Car Girl: Sarah Bantay

by Michael Satterfield

Sarah Bantay is a diehard automotive enthusiast whose daily driver is her Mazda MX-5 autocross and tracks day car, while her Turbo RX7 FC is almost ready for the road and track again after a custom engine build. After a few minutes of chatting it’s clear that she would much rather be strapped into her racing seat than doing just about anything else in the world. Sarah is such a gearhead she was even asked by Mazda USA to take part in the accumulation testing for the MX-5 ND back in 2015.

The first generation Miata that serves as Sarah’s daily driver had it’s engine rebuilt, bored and fitted with forged pistons bringing it up to 1.9 liters. The Racing Beat exhaust sounds smooth and reminds you that this Miata is a true sports car. An ACT Stage 1 clutch and lightened flywheel transfer the power to Enkei RPF1 wheels. Koni Yellows and Flying Miata shock mounts help the car in the corners while inside the Hard Dog roll bar and Sparco Revs with Sparco 5 point harnesses keep everything safe. Outside Sarah has added Project G hardtop spoiler and side skirts.

Sarah and her MX-5 have competed in a number of autocross events, and track days at Laguna Seca, Streets of Willow, and Auto Club Speedway. She credits Steve Lepper from Gearhead’s Garage and Alex Tan from Indotech Motorsports for helping her build a car that can serve both as a daily drive and a fun track day toy.

Currently, Sarah is building an RX7 FC Turbo, which we will profile in a future story, built to be a serious performance car with the goal of competing in time attack racing we can’t wait to see it driving. When Sarah isn’t driving her favorite mountain roads or working on her project cars you can find her working at Auto Club Speedway where she is an event manager for CalSpeed Karting.

Be sure to follow her on Instagram @faeracing