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MAZDA RACE SERIES
 The Spec Miata (SM) class is intended to provide the opportunity to compete in low cost, production-based cars with limited modifications, suitable for racing competition. The rules are intentionally designed to be more open than the Showroom Stock class but more restricted than the Improved Touring class.
Spec cars, such as SCCA Spec Miata, and now NASCAR -and increasingly Formula One - take the car out of the equation and it becomes more driver vs. driver. This is the purest form of racing.
The 1990-1993 1600cc, 1994-1997 1800cc and 1999-2005 1800cc Mazda Miata ( See specifications ) has been approved by the SCCA for Regional and National racing in all Divisions. The cars will be using a Bilstein shock with an adjustable coil-over suspension with Eibach springs and sway bars (front and rear, adjustable), steel braided brake lines. Toyo, Kumho, Hankook and Hoosier tires are in use in the various regions.
MAZDASPEED MOTORSPORTS supplies most of the parts needed for Spec Miata, except for items such as Tires, Seats, Safety and similar items.
Purpose: The purpose of the MX-5 Cup is to provide an opportunity to compete in similarly prepared low cost cars with limited modifications. It is the entry level of production car-based competition in SCCA Pro Racing.
Race Length: MX-5 CUP races will be approximately 45 minutes in duration unless otherwise specified in the pre-race schedule, Supplemental Regulations, or otherwise changed by the Chief Steward during the course of the event weekend.
 Starts: Standard rolling starts will be used for all MX-5 Cup races.
Competition Modifications: Unless a particular modification, or part, is approved in either the Pro Racing Rules (PRR), or a Technical Bulletin, the vehicle and all of its relevant parts and assemblies shall be stock for the 2006 Mazda MX-5 Miata with the sport package and suspension kit. See Here for Vehicle Specifications.
Designed as one of the first rungs in the driver development ladder, the MX-5 Cup is an integral part of Mazda's North American driver development programs, joining the Yokohama Presents the Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered By Mazda and the Star Mazda Championship Presented By Goodyear. Combined with Mazda's participation in SCCA Club Racing, the SCCA SPEED World Challenge, the Grand Am Cup and Grand American Rolex Series, and the American Le Mans Series, they create a comprehensive motor sports program – one that could only come from the company that puts the soul of a sports car into every car that it builds.
Parts for the MX-5 Cup are supplied through MAZDASPEED MOTORSPORTS, except for the spec roll cage, which can be purchased through Racing Cages, Inc. Other items such as tires, safety items, seats, etc are sourced elsewhere.
 Mazda currently has teams racing the Mazda6 in SCCA SPEED World Challenge. Check out some of our teams' websites: Tri-Point Engineering and Tindol Motorsports.
Purpose : The purpose of the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Championships is to provide teams, manufacturers and aftermarket suppliers a competitive production-based race series in which to prove their products.
Race Length : There is a 50-minute maximum time limit for every race, with the number of laps and total distance being determined by track configuration, lap times and race conditions.
Homologation of Vehicles : In addition to the general series rules that apply to all homologated vehicles, each vehicle model that is homologated into the World Challenge Series has a set of specifications assigned to it on a Vehicle Technical Specification sheet (VTS) in order to give equivalent overall performance capabilities to a wide range of vehicles. Adjustments to a vehicle's VTS sheet will be made until a competitive package is developed. Vehicles may be submitted for homologation up to a year before it goes on general sale to the public, and until that particular bodystyle goes out of production throughout the world.
Engine development and some parts are supplied through MAZDASPEED MOTORSPORTS. Many parts are also custom fit or fabricated for this class.
Open wheel racing has been a part of American motorsports landscape almost as long as gasoline engines have been mated to a chassis and four wheels. At the highest level, open wheel racing represents the ultimate marriage of man and machine in a competition of the human spirit.
As a car company that builds every car with the soul of a sports car, Mazda and motorsports have been synonymous since the beginning. The Star Mazda Championship is just one of the many and diverse motorsports activities that Mazda is proud to be involved with. It's a natural extension of a company that is made up of individuals with a passion for engineering excellence. From Le Mans-winning four-rotor technology to the four-cylinder piston engine that powered the first import-branded front wheel drive to run the quarter-mile in seven seconds, Mazda's motorsports achievements are continuing to be written today.
 Since 1991, the Star Mazda Championship has grown to be a vital link for aspiring drivers from the amateur level to the pro ranks. With cutting edge technology and world class competition in a reachable package, the Star Mazda series offers a platform from which drivers can hone their skills and springboard from. As a spec-series, all Star Mazda Championship drivers compete in a one-specification carbon fiber monocoque Pro Formula Mazda chassis - leaving driver skill as the deciding factor in finishing order. For all its impressive technology, perhaps the most impressive is the 238 HP Mazda Renesis rotary engine that powers the 1,090 lb. racecar - the same exact rotary engine you'll find in any Mazda RX-8 on the street today. To ensure the nature of the one-spec formula, the motors are all built by one engine builder - with each certified to produce the prescribed power and sealed to discourage tampering.
The Star Mazda Championship is one of the most successful developmental series today, with starting grids of over 40 international competitors common and fierce competition standard. The Star Mazda Championship is comprised of twelve televised races across North America. Once again, eight of the races will be hosted by the American Le Mans Series and include stops at famed circuits such as Sebring International Raceway, Road Atlanta, Mid-Ohio Sports Course, and Mosport. In addition to its supporting role to American Le Mans Series and select Champ Car World Series and Grand American events in 2006, the series will return to the Circuit Gilles Villenueve Formula One Grand Prix weekend in June. As well, oval racing will again be a part of the championship mix as Star Mazda visits the Milwaukee Mile one mile oval for the first time. The season wraps up in a October grand finale, fittingly, at one of the premier road racing circuits in the nation, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
While the success of the series continues to grow, the success of drivers who have already graduated from the series can already be found. Former series champions and competitors can be found racing in most of the world's premier professional racing series today - including Formula One, the American Le Mans Series, the Champ Car World Series, the SCCA SPEED World Challenge, and the Grand American Rolex Series.
In addition to the Star Mazda Championship, aspiring drivers can also get started racing at a club or regional level in the original Star Formula Mazda racecar, which also features two-rotor power in a more inexpensive package, or the close-fendered Mazda Sports Racer for those seeking a sports car experience. No matter if they're Star Mazda, SPEED World Challenge, Grand Am Cup, ALMS, Mazda Miata Cup, or SCCA Club Racing racecar though, they are all part of the reason why on any given weekend, there are more Mazdas on the road-race tracks of America than any other brand of vehicle.
In April of 2006, the landscape of the North American open wheel racing development system changed forever when the green light dropped at the Long Beach Grand Prix, the first race of the 2006 Yokohama Presents Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda. The race marked the beginning of a new era for Champ Car Atlantic, considered the top developmental open-wheel racing series on the continent, with a new chassis and engine combination powering the next generation of open wheel racing talent.
 For Mazda, it was also the start of another important chapter in its long established involvement with North American motorsports. By supplying the series with Mazda-Cosworth motivation, Mazda now provides a bottom-to-top ladder for aspiring racers. The Champ Car Atlantic series joins the similarly Mazda-powered (Renesis rotary) Star Mazda Championship series as the top two rungs of North American open wheel driver development; the path from amateur-level grass roots racing to top level open wheel racing can now all be accomplished with Mazda power and support. Sanctioned by Champ Car, the series takes place alongside many high exposure Champ Car events. Drivers typically graduate the series to move onto rides in Champ Car, Indy Car, as well as other top international racing series. The Champ Car Atlantic Powered By Mazda series also joins current Mazda series programs like the new Sirius Radio Mazda MX-5 Cup series, in addition to comprehensive Mazda involvement in the American Le Mans, SCCA SPEED World Challenge, and Grand American Rolex series.
The new Swift chassis and Mazda engine formula ensures that Champ Car will remain at the top of the open wheel driver development chain by providing a challenging package for both driver and competition. Perhaps the most important result of the combination of the Swift Engineering 016.a chassis and the 300 hp Mazda-Cosworth 2300cc DOHC inline-4 engine though is the lower cost of entry; running a full season in the Atlantic series is now expected to cost in the range of $500,000-$600,000 - far from the $1-2 million budgets of the series' recent past. Combining lower budgets, a state-of-the-art racecar, and an unprecedented $2 million championship sponsorship prize for a ride in the Champ Car World Series has translates into an unprecedented amount of opportunities for young drivers looking to become the next open wheel racing star.
Mazda's incomparable involvement with driver development and motorsports in North America is another reason why it's easy to understand that every Mazda is built with the soul of a sports car. And it's also why that on any given weekend, there are more Mazdas on the road-race tracks of America than any other brand of vehicle.
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Mazda MX-5 Cup (
Star Mazda (
Champ Car Atlantic (
