Lyn St. James, professional racing driver, women’s advocate, and the first woman to win the 1992 Indianapolis 500’s Rookie of the Year award on her 1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata, as told AJ Baime.
In the spring of 1990, I was at a racing event in Columbus, Ohio, and the guest who hosted it said, “Hey, do you want to see my new baby?” I said, “Sure.” We went out into his garage and there it was, this little red sports car. I had never seen or heard of a Miata. I asked if I could sit in it and when I did I put my left hand on the steering wheel and my right hand on the shifter. I said to myself, “It just feels right.”
Soon after, I started seeing billboards and print ads. Mazda’s motto for the new car was “It just feels right.” Total coincidence. At the time, I was under contract to race with Ford Motor Co.
, and so I always had Ford cars. I didn’t need a new car, but I bought one anyway – a Miata from the very first model year.
At the time, there was no such thing as the Miata: a new, small sports car with two seats. And this one hit every target. It had cool styling, it was affordable, it had durability, performance and economy. I lived in South Florida and it was a perfect place to ride with the hood down. Although it had a small four-cylinder, it was a twin overhead cam engine. The car liked to go fast. I sure have some tickets. It was the kind of car that made you want to go to your garage so you could say goodnight to it.
Now, so many years later, I can look back and say that I haven’t owned a car in over three years, other than this one, which I’ve owned for over three decades. It amazes me that when I first saw it, I had never heard of the Miata. Now you see them everywhere. It has its own successful racing series, the MX-5 Cup. [Built in Hiroshima, Japan, the Miata is today, by far, the bestselling two seat convertible sports car of all time.]
About five years ago, I went to visit my daughter who lives in San Francisco, and learned that Tom Matano – who led the design of this car for Mazda – was working in San Francisco. I made an appointment and met him. For me, it was like meeting Enzo Ferrari if you’re a Ferrari madman, or Carroll Shelby if you’re a Shelby madman. He turned out to be the most humble, delightful of all, and it was an honor to meet him.
Today I still drive the Miata to the fullest. If I take it out, I want it get it out ofRecently I went on a road trip with one of my favorite girlfriends south to Mexico. We were driving on a straight road with no speed limit. I was towing at 120 mph. The car was as happy as a camper, as they say, and so was the driver.
In 1985, Mrs. St. James won her class in a 500-kilometer endurance race in Watkins Glen, New York. Although she worked with a co-driver, she drove all 500 kilometers herself.
Photo:
Lyn St. James
Mrs. St. James with a Ford racing car at Daytona International Speedway in 1985.
Photo:
Lyn St. James
Write to AJ Baime at [email protected]
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