Mazda MX-5 Cup

Spec / fixed setup · Front-engined · Naturally aspirated four

Light, slow and completely honest. There is no downforce, no aero platform and nothing in the garage to change, so the car tells you exactly what you did. Momentum is the whole game: every tenth lost on entry is a tenth you never get back.

Where to start. Nothing in the garage moves. The first change is always the entry — slow it, wait for the car to point, and get the power down earlier.

Symptoms this car reads differently

These notes appear alongside the ranked answer whenever you pick that symptom.

Won't turn in / pushes on entry

Almost always too much entry speed rather than a car that will not turn. The front tyre is small and saturates early; there is no aero to help it.

Loose at the apex

A lift mid-corner is what does it. With this little grip the rear steps as soon as you unload it — stay steady rather than reaching for a correction.

Runs wide on power

Comes from being early to throttle in a car that has no torque to spare. Wait for the wheel to unwind before you commit.

Falls off over a stint

The rears go off first and go off gradually, so it feels like the circuit changed. It did not — the first three laps of the stint decided it.

What this car's answers lean on

In order: what this car reaches for first when something is wrong. Spec / fixed setup sets the baseline, and anything this car weighs differently says so.

1. Free changes — driving, not setup
2. In-car driver aids and gearing

What you cannot change on this car

Still shown, struck through at the rank they earned — partly so the list is honest, partly because they open up as you move up a class.

Brake bias rearward, Less coast (deceleration) diff lock, More engine braking, Less diff preload, Softer front anti-roll bar, Softer front slow bump damping, More front toe-out, Brake bias forward, More coast diff lock, Less engine braking, More diff preload, Softer rear anti-roll bar, Stiffer rear slow rebound, More rear toe-in, Less rake — lower the rear or raise the front, Raise the ABS setting, Lower total brake pressure, Less front negative camber, Higher front tyre pressure, Stiffer rear anti-roll bar, Lower front tyre pressure, More front negative camber, Softer front springs, More rake — raise the rear, Stiffer front anti-roll bar, Lower rear tyre pressure, More rear negative camber, Softer rear springs, More rear wing, Less drive (acceleration) diff lock, Lower traction control level, Shorter gearing, More drive diff lock, Higher traction control level, Stiffer heave / third spring, Stiffer rear springs or ride height up, Check bump stop gap, Softer fast bump damping, Raise cold pressure at the hot end, Soften the opposite end, Reduce camber slightly, Take out some rear toe-in

Fixed-setup car — nothing in the garage is adjustable.