Inside MX-5 Cup: Behind the wheel. In front of the camera

“The whole time I was watching I was kind of cringing at myself, because it’s just not a natural experience to watch yourself in third person. It’s just so odd,” says Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin racer Sally Mott of seeing the first episode of “First to the Finish,” a new docuseries premiering on Amazon Prime, March 25th (above).

What the rest of the world will see is the journey of two determined racers, Mott and Heather Hadley, along with venerable team owner Shea Holbrook, as the duo seeks success in one of the most competitive one-make series on the planet.

Mott and Hadley are both winners of the Mazda Women in Motorsport Initiative Scholarship – a year apart. Mott is in her sophomore season of Mazda MX-5 Cup after finishing 12th in the championship in her rookie year; Hadley is competing in her third season. For both, participating in the docuseries that chronicled the 2024 season was daunting and rewarding at the same time.

“It’s my first-ever season with IMSA pro racing, and it’s also going to be filmed; so, that’s a whole other level of added pressure,” says Mott (below). “I showed up at Daytona, and there’s a bunch of cameras in my face, mic’d up all the time. It was really cool. At first, I was a bit nervous, and then I grew to use it as motivation.”

Mott says the series is a good example of Mazda’s support of women in motorsports. For both her and Hadley, they hope it ignites more women to pursue their passion for racing.

“From the get-go, my understanding was that it was going to put this focus on the women who are part of the MX-5 Cup, to kind of let people in on what our lives and our experiences are like,” explains Hadley. “Hopefully it will get more women involved in motorsports, more young girls who are watching motorsports and might just see women on the TV and say, ‘I can do that.’

“Those types of things are really what makes me attracted to a docuseries like this. It’s sharing our experiences and being pretty vulnerable, pretty open with our different stories and what we’ve gone through, with the hopes that it will inspire people and that it will be relatable, and it will get more people excited about their own dreams and passions.”

The film crews went beyond the race track, visiting the participants at home. They were recording the radio conversations during the race – something of which the participants had to remind themselves. Their triumphs were documented, but also their most vulnerable moments.

“I feel like it’s helped me be more of a better driver off-track, in front of cameras, and being more well-spoken,” explains Mott, who gets much of her inspiration from the all-women Iron Dames IMSA and WEC team and hopes to create a racing school for girls someday. “(I’m working on) digesting exactly what I’m saying and having that thought process in my mind. But aside from myself, I feel it’s also helped the awareness of the entire paddock.”

“I’m very familiar with the typical track experience in all forms of racing, but being filmed by an entire film crew was something I’d never experienced,” adds Hadley (above). “I didn’t know what it would be like, and it was definitely strange at first. But getting to meet all the amazing people who are part of the production crew and seeing the production process, the editing, everything – everyone was amazing and welcoming and helpful. And the doors it opened for me, that was definitely one of my favorite things about being a part of it.”

The MX-5 Cup teams and racers had a chance to watch the first episode during the series’ St. Petersburg weekend, and both Hadley and Mott came away feeling pretty good about what they saw.

“It was amazingly done,” says Mott. “We were just blown away about how cinematic it looks. And it’s like, ‘Wow, that is my world, and it’s going to be on the big screen.’”

• All Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin races are streamed live on RACER.com and archived on The RACER Channel on YouTube. The 2025 double-header action continues with rounds 5 & 6 at Barber Motorsports Park, Ala., on Saturday, May 3, and Sunday, May 4. Plus, find all the latest series news at mx-5cup.com.