Shift Up Now Athletes Ellie Gossett and Charlotte Traynor each earned the title of “Top Finishing Female” during rounds seven and eight, respectively, of the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) on July 10-12, 2026.
Gossett piloted the No. 77 Salty Dog Cafe car for BSI Racing, led by one of Shift Up Now’s original Athletes, Shea Holbrook. Traynor, who was awarded the 2026 Mazda Women’s Initiative Scholarship, drove the No. 43 entry for Parker DeLong Racing (PDR).
In the series’ only event north of the border, both Gossett and Traynor were making their debut on the 2.459-mile, 10-turn CTMP road course, known for its challenging and high-speed layout. Two practice sessions took place on Friday. While both Shift Up Now racers used the sessions for learning the track and cars’ handling, they each achieved new personal bests in the afternoon session, with Gossett running inside the top 20.
Qualifying took place on Saturday morning. Gossett was 21st on the time sheets in an incredibly-competitive field where her time was only 0.3 of a second away from the ninth-place qualifier. Meanwhile, Traynor set a new personal best time in qualifying to line up just a couple rows behind Gossett for the first race.
Later that afternoon, race one began at 5:25pm EDT. The 45-minute competition took place in hot, humid conditions with track temps over 100 degrees, creating a slippery surface for the 30+ car field.
After one pace lap, the field lined up side-by-side for the green and, despite a few three-side moments, made it cleanly through the first lap. Gossett had a solid start and advanced into 19th place.
After the first two laps, the field still hadn’t started to separate. A long green-flag stint ensued, ending near the halfway point when a caution flag flew for a single-car incident.
Fifteen minutes remained when the race went green again. At the restart, Gossett was running 21st and Traynor in 25th. Both drivers then moved forward, Gossett into 18th and Traynor to 20th.
When the white flag emerged, Gossett advanced to 16th and Traynor to 19th just before another full-course caution flew. After a post-race penalty was assessed to a competitor, Gossett moved to 15th and Traynor to 18th, both racers’ best finishes of the season so far. Gossett was also awarded the “Top Finishing Female” honors for round seven.
On Sunday morning, race two began at 10:05am EDT. Once again, the 45-minute competition began after the pace lap as the field ran in a tight two-by-two formation. In a repeat of the evening before, the first lap was clean.
However on the second lap, Gossett found herself in a huge spin, putting flat spots on all four tires. She was able to get going again without going a lap down or causing a full-course yellow, but now significantly behind the pack.
The race ran green for approximately 15 minutes before contact between several cars brought out the first full-course caution. At that point, Traynor was running 22nd, and the yellow allowed Gossett to catch up to the back of the pack for the restart.
The clock showed 21 minutes remaining at the restart, and Traynor advanced into the top 20. She hung on to the back of the lead pack with Gossett close behind her in 21st.
Another full-course caution occurred with nine minutes to go, and without enough time for cleanup, the race finished under yellow. Traynor was classified as 15th, her new best finish of the season so far, and earning her that day’s “Top Finishing Female” award.
Both Shift Up Now racers showed significant personal improvement during the CTMP weekend, making some of their best runs to date in Mazda MX-5 Cup.
“This series is incredibly competitive, the top 20 are all within a second of each other," said Gossett. "I had a fast car all weekend, however small mistakes unfortunately hindered my results. There’s no better place to develop as a driver than MX-5 Cup. I'm already looking forward to coming back even stronger at VIR next month.”
"Canada was definitely a great step up in terms of pace for me", added Traynor. "The track was challenging, but I had such an incredible time learning and getting up to speed throughout the weekend. It was rewarding to be able to stay with the lead pack during race 2 and continually improve on my times. I'm looking forward to keeping this momentum rolling into Virginia and hopefully aiming for some top-10s heading into the second half of the season!"
Next up, the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup series heads to Alton, Virginia, for rounds nine and ten of the championship, at VIRginia International Raceway on August 21-23, 2026.
