Mazda Raceway Triple-Header Will Decide Championship in Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car class.

After 15 of 18 races completed, Mazda holds a 21 point lead for the Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car Manufacturers Championship.  That lead is thanks to the combined efforts of Breathless Performance, EASTEX Motorsports, BERG Racing, Snader Racing, and Hale Motorsports.  Mazda racers Ernie Francis Jr. and Adam Poland are currently placed second and fourth in the drivers’ championship.  The championships will be decided this weekend, September 11-13, at Mazda Raceway.

“I can’t thank our Mazda racers enough.  We are leading the Touring Car points chase and have scored wins in TC, TCA, and TCB.  Having the season conclude at Mazda Raceway, in conjunction with the Mazda Road to Indy finale makes for a special weekend,” said John Doonan, director of motorsports, Mazda North American Operations.

The Pirelli World Challenge comprises seven different classes of competition, with Mazda racers competing in three. The Mazda MX-5 has been racing head-to-head with Porsche, Honda, Nissan, Volvo, VW Hyundai, and Ford in the Touring Car (TC) class. In the Touring Car “A” (TCA) class, for cars with fewer modifications, both the Mazda RX-8 and MX-5 compete with Honda and Kia. In Touring Car “B-Spec” (TCB) the nimble Mazda2 is up against the Honda Fit, Mini Cooper and Fiat 500.

Several of the Mazda racecars at Mazda Raceway will be carrying artwork for the SPCA for Monterey County. Mazda racers have promoted shelter animal adoptions at various races around the country since 2007. Mazda racers will be making a “pet stop” at the shelter on Thursday afternoon at 3:00 PM, and the Mazda Foundation will be making a check presentation to the SPCA at the track on Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM.

Mazda Entries for this weekend in addition to Francis Jr. and Poland include Touring Car MX-5s for Randy Hale, John Weisberg and Austin Snader; TCA RX-8s for Kevin Anderson and Gino Carini; Steve Bottom in a TCA MX-5; and TCB Mazda2s for Joey Jordan, James Wilson, Steve Taake and Cameron Parsons.