October 2014 – Page 2 – Mazda Motorsports

Mazda Champion: Rachel Kerswill

Rachel Kerswill is the 2014 SCCA Solo National Championship champion in C Street Ladies. Rachel Kerswill has been to two SCCA Solo National Championships. The fact that her winning percentage is now at 50 percent isn’t that unusual. The unusual part is that she went from worst to first. Granted, there were a few years […]”

The 2014 SCCA Runoffs is Underway

Nearly 130 Mazda racers head to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to seek a Club Racing National Championship. Much has been made of the fact that, for the first time in 46 years, the SCCA National Championship Runoffs will be west of the Mississippi in California. And certainly many are celebrating the fact that the event […]”

Three RallyCross titles for Miata Drivers

Mazdas sweep each rear-wheel drive category at the SCCA RallyCross National Championships. A record-setting 110 drivers made the trip to the I-80 Speedway in Greenwood, Neb., for the SCCA RallyCross National Championships and their chance to take home top honors at the season-ending RallyCross event of 2014. The previous record was 104 entrants at the […]”

Parts Spotlight: Miata Heavy Duty Front Hubs

Now blueprinted! Bearing pre-load is reset on each hub for tighter tolerances. Consider the forces on a front wheel that the average driver generates on a trip to the store, to work or school. Now consider the forces that same corner of the car endures in every turn in a racing situation with a driver […]”

Road Atlanta Weekend Sees Finales in TUDOR, CTSCC, MX-5 Cup and IMSA Lites

October 4, 2014 (BRASELTON, Georgia) – The Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda at Road Atlanta wrapped up the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship on Saturday night. While the headliner was the 10-Hour TUDOR race, the weekend also featured the season finale for the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, and season ending double-headers for both the Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich® Tires and the Cooper Tires IMSA Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda. These four series are among a wide variety of roadracing series featuring Mazda cars and teams. The Mazda Road to Indy seasons wrapped up in late August, while there are still a few more weekends of major club racing events between now and year end.

John Doonan, director of motorsports for Mazda North American Operations noted: “In a traditional ‘racing sense’ the highlight of the season was the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park race where we scored our best finish of the season. But the true highlight of the season is the ‘miracle’ that was achieved in this Mazda program…and the progress that was made each step of the way. What we did by putting a production diesel engine in an endurance racing prototype has never been done before and we believe it is the best way to showcase SKYACTIV Technology and Mazda’s overall brand strength. In the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge we enjoyed three great wins. Both our MX-5 Cup and the IMSA Prototype Lites saw large grids and amazing racing. Congratulations to our latest Mazda SportsCar Racing Academy champions.”

TUDOR United SportsCar Championship – Using the smallest engine, one that is 51 percent stock, meant that the Mazda SKYACTIV team had a huge engineering task in front of them. The team worked tirelessly all year long and their efforts were applauded by competitors and fans alike. The SpeedSource teams finished the season ranked ninth and eleventh in points.

Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge – Thanks to three race wins and a dozen podium finishes from Freedom Autosport and CJ Wilson Racing, Mazda finished third in the ST Manufacturers Championship, just one point behind second place. Andrew Carbonell and Randy Pobst scored two of the wins while Tom Long teamed up with U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Liam Dwyer for their memorable Memorial Day weekend win.

Mazda would like to congratulate three successful alums who claimed championships this weekend. 2008 MX-5 Cup Champion Eric Foss won the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge ST Drivers Championship, 2010 Mazda/Skip Barber Karting Shootout winner Trent Hindman won the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge GS Drivers Championship, and 2007 Star Mazda Champion Dane Cameron won the TUDOR GT Daytona Drivers Championship.

Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich® Tires – Sebastian Landy was the star of the weekend scoring his first two race wins. Kenton Koch finished fourth and second, which added to his six previous wins, earning him the championship. Drake Kemper won the Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge class championship. Lucas Catania was the Rookie-of-the-Year, while his father, Joseph Catania, was awarded the Masters Championship. ALARA Racing was awarded Team-of-the-Year, while Ken Murillo won the Spirit of Mazda award.

Cooper Tires IMSA Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda – Mikhail Goikhberg ended the season the same way he started it – with a win. Goikhberg won nine of the 14 races to easily take the championship. Matt McMurry won the other Lites race at Road Atlanta.

While the Petit weekend closes out the professional road racing season, the action is not completely done for the year. October 10-12 will see the 51st Annual SCCA National Championship Runoffs take place at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. This is the largest club road racing event in the country and more than 500 cars have entered. Among the entries are 132 Mazda and Mazda-powered racers.

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 ∞

MX-5 Cup: Landy Sweeps

Sebastian Landy wins second race at Road Atlanta; Drake Kemper claims Skip Barber MAZDASPEED Pro Challenge title. Sebastian Landy, of Great Falls, Va., completed the weekend sweep at Road Atlanta after winning Round 12 of the SCCA Pro Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich® Tires. Kenton Koch, of Glendora, Calif., and Joey Bickers, of […]”

MX-5 Cup: Landy wins, Koch is champ

Sebastian Landy wins penultimate round at Road Atlanta while Kenton Koch claims the Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich® Tires title. Sebastian Landy won the battle, but Kenton Koch won the war. Landy, of Great Falls, Va., captured the top spot in Round 11 of the SCCA Pro Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by BFGoodrich […]”

20 Years of Prototype Technology

Sylvain Tremblay compares the 1991 Mazda 787B and the current Mazda SKYACTIV Diesel Prototype. There’s no doubt that racing technology, like every facet of technology, has advanced rapidly in the last two decades. Although to a casual observer, a prototype racer from the early ’90s may not look vastly different from a current closed-cockpit prototype […]”