Global Mazda MX-5 Cup

Light, slow and completely honest. There is no downforce and no aero platform, 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.

The first change is the entry — slow it, wait for the car to point, and get the power down earlier.

Symptoms this car reads differently

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 the 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

Compared with other Spec cars

1. Free changes — driving, not setup
2. In-car driver aids and gearing
3. Anti-roll bars
4. Damper clicks
5. Tyre pressures
6. Camber, toe, caster

What you cannot change on this car

• Brake bias is fixed on this car.
• The differential is fixed on this car.
• Engine braking is not adjustable on this car.
• This car has no adjustable aerodynamics.
• This car has no adjustable ABS level.
• Total brake pressure is not adjustable on this car.
• Spring rates are fixed on this car.
• This car has no adjustable traction control.
• Gearing is fixed on this car.
• No third spring on this car.
• No adjustable bump stops on this car.
• This car has no dampers with that adjustment.