MAZDA LADDER SYSTEM
MAZDA CONNECTS THE DOTS FOR NORTH AMERICAN MOTORSPORTS LADDER
Up-and-coming race drivers have two major challenges: winning on the track, and finding the resources to move up to the next level. Mazda in conjunction with series corporate partners is making the second task significantly easier for this year's champion drivers. Mazda will provide a next-level, fully-funded ride in a Mazda powered car to the 2007 champions of selected Mazda series.
“We are committed to developing the next generation of racers with a ladder system that provides drivers with Mazda and Mazda-powered open and closed-wheel cars throughout their careers,” said Robert Davis, Senior Vice President, Product Development and Quality, and the man responsible for Mazda's North American motorsports operations under the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development banner. “Similar to our contingency program, these are performance-based rewards. Too often the cost of racing has meant that a promising career has stagnated due to a lack of budget. With this initiative, Mazda will change that.”
There will be two paths, one for open-wheel racers, and one for those who race sports cars.
Open-wheel racers are competing for these new awards:
- One successful kart racer in 2009 will participate in a full season of the 2010 BFGoodrich Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda.
- The 2009 Skip Barber National Champion will be racing in the 2010 Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear.
- The 2009 Star Mazda Champion will be racing in the 2010 Cooper Tires Presents the Champ Car Atlantic Series Powered by Mazda.
Closed-wheel sports car racers are competing for these new awards:
- 2009 Champions from NASA, SCCA National Club Racing and Skip Barber Racing will compete to win a season in the Playboy Mazda MX5 Cup Series.
- The 2009 Playboy Mazda MX5 Cup Champion will be awarded funding to compete in a 2010 professional racing series with a Mazda race team.
Mazda is the brand of choice for road-racers across North America. More than 9,000 grassroots racers compete in various classes with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and the National Auto Sport Association (NASA). Racers who are years away from earning a driver's license can now begin their professional motorsports careers in the Mazda family. A driver can begin in karts and progress through the Skip Barber series, Club Racing Formula Mazda, professional Star Mazda and finally to Formula Atlantic, all with Mazda. No other car company has ever connected the dots this way.
For more information on a specific series, visit
www.atlanticchampionship.com
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