August 2014

Thrilling Spec Miata race caps three days of competition at Road Atlanta. The National Auto Sport Association’s (NASA) ninth annual NASA Championships presented by Toyo Tires Eastern States Championships wrapped the weekend at Road Atlanta on Sunday, including a thrilling Spec Miata race.  Matthew Pombo, winner of both qualifying races, led the 34-car field to […]”

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Grids set for National Championship races at Road Atlanta. The National Auto Sport Association’s (NASA) ninth annual NASA Championships presented by Toyo Tires Eastern States Championships has set the grids for Sunday’s championship races at Road Atlanta.  In the second Spec Miata qualifying race of the weekend, the 34 competitors that took the start were […]”

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East Coast NASA racers tackle Road Atlanta in the first of two championships. The National Auto Sport Association’s (NASA) ninth annual NASA Championships presented by Toyo Tires Eastern States Championships is underway at Road Atlanta.  More than 50 Mazda-powered race cars are competing for top class honors at the first of what is twin NASA […]”

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Concentrating on a few key elements will help you be faster, says six-time champ Bartek Borowski. The key to a successful autocross run starts well before a driver pulls his car up to the starting line. Anybody who’s been to at least one autocross knows that the course walk is important. Because the course changes […]”

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Mazda racers seek NASA championships at Road Atlanta. The National Auto Sport Association’s (NASA) Eastern States Championship takes place this weekend at Road Atlanta. For the first time since the organization started having a national event, it’s splitting it into two different events to encourage more participation on both sides of the country. “We moved […]”

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Mazda Road to Indy Season Concludes: Others to Come

August 28, 2014 (IRVINE, Calif.) – With involvement in over a dozen series, late summer and fall are a busy time for races and award dinners for Mazda Motorsports. This past weekend saw the 2014 season finales for the three Mazda Road to Indy Championships in Sonoma, California, and the clinching of the Cooper Tires IMSA Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda title at VIRginia International Raceway.

“When Mazda established the MAZADSPEED Motorsports Development Ladder System in 2006, we were seeking to grow the sport by allowing talent to move to the next level. We’re happy to celebrate the success of Florian, Spencer, Gabby, and Mikhail this season with more championships coming this fall,” noted John Doonan, Director of Motorsports for Mazda North American Operations.

The Mazda Road to Indy consists of three championships, each a stepping stone on the way to competing in the Verizon IndyCar Championship and the Indy 500. All three championships concluded with a doubleheader weekend at Sonoma Raceway in Northern California.
• Florian Latrobbe won the 2014 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda.
• Spencer Pigot won the 2014 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.
• Gabby Chaves won the 2014 Cooper Tires Indy Lights Championship.

Mikhail Goikhberg clinched the 2014 Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda title at VIRginia International Raceway with his seventh win of the year. Goikhberg will be officially crowned when the series wraps up at Road Atlanta as a part of the Petit Le Mans week.

After ten of 12 races completed, Kenton Koch leads the 2014 Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship. Drake Kemper is the points leader in the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge Class. The season concludes with a doubleheader at Road Atlanta as a part of the Petit Le Mans week.

This coming weekend will be the first of four large grassroots championships.
• The Eastern States NASA Championships are August 29-31 at Road Atlanta.
• The SCCA Solo Championships will be held September 1-5 in Lincoln Nebraska. Mazda racers have scored 213 Solo Championships since 1979.
• The largest and most historic annual club racing event will be even more Mazda-esque this year. The 51st annual SCCA National Championship Runoffs will be held at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on October 6-12. This is the first time since 1968 the event has been held on the West Coast. Over 120 Mazda racers will be competing in 15 of the 27 race groups.
• The Western States NASA Championships are scheduled for November 7-9 at Sonoma Raceway

In the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, The Mazda SKYACTIV Prototype continues to develop in its first season of competition. The final two races of the season are September 20 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and the season finale Petit Le Mans on October 4 at Road Atlanta.

In the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, Mazda remains locked in a three-way battle with Porsche and BMW for the 2014 Street Tuner Manufacturers championship. Mazda is represented by Freedom Autosport and CJ Wilson Racing. The final two races of the season are September 20 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and October 3 at Road Atlanta.

In the Pirelli World Challenge, Mazda has been represented by multiple racers in the Touring Car, and Touring Car A classes with Adam Poland and Ernie Francis Jr. both scoring wins with MX-5s. The World Challenge season will conclude on September 13 at the Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah.

Finally, in a new twist for Mazda Motorsports, simulator racing plays a part with the creation of the iRacing MX-5 Cup. The first champion was Evan Maillard, while the second champion will be determined on October 20.

About Mazda, Mazda Motorsports, and MAZDASPEED
Mazda is a leading player in all aspects of sports car racing with an emphasis on endurance road racing. Mazda is the number-one brand for road-racers across North America among both club racers and professionals. Thousands of Mazda-powered grassroots racers compete in various classes with the SCCA and NASA highlighted by Spec Miata, the world’s largest spec class with over 2,500 cars built. Via the Mazda SportsCar Racing Academy, Mazda supports racers at all levels of the sport from club racing up to the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship where it races with production SKYACTIV Technology.

Mazda remains the only Asian car company to score an overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1991). Mazda has had a naming rights agreement at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca since 2000.

Mazda Motorsports is managed by Mazda North American Operations (MNAO). MNAO is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.

Consumer information can be found at www.mazdausa.com, with press information at www.mazdausamedia.com. Racers and fans can follow the action on Facebook (Mazda Motorsports), Twitter (@mazdaracing), Instagram (MazdaMotorsport) and www.mazdamotorsports.com

Heat and humidity were the first things drivers often mentioned after crawling from their cars following Rounds 11 and 12 of the SCCA Northern Conference Majors Tour races at Grattan Raceway. The effort it took to win on the physically demanding track was the second. With 25-minute races on Saturday and 25-lap races on Sunday […]”

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First BEHIND THE ZOOM driver forum to discuss Road Atlanta ahead of NASA Nationals East. Tonight marks the first forum component in the BEHIND THE ZOOM series; first up, Road Atlanta. The BEHIND THE ZOOM campaign is a series where 12 Mazda factory drivers and champions break down many of the tracks and venues that […]”

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Mazda competitors will have early access to the Mazda area in the paddock at the SCCA National Championship Runoffs. MEMORANDUM TO:              The Mazda Family FROM:         Mazda Motorsports Support Team DATE:          August 26, 2014 SUBJECT:    Early Access Parking, 2014 SCCA Runoffs at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Some of you have returned your 2014 SCCA National Championship Runoffs […]”

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Mazda to host its Solo competitors in Lincoln.  The 2014 Tire Rack SCCA Solo National Championship event at Lincoln Airpark in Lincoln, Neb., is quickly approaching. Mazda would like to invite each of its Mazda competitors plus a team member to a banquet dinner on Thursday, Sept. 4, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The […]”

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Title rivals Gabby Chaves and Jack Harvey leave Sonoma tied on points and wins. As the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires drivers took to the track at Sonoma Raceway for the second of two races in the final weekend of 2014, title rivals Gabby Chaves and Jack Harvey were separated by just a dozen […]”

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Amid drama at Sonoma Raceway, Spencer Pigot beats Scott Hargrove to the championship. With the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires title on the line, it was high drama at Sonoma Raceway as Spencer Pigot left with the championship and the $588,800 MAZDASPEED Driver Development Scholarship to graduate to Indy Lights Presented by Cooper […]”

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Young Frennchman Florian Latorre wins USF2000 finale and title at Sonoma Raceway. The battle for the 2014 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda fittingly came down to Saturday’s USF2000 Grand Prix of Sonoma finale with the three title contenders running one-two-three at the front of the 21-car field. Friday’s winner and title contender, RC […]”

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Paired with different teammates, the Lime Rock-winning duo look for another win. When Hollywood scripts a racing movie, they tend to go overboard.  Having an injured U.S. Marine Staff sergeant winning a professional race, in only his second start, just miles from where he grew up, on the third anniversary of his ‘Alive Day’, after […]”

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A few tricks and tips to make a trip to the SCCA Solo National Championships more effective. The SCCA Solo National Championships, like any other big event, can be a nightmare flurry of last-minute preparation. Trying to get the car prepared, get everything ready and packed for the trip to Lincoln, Neb., where the drivers […]”

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U.S. Marine Staff Sergeant Seeking To Repeat Lime Rock Win August 19, 2014 (IRVINE, Calif.) – When Hollywood scripts a racing movie, they tend to go overboard. Having an injured U.S. Marine Staff Sergeant winning a professional race, in only his second start, just miles from where he grew up, on the third anniversary of […]”

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Mazda Drivers and Champions Supporting their Roots Beginning today, a new feature on mazdamotorsports.com called BEHIND THE ZOOM will bring Mazda’s champions and professionals onto your screen to break down the tracks on which you race to help you be better. To name a few: Road Atlanta, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Sonoma Raceway, and VIRginia […]”

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Pro Mazda Championship and Indy Lights title chases get exciting in penultimate round. Spencer Pigot extended his Pro Mazda Championship lead heading into the finale doubleheader at Sonoma Raceway with a victory on the Milwaukee Mile, while Zach Veach made a big move in the Indy Lights title chase with a bold pass in the […]”

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Spencer Pigot and Scott Hargrove take their Pro Mazda title fight to Milwaukee Two rungs of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder hit one of the few oval venues on the circuit this weekend, the famed Milwaukee Mile at the Wisconisn State Fairgrounds in West Allis. Both the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires and […]”

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Kenton Koch discovers drafting at Road America can be both helpful and cruel. Road America is known for its intense racing due to its mix of fast corners, insane drafting and long straights; it’s North America’s Nurburgring. In the Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich® Tires, these cars create a very big hole in the […]”

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Pro and club racer Andrew Carbonell explains braking techniques to maintain speed. Some will tell you that the key to being fast is how soon you get on the throttle. Others will tell you it’s how late you get on the brakes. For Andrew Carbonell, it’s not about getting on the brakes or on the […]”

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Dean Copeland doubled down at Road America by winning both Rounds nine and 10 of the SCCA Pro Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich® Tires, part of the Road Race Showcase. Saturday’s win marked Copeland’s second in his MX-5 Cup career. For 16 laps, Copeland kept his No. 7 Copeland Motorsports/Sync Speed Inc. MX-5 […]”

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