Ashlyn Speed arrived at Mid-Ohio aiming for a turnaround in fortunes after a challenging middle portion of the season. Speed sits just outside the top-20 in the overall standings, however the Hendricks Motorsport driver is one of only nine drivers to be a classified finisher in every race this season.
Mott and Speed were joined by series newcomer Jem Hepworth at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Hepworth has been a mainstay within RAFA Racing Team for the past few seasons and now she was given the opportunity to race in one of the most competitive single-make championships in the world. A podium finisher in the Am class of Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America this season, Hepworth was now looking to use her GT racing experience to good effect in the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup.
The Canadian venue held fond memories for Mott following an excellent performance at the track last season. She secured a career best finish of sixth in 2024 and she was now aiming to return to the overall top-10. The racing was set to be extremely close on one of the shortest layouts of the year and therefore beginning the weekend on the front foot was a top priority.
On-track action began on Friday morning with the first of two practice sessions at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. Mott continued her good form at the circuit with her final lap of practice seeing her claim a spot inside the top-10. Hepworth completed 21 laps in her first session in the championship and the RAFA Racing Team by MMR driver set the 22nd quickest time. Speed was close behind in 23rd and she was keen to continue her progress in free practice two.
The second session was interrupted by a red flag period and it was a challenging thirty-minutes for Mott who was unable to improve upon her fastest time from the morning. Hepworth was finding her feet in her Mazda MX-5 as she improved by three-quarters of a second to end the day in 19th position. Speed also found half a second from her best lap set in the morning and this saw the Hendricks Motorsport driver set the 22nd fastest time.
Qualifying took place on Saturday morning and it was an action-packed session with the whole field looking to gain a slipstream. Speed ran solo for the early part of the session and she was able to put a good banker lap time on the board which was initially quick enough for a spot inside the top-15.
As the second half of the session progressed, the pace increased and Mott soon jumped into the overall top-10. A strong finish to the session saw the JTR Motorsports Engineering driver qualify in a superb seventh position, just half a second away from the pole position time set by Jared Thomas. Speed found some excellent late-session pace, particularly in the final sector, as she secured a best starting position of 20th. Hepworth continued to learn the dynamics of the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup as the British racer qualified her RAFA Racing Team by MMR machine in 22nd position.
The first race of the weekend took place late on Saturday afternoon and following some penalties awarded post-qualifying, the grid positions were amended. As a result, Mott lined up from the third row of the grid in sixth with Speed in 17th position and Hepworth in 21st spot. It was a challenging opening lap for the female drivers who did an extremely good job to avoid being caught up in an incidents, while the slowing car of Glenn McGee also caused difficulties.
At the end of the first lap, Mott had fallen to 13th while Speed completed lap one in 18th with Hepworth in 24th position. The powerful slipstream effect at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park ensured the lead group remained nose-to-tail and although Mott fell to 16th at the end of lap four, she still had sight of the leader. So too did Speed who continued to run in the lead group until lap six when she just lost contact with the main group of drivers.
Hepworth was now up to 22nd position and she was gaining valuable experience just outside the top-20 as she adapted to the fast-paced racing of the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup. After Parker DeLong and Grant West moved ahead, Mott was in 18th position on lap ten, however she was just over four seconds away from the race lead to underline the extremely close battles in the leading pack.
As the race entered a rhythm, Speed had been caught by Cody Powell and she was now enjoying a close battle with her rival as they both aimed to move forward. Following separate issues for both Jeremy Fletcher and Christian Hodneland, Hepworth was inside the top-20 on lap 12, while Speed was now 18th and Mott was up to 17th position.
On lap 18, the race entered its first full course yellow period after Justin Adakonis stopped out on circuit. This elevated all three female drivers up one position and the restart took place with a little over ten minutes remaining. Mott was now back inside the top-15 after Bobby Gossett pitted and Speed was now directly behind. As the drivers entered turn one, Speed made a move on Mott and therefore became the highest-placed female driver. The Hendricks Motorsport racer was enjoying one of her best showings of the season and was now in line to claim her second female driver award of the season.
The race was quickly neutralised for a second time after a crash for Steve Weber required intervention from the marshals. Just two minutes remained when the green flag was displayed with Speed running in 15th, Mott in 16th and Hepworth close behind in 17th position. On the final lap of the race, Mott passed Speed into the first turn, however their thrilling battle continued for the entirety of the lap.
Speed and Mott continued to battle with the duo regularly running nose-to-tail as they best made use of the slipstream. Speed was able to get a run coming through the final turns and she overtook Mott on the line and claimed the female driver award by just two hundredths of a second while securing a career best overall finish of 15th.
Mott banked good championship points for a 16th place result after running with the leading group of drivers for the duration of the race. Hepworth was overtaken by a recovering Gossett on the final lap, however she enjoyed a clean debut race and took the chequered flag in 18th position.
Reflecting on the thrilling first race, Speed said “On the restart, I got in front of Sally in the first two turns, but then we had another caution. After that we had one lap to go and she passed me on the back straight. I made a little hiccup, but I stuck with it, and I had Jeremy [Fletcher’s] help as well. We freight-trained her basically down the back straight, but then she got back around me, so I made her go out wide on the exit of nine, and then over-undered her”.
“I slowed down a little bit and just went on the inside of her and down-shifted and got her. I was screaming in my helmet and I got too excited and I forgot to shift up into third and I was red-lining across the finish line and beat her by 0.19!”
The second and final race of the weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park was held on Sunday morning with the grid based on the second fastest times from qualifying. As a result, Mott lined up from eighth with Speed in 21st and Hepworth in 23rd position. It was a tough start for Hepworth who went off-course on the warm-up lap and she therefore had to start from the rear of the field.
As the green flag was displayed, it was an action-packed run through the opening turns with Mott again doing a nice job to avoid damage despite falling to 16th position. Speed was close behind in 18th spot after the Hendricks Motorsport driver made a fast start after her confidence-boosting female driver victory the previous day. Due to the legacy of her off-track moment, Hepworth was forced to pit and after good work from her RAFA Racing Team by MMR crew, she rejoined on the lead lap.
The early stages of the race followed a similar pattern to that of the previous day with Mott holding her own at the rear of the leading group, while Speed found a comfortable rhythm just inside the top-20. On lap six, Hepworth went a lap down as the damage to her car was preventing her from achieving her full potential.
At the same time, Mott enjoyed a great battle with Helio Meza before her rival demoted her to 17th position. Speed was duelling with Christian Hodneland and after a brief period of side-by-side action, the Hendricks Motorsport driver moved ahead. On lap nine, further misfortune struck for Hepworth as Hodneland made contact with the British racer while attempting to lap her. This sent Hepworth into the barrier at high-speed and fortunately she was able to walk away from the incident.
As a result, an extended full course yellow period was required with Westin Workman pitting behind the safety car to repair damage. Therefore, Mott was up to 15th on the restart with Speed in 19th position as they resumed their rivalry for the highest-finishing female driver.
Despite Mott losing a spot to Bobby Gossett on the restart, she was soon back ahead of her rival while also benefiting from an off-track moment for Bryce Cornet. The JTR Motorsports Engineering driver was now up to 14th position and less than four seconds away from the race lead. By lap 20, this margin was a little over two seconds as the slipstream effect remained extremely powerful in ensuring close-quarters racing.
Two laps later, Mott was into 12th following some good racecraft while also taking advantage of a puncture for Noah Harmon. Meanwhile, Speed was now into 17th and although she was slightly detached from the main group, this ensured she was in prime position to capitalise on any incidents ahead. With less than five minutes remaining, the race entered a second full course yellow period with severe weather within range of Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
The race was subsequently red flagged and with only two minutes left on the clock, a resumption was not possible. As a result, Mott secured the prize as the highest finishing female driver as she was classified in 12th position with Speed enjoying another strong run in 17th, later demoted to 20th following a post-race penalty. Although it was a disappointing end to the event for Hepworth, she banked valuable experience on her first weekend in the championship.
The Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup returns at Virginia International Raceway on the weekend of August 23rd/24th
