Mazda Racing 2007 Year in Review

[Mindcore]

In 2006, as in years passed, there were more Mazdas on the road-race tracks of America than any other brand of vehicle. With a showroom that includes the exciting MAZDASPEED3, the MAZDASPEED6, the Mazda MX-5, as well as others designed with the soul of a sports car, 2007 promises to be no different.

For 2007, Mazda is adding to a comprehensive motorsports program that already includes competition programs in the American Le Mans Series, SCCA SPEED World Challenge Series, Grand American Rolex and Grand-Am Cup Series, Formula Drift and NHRA Sport Compact series, as well as major series support in driver development series such as the Champ Car Atlantic powered by Mazda, the Star Mazda Championship, and the Mazda MX-5 Cup.

New for 2007 is the beginning of a long-term partnership by Mazda with Skip Barber Racing School LLC. Under the agreement, Skip Barber, the world's largest racing and driving school, will exclusively utilize Mazda vehicles in its training programs at venues including Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in California, Sebring International Raceway and Daytona International Speedway in Florida, Road America in Wisconsin, and Lime Rock Park in Connecticut. As a result, over 7,000 annual Skip Barber graduates a year are expected to complete their Skip Barber training behind the wheel of a Mazda fleet that will include the MAZDA3, Mazda MX-5 and Mazda RX-8.

Even more exciting for motorsport fans, the partnership will also mean that Mazda engines will soon provide power to the 120 racecars used in the "Skip Barber Racing School Powered by Mazda" and the "Skip Barber Race Series Powered by Mazda." With an annual graduating class of over 5,000 students at 20 tracks across the nation, the Skip Barber Racing School functions as an important resource for aspiring racers. Alumni of the school have included Jeff Gordon, Michael and Marco Andretti, and Juan Pablo Montoya.

The Mazda support of the Skip Barber Racing School programs, extend Mazda's already unparalleled motorsports development program. From spec-Miata competition to Champ Car Atlantic, the developmental path of the next generation of motorsport champions is being paved by Mazda.

On the road and on the track, 2007 promises to be another Zoom-Zoom year.

American Le Mans Series

Mazda's return to top-tier sports car competition is only two years young, but has already produced impressive results. Following a Mazda sports car competition heritage that includes the only overall 24 Hours of Le Mans victory by a Japanese team (1991, Mazda 787B) to date, the Mazda Renesis rotary-powered B-K Motorsports Courage entered into American Le Mans Series P2 Category competition in 2005 with rookies and Star Mazda series graduates Guy Cosmo and Jamie Bach sharing driving duties.

The combination of Mazda rotary power and talented drivers proved an instant success as the team debuted to a second place finish and went on to eight additional podium finishes, including one victory, en route to a third place championship finish. The performance netted Cosmo and Bach Co-Rookie of the Year honors from the series.

In 2006, increased competition in the category provided additional challenges to the young team. Nevertheless, the team again finished the championship in third place.

Competition is expected only to increase and become even more challenging in 2007, and B-K Motorsports and Mazda are rising to the occasion with a recharged ALMS P2 program. The 2007 program will be centered on a new clean sheet design Mazda MZR-R engine developed by MAZDASPEED engineers in the U.S. and Japan, in conjunction with U.K. based Advanced Engine Research Ltd. The turbocharged 2.0 liter in-line four cylinder engine is being designed to generate 500hp and 400 lb-ft, while meeting the rigors of grueling endurance contests in the series such as the 12 Hours of Sebring and 10-hour Petit Le Mans event.

In addition to the new engine package, the team will also be fielding an entirely new Lola B07/40 chassis in place of the current Courage C65 chassis that the team currently fields. While the Renesis-rotary powered Courage C65 has been relatively successful in two years of competition, the new combination from Mazda and B-K Motorsports is designed to be competitive in the current rules and competition environment - which included new entries Porsche and Acura.

The team will also return to the series with a new driver mix; while Jamie Bach will return for his third season with B-K Motorsports, Englishman Ben Devlin will be joining the team for the first time. As well, 2005 Star Mazda Champion and Champ Car Atlantic competitor Raphael Matos will return to the team for endurance events.

Bach will enter the 2007 season with two solid years of experience, one victory, and several podiums under his belt. To this, Devlin adds over five years of experience in LMP2 competition, multiple victories, as well as extensive experience in chassis development. Matos, who was also the 2003 champion in the Skip Barber Racing Series, joined the B-K Motorsports team for Sebring test last year as the Star Mazda champion and subsequently earned the third seat in the team's first 12 Hours of Sebring outing. Matos will return to Sebring with the team and then again for the Petit Le Mans enduro later in the year.

American Le Mans Series :: World Class

Cooper Tires presents the Champ Car Atlantic Championship Powered By Mazda

The excitement surrounding the Cooper Tires presents the Champ Car Atlantic Championship powered by Mazda series has been high even before the historic start of last year's season opener at Long Beach. At the famed street circuit, the premier open wheel driver development series in the nation debuted a new look anchored by a new Swift chassis powered by an advanced 300 hp Mazda engine. The combination was highly acclaimed from the first development laps, but after twelve closely fought races, one of the most exciting seasons in Champ Car Atlantic history was further proof that the new Mazda-infused series was entering a new epoch.

Developed by Cosworth, the naturally-aspirated Mazda MZR four-cylinder engine provided reliable and powerful motivation for competition fields that routinely numbered over two-dozen. And with their hardware equally matched, it was up to driver talent and teamwork to decide who would be finishing ahead of the pack. Talent, though, was not in short supply as talented rookies Simon Pagenaud and Andreas Wirth and Star Mazda graduates like Graham Rahal and Raphael Matos took to the street and closed circuits alongside returning veterans. Ultimately, it was a season for the rookies, with Pagenaud notching the championship just ahead of Rahal, the son of legendary Champ Car driver and team owner Bobby Rahal. In addition to the title, Pagenaud received a $2 million dollar championship bonus as well as instant test offers from top Champ Car teams.

For 2007, Mazda motorsports fans can expect even more thrills as the series gains further momentum with new presenting sponsor Cooper Tires and a revised 12 race schedule that adds a couple of exciting new venues to a long list of returning driver favorites. One of the challenging new courses is the Streets of Las Vegas temporary street course of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The glittering lights of downtown Las Vegas casinos will provide an electrifying backdrop as "Sin City" gets ready to host the season opener for the series on April 8.

What happens in Vegas won't stay in Vegas (as far as racing goes) though, as the series then returns to Long Beach for its second round. Houston, Portland, Cleveland, Toronto, Edmonton, San Jose, and Road America all return to the schedule as well while the 2.65-mile Circuit Mont Tremblant road course in Quebec joins the series as the third international venue on the schedule.

With top two 2006 finishers Pagenaud and Rahal expected to graduate to the Champ Car series and Wirth already with a Champ Car race under his belt (Australia, Oct 2006), the possibilities are wide open for returning Champ Car Atlantic stars like Matos, who was the 2005 Star Mazda series champion. Every season brings new talent though, and 2007 will be no exception with rookies like 17-year-old Robert Wickens and 15-year-old John Edwards, both Red Bull Junior Team driver program members, joining the fight.

To top it all off, a new ABC/ESPN TV package joins coverage of the series on SPEED TV to provide more opportunities than ever for fans to catch the lap-by-lap action; coverage of the Champ Car Atlantic series on the ABC/ESPN networks begins with the Houston race.

Champ Car Atlantic

Star Mazda Championship Presented By Goodyear

With programs like the newly announced Skip Barber Race Series Powered by Mazda feeding the series and incentives like a $100,000 championship bonus and the keys to a brand new Renesis-rotary powered Mazda RX-8, the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear series has no shortage of excitement. The long-running Mazda Renesis-rotary powered series has continued to grow phenomenally since the introduction of the Pro Formula Mazda chassis and its Renesis rotary powerplant in 2004.

In fact, many series alumni from 2005 and 2006 have already starred in top-level ladder series like Champ Car Atlantic powered by Mazda and Indy Pro, and above - in the Champ Car Series and the Indy 500 (Marco Andretti), the crown race of the Indy Car Series. Star Mazda's influence even extends to Formula One through series graduate Scott Speed, the only American competing in the premier international open wheel series.

The series continues an important a mid-level stepping stone to the top professional and developmental series. As an integral part of their comprehensive and unparalleled motorsports development program, Mazda has provided test opportunities to series champions as part of the Star Mazda championship package, including past tests with the B-K Motorsports Courage-Mazda P2 American Le Mans Series program and the teams racing in the Champ Car Atlantic series.

For Adrian "Ace" Carrio, the 2006 Star Mazda Champion, the championship perks also included the waiver of all Champ Car Atlantic entry and competition fees should he compete in the series in 2007 as well as numerous private testing offers.

For 2007, new teams continue to swell the Star Mazda ranks - which topped 41 entries at its stopover at the Canadian F1 Grand Prix and the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Once again, the state-of-the-art carbon fiber monocoque Pro Formula Mazda, a racer powered by the same 240-hp Mazda Renesis rotary engine you can find in the Mazda RX-8 sports car, provides a fast, reliable platform for each driver to display their driving talent. The 2007 field includes an international rookie list that includes Venezuelan Ricardo Vasmmer, a Formula Ford 2000 standout, and Tyson Sy, Asian Formula 3 series star from the Philippines.

The 2007 Star Mazda Championship schedule is again comprised of 12 challenging stops across North America, beginning at Sebring International Raceway on March 16 and finishing seven months later at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on October 20. Other returning events include support races at Champ Car, ALMS, and Grand-Am series events at Houston, Salt Lake City, Portland, Road America, Trois-Rivieres, Mosport, and Road Atlanta. New to the series for 2007 will be stops at Virginia International Raceway, Cleveland, and Toronto.

[Mindcore]

SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship

The chase for the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship will once again provide thrilling action for Mazda fans across the country. In 2006, the top touring car series in the nation visited 11 of the top temporary and permanent road courses with over two dozen closely matched entries all fighting for the top spot on the podium.

In fact, driver Randy Pobst nearly delivered the championship to Mazda fans - falling out of contention for the top spot only at the last race of the year. Piloting the #73 MAZDASPEED Tri-Point Motorsports MAZDA6, Pobst finished with four podiums, two victories, and a deficit of only 19 points shy of the championship.

In addition, Pobst's Tri Point teammates - Jeff Altenburg and Dino Crescentini, and other top MAZDA6-based competitors like Charles Espenlaub, helped earn a second place finish for Mazda in the Manufacturer's Championship.

In 2007, Mazda is aiming to improve one spot in both series championships. The three-car MAZDA6 charge from the Tri-Point Motorsports team, as well as from other Mazda-based teams such as Tindol Motorsports, will again face off against the best in a field that included entries from Acura, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.

The 2007 SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship is scheduled to begin again at Sebring International Raceway on March 14. While the entire schedule was not finalized at press time, the series has scheduled stopovers at Salt Lake City; Toronto and Ontario, Canada; Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca; and Road Atlanta.

SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge

Grand American Rolex and Grand-Am Cup Series

After two championships in three years of competition, Mazda's efforts in Grand-American Road Racing Association competition will be expanded into the Grand American Rolex Series GT Class.

Led by a multi-car Mazda RX-8 program from Florida-based SpeedSource Race Engineering, Mazda earned the 2005 Manufacturer's Cup in the Grand-Am Cup ST category. In addition, SpeedSource and drivers Sylvain Tremblay and David Haskell earned back to back drivers and team championships in 2004 and 2005.

The strength of that success led to the announcement of a limited schedule Mazda RX-8 GT program in 2006. Despite the restricted program, the 3-rotor Renesis-powered Mazda RX-8 showed promising potential in only four starts - including a second place finish at Homestead; it was more than enough for Mazda and SpeedSource to plan a full Rolex GT program for 2007.

SpeedSource teamed with MAZDASPEED engineers to develop the unique three-rotor, Renesis-based 20B rotary engine while the tube-frame, carbon intensive race chassis of the GT RX-8 was developed by Riley Technologies. The potent package will provide ample challenge to a field of top GT entries that include Porches, BMWs, Corvettes, and even Ferrari.

SpeedSouce driver and team owner Sylvain Tremblay will team with Nick Ham for the GT season. In addition, Mazda SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car driver Randy Pobst and SpeedSource's David Haskell will join the team for the season-opening Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.

Grand-Am

NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Drag Racing

In 2006, Mazda racers were an integral part of the most exciting season in the NHRA Xplod Sport Compact Drag Racing series' young competition history. Sport compact veteran Ed Bergenholtz's second, consecutive ProFWD Championship behind the wheel of the Team Bergenholtz Audiobahn MAZDA6 highlighted the action-filled season for Mazda fans.

The team's 1,300+ hp, turbocharged four-cylinder Audiobahn reached the final round seven times and turned four of those visits into trips to the winner's circle to claim their second prestigious NHRA title. Mazda's success in the top tier front-wheel drive category was complemented by strong performances in the RWD-based Modified category as well as the naturally-aspirated All Motor category.

For 2007, Mazda-based competitors will once again be challenging some of the world's quickest and fastest sport compacts at 11 events across the country. Once again, the season gets underway March 31 at the Moroso Motorsports Park facility in West Palm Beach, Fla. The series then treks north to Virginia and Englishtown, NJ, before heading west to Topeka, Kansas for a stopover (ProRWD category only) with the NHRA's POWERade Series on June 2. The season continues with all categories being contested at Atco, NJ and Las Vegas before a historic stopover in Indianapolis for the ProRWD and ProFWD categories at the legendary NHRA Matco Tools U.S. Nationals. The two top pro categories of the series then continue to tour with the NHRA's premier series with a return to the Texas Motorplex in Ennis, before finishing up with all categories at Englishtown for the Fall Nationals and the World Finals at historic Pomona Raceway.

While the start of the 2007 season is a few months away, the current off-season has not been quiet for Mazda-based teams and drivers.

Team Bergenholtz is expected to return to defend their 2006 championship and compete for a record third consecutive ProFWD category, though changes to their program - which include the team's Audiobahn-sponsored All Motor MAZDA3 - are expected. While the team was not ready to make an official announcement at press time, plenty of other Mazda teams have made their official plans known.

Some of the biggest news for Mazda fans came from Modified competitor Demetrios "Dee" Karagiannis' announcement of a new MAZDASPEED3 drag program. The Karagiannis Racing MAZDASPEED3 is already under development and is expected to be finished in time for the season opener. Featuring a RWD race configuration, the highly modified drag car will still run motivation based on the MAZDASPEED3 road car's 2.3L MAZDA DISI four-cylinder engine - though modified and turbocharged to well over 1,000 hp in its race application. In making the switch to the Mazda-supported MAZDASPEED3 program, Karagiannis is retiring the team's venerable Mazda RX-7. Behind the wheel of the turbocharged RX-7, Karagiannis ended the 2006 season near the top of the Modified Category championship with two final rounds and one victory to his credit.

Rotaries and Mazda drag racing are synonymous though and Mazda rotary fans won't have to look far for inspiration; dozens of Mazda rotary-based entries routinely competed in the series in 2006 and that is not expected to change this year.

Certainly not for Ken Scheepers, the longtime Mazda rotary racer and runner-up to the 2003 All Motor championship has been hard at work over the past two seasons developing his ground-breaking Modified Category Mazda RX-8 and is confident 2007 will be a breakout season. The veteran racer finished 2006 with testing at Bradenton Motorsports Park in Bradenton, Florida that produced multiple seven-second timeslips with a 7.601 @ 175.162 mph best clocking. The Texas native plans to join Karagiannis for an all-out Mazda assault on the Modified Category.

Of course, other privateers, like Puerto Rican racer Jorge Lazcano - who nearly topped the category in 2006, are expected to be an integral part of the Mazda excitement at drag strips around the country.

NHRA Xplōd Sport Compact Racing Series home page

Formula Drift North American Drifting Championship

The premier drifting championship in North America continues to provide a unique motorsports experience as it enters its fourth year of competition. As the popularity of drifting - a highly-skilled form of driving where drivers purposely "drift" sideways through corners - continues to grow exponentially, the Formula Drift series showcases the highest form of competition-format drifting.

Good handling and balance are requirements that are critical to success in the series. Not coincidentally, Mazda sports cars like the RX-7, RX-8 and MX-5, are designed with these qualities and are chosen by competitors for drift competition world wide. In fact, Youichi Imamura, the 2003 D1 Grand Prix Japanese series champion, slid his way to the top in a FD3S Mazda RX-7.

In 2006, the series made seven stops from coast to coast to crown its third champion. For 2007, the series schedule expands to include five Team Drift events that take place in conjunction with Champ Car weekends. The seven-round Championship series begins for the second consecutive year at the Long Beach Grand Prix street circuit; stops on the tour will again include Road Atlanta, Infineon Raceway, and Wall Speedway before finishing up at Irwindale Speedway.

Mazda-based entries, which have included prominent entries such as the Falken Tires Mazda RX-7, BRS Autodesign RX-7, Grenade Mazda RX-8, Ross Petty, and Calvin Wan are expected to grow to include a new RX-8 entry from Falken Tires being prepared by Speed Machine.

Sirius Satellite Radio presents the Mazda MX-5 Cup

The inaugural Sirius Satellite Radio presents the Mazda MX-5 Cup series proves as wildly popular as the original spec-Miata series it evolved from. Featuring identical-spec latest generation Mazda MX-5s, the Mazda MX-5 Cup provides one of the best first rungs in a complete Mazda-supported driver development ladder system that now includes the Skip Barber Pro Series, the Star Mazda Championship, and the Champ Car Atlantic Championship.

As the latest incarnation of the world's most popular sports car, the third generation Mazda MX-5 provides a platform with world-class handling at a low-cost-of-entry. Combine that with high-exposure events and TV coverage and the result is one of the best entry-level series for aspiring racers to develop and showcase their talents.

Over 48 different drivers competed in the eight-event 2006 series, with many starting grids filled by 20 or more cars. Despite the awesome challenge, Team MER teammates Jim Daniels and Jason Sinai ran away from the competition, with Daniels scoring a healthy 226 points for the inaugural MX-5 Cup Championship.

With new teams, including a 6-car announcement from Hooverspeed, joining the series during the off-season and other teams stepping up their efforts, the 2007 Mazda MX-5 Cup series promises to be even more exciting for fans of Zoom-Zoom.

SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup

SCCA National Championship Runoffs and Solo National Championship

On any given weekend, there are more Mazdas on the road-race tracks of America than any other brand of vehicle; there's no better proof of this than at grassroots events like the hundreds of SCCA organized events that take place every weekend throughout the country.

Of these, the SCCA National Championship Runoffs and the SCCA Solo National Championship are special. No other events in the country capture the spirit of amateur competition like the annual Runoffs and Solo Championship events.

Not coincidentally, there's no better place to see Mazda enthusiasm in action. In 2006, Mazdas again accounted for more of the entry field for these events than any other brand of vehicle.

Dates for the 2007 SCCA National Championship Runoffs and the 2007 SCCA Solo National Championship have not been announced at press time; both events are hosted (at different dates) by Heartland Park in Topeka, Kansas.

For fans of grassroots motorsports, and for Mazda enthusiasts, the Runoffs and Solo Nationals remain must-see events.

[Wantone]

Wow that's a long article!

[Mindcore]

It was a long year

[Supersonic]

Anyone know if the dates have been set for this season? I can't seem to find a list