It was a strong first day on the job for IMSA veteran Earl Bamber, who made his return to the Mazda MX-5 platform this weekend at St. Petersburg, scoring a top-10 finish.

The proven sportscar ace has done just about everything in the discipline. However, St. Pete and Mazda’s MX-5 Cup machinery present a fresh challenge.

“Yeah, it’s awesome. Everyone from Hendrick Motorsports invited me back to have another go. I loved Martinsville — that was amazing. Now to come here, St. Pete’s a new challenge for me as a track, so I’ve really loved learning it. It’s quick, it’s fast, and then our race this morning was wild in the wet — a lot of passing, a lot of great racing. This whole Mazda thing is so cool. The racing’s so tight, so condensed, and it’s all about that race craft. You sort of get out of the race and you’re like, ‘Damn, I wish we just kept racing for another half hour or an hour.’ It’s just a lot of fun.”

This weekend marked his first crack at the St. Pete street circuit.

While no stranger to street racing, the temporary layout doesn’t offer much in terms of simulator preparation.

“Yeah, I mean, it’s mainly watching videos, watching a bit of the races back from last year. But in all honesty, nothing beats just getting out there and learning the track and the car again. Obviously, last time I was only turning left with the car — now it’s left and right — so I learned a lot about the car and the balance. We had a really good practice. Qualifying didn’t go exactly how we wanted it to, but the race was really nice. We got up to sixth at our highest point and got shuffled back a little bit, so we finished eighth. I think we’re really proud of that. My goal was to be inside the top 10, and I’m happy to grab a top 10 to start with.”

This is not his first rodeo in a Mazda.

His most recent outing in the platform came at the Martinsville exhibition race in October. While that provided some familiarity, transitioning from an oval to a tight street course presents significant differences.

“Probably all the heavy braking zones. That’s been a big thing to get used to, because at Martinsville we didn’t really need the brakes. So getting into the heavy braking zones has probably been the biggest adjustment for me here.”

Comparing the MX-5 Cup car to his usual Cadillac LMDh machinery highlights a major stylistic shift.

“To be honest, you’ve just got to really flow the car nicely. It’s just a slightly different style with low horsepower, but at the end of the day it’s such a challenge. The car is really sensitive to driver input, so you’ve got to really think about what you’re doing.”

Joining him this weekend is fellow sportscar standout Sébastien Bourdais, bringing another accomplished résumé to the grid.

While both drivers are focused on performance, the Cadillac teammates are also enjoying some friendly rivalry.

“Yeah, we’ve been having a good bunch of banter. We paid for a sticker with his charity to throw it on the back, and it’s sort of like racing your older brother, right? The first person you want to beat is him. In the race we were right next to each other, and we managed to beat him in the first one — we’ll see how we go in the second one. But yeah, it’s nice. It’s also a relaxed weekend for us, right? It’s a good, fun motor racing event. You come away with a really big smile on your face.”

This marks his first start in Florida since the Rolex 24 — a race that proved to be a roller coaster.

“We stepped onto the track having won two in a row, and we expected that we were going to have a good shot at winning it again. I think there were three cars really in it the whole race — the 31, the 6, and the 7. The 6 got damaged early, so it was down to the 31 and the 7. It was a hell of a battle. We tried everything we had, but they just had a little bit more for us. I’m really proud of the team on the Whelen Cadillac program. I joined a year ago and we hadn’t had a podium for a while. Now we walk away disappointed finishing second. That just shows the level of expectation the whole team has and the momentum we’ve built. We’re really looking forward to going down to Sebring because I think we’ll have something really good there as well. We’re just going to keep chipping away, trying to get those podiums and race wins.”

Beyond IMSA competition, the World Endurance Championship season looms, with JOTA aiming to build further momentum in 2026.

“We really forged our way forward as Cadillac. It was nice to get that first win — everyone was really proud of that. With JOTA coming back for a second year, we’re definitely going to find our feet, but we’ve got some tough challenges. Ferrari and Toyota are bringing some new stuff as well. But it’s great to have Jack on board in WEC. That camaraderie is going to be really good, and the continuity between IMSA and WEC is important.”

Regarding Cadillac’s EVO package updates, he noted that “the car feels a lot better in traffic. Overall performance isn’t really that adjusted — the main focus was improving how the car behaves in traffic.”

Overall, the weekend has been an enjoyable return to grassroots-style racing.

“This is just pure racing, right? Back with a clutch, just a gear lever — this is what I grew up racing. My first-ever time in a touring car was actually in a Mazda RX-7. So it brings back a lot of memories of that. Like I said, it’s just a bunch of fun. It’s good to race these people, and every time I jump out of the car, I just have a bigger smile on my face and wish it was another two hours longer.”

(Photo Courtesy to Mazda Motorsports/Ignite Media)