Mazda's New SKYACTIV-D Technology Sets First Racing Mark

Visit Florida Racing Mazda6 takes Grand-Am GX win at Road Atlanta as Mazda's SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel engine technology occupies P1 and P3 on the podium. Image Credit: Mazda Motorsports

Mazda's New SKYACTIV-D Technology Sets First Racing Mark

The fruits of real-time, in-season race development program become realized after only four races into the first Grand-Am GX Class season. The all-new Mazda6, powered by a production-based SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel engine, scored a win in the Rolex Grand-Am GX race at Road Atlanta.

#70 Mazda6 with the SKYACTIV-D turbo diesel showcar where the two turbo assist devices are used primarily to cool the engine as opposed to directly add to the development of power or torque. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

In 2013, the Grand-Am racing series for full-bodied GT cars added a new class of racing platform to its field of formally pedestrian but hardened sedan cars that can be purchased from dealerships around the country. The GX Class will have 13 models from 12 different manufacturers to choose from, based on the list of cars eligible for the new GX class in the Rolex Sports Car Series. Eligible cars announced for the class include the Lotus Evora GX, Porsche Cayman, Mazda6 with the SKYACTIV-D turbo diesel, Audi TT, BMW 1 Series, Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus (four door), Hyundai Genesis, Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S, Nissan 370Z or Altima, and Volkswagen EOS.

SpeedSource engineering improvements to the factory SKYACTIV-D clean diesel engine include changes to the crankshaft, fuel intake manifolds and pistons. Images Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

Joel Miller and Andrew Carbonell drove the #00 Visit Florida Racing Mazda6 to the win, with team-mates Sylvain Tremblay and Tom Long finishing third in the similar #70 SpeedSource Mazda6 SKYACTIV-D.  It was a three-way battle for most of the race with a Porsche Cayman splitting the two Mazdas.

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This win represented a day of firsts for Grand-Am competition and for Mazda Motorsports.  This is the first-ever win for a diesel-powered car in Grand-Am competition.  It also marked the first win for the all-new Mazda6 in any race series.  It was the first Grand-Am race win for drivers Joel Miller and Andrew Carbonell.  Miller is a former Mazda Motorsports Scholarship winner, having won the Skip Barber National Championship in 2007.  Carbonnell has been racing Mazdas with Freedom Autosport for many years, and was part of the team that delivered the 2011 Continental Tire ST Manufacturers Championship to Mazda.  Carbonell was substituting for Miller’s usual teammate, Tristan Nunez, who had a schedule conflict with another race in Long Beach.

GX Class Mazda6 driver Joel Miller (r) discussed how driving a diesel-powered race requires a different, "more loving" feel in acceleration and shifting than other gasoline fueled race cars. It is kinda like "hyper-miling" for the race track because the strongest power band on diesel performance is a little tighter with lower RPM at the top of the range. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

"The new Mazda6 prepared by SpeedSource ran perfectly," said Joel Miller, co-driver of the #00 Visit Florida Racing Mazda6 in a post race interview. "The torque of the SKYACTIV-D pulled up the elevation changes around Road Atlanta circuit strongly and the Mazda6 handled beautifully. During the course of the race we attacked when needed and paced ourselves when required. The event had only one caution during the two-hour and 45 minutes race, thus there was hardly any time to relax. The SpeedSource crew was in constant communication with myself and co-driver Andrew Carbonell as we worked through traffic. Bringing home the victory for the SpeedSource crew who worked so hard on this program brings great joy and I cannot wait to continue the [development] program. Over the past eight years Mazda has taken me from karting through their ladder program. I’m proud to be racing the Mazda6 and to be a part of Mazda history in gaining the first SKYACTIV Technology victory."

Joel Miller is the Southern California driver who's mother gave title to a 2011 documentary featuring the Star Mazda Series, an open-wheel driver development series that has since changed its banner to the Pro Mazda Series. "Driven To Race" was billed as a documentary film effort about what it takes to win which garnered several film festival awards when it was debuted.

Sylvain Tremblay, owner of SpeedSource Engineering, explains what changes were made to the Mazda6 SKYACTIVE-D clean diesel engine pistons for racing in the Grand-Am GX Class at the Mazda Motorsport 2013 media kick off meeting. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2013)

The truth behind this new Mazda6 SKYACTIVE-D development and win in the Grand-Am GX Class can be summed up by the owner of SpeedSource Engineering (the engineering firm behind the race tuned Mazda effort), Sylvain Tremblay. "While Joel and Andrew sprayed the champagne, this win truly defined the expression, ‘team work.’ The victory is shared with everyone at SpeedSource, Mazda North American Operations and Mazda Motor Corporation, and is a tribute to the thousands of hours of hard work over many months," said Sylvain. "After that rough debut at Daytona, everyone stepped up to make sure we had a fast, reliable car as soon as was humanly possible. The normal plan with a new car is to spend the first year in development, the second year seeking race wins, and challenging for a championship in year three. We are already at our year-two status after four races. We can’t wait to get to the Belle Isle course in Detroit for round five."

... notes from The EDJE

Mazda Burnishes New Mazda6 Clean-Diesel Reputation

Mazda announces its participation in the 2013 Grand Am racing series in front of the media crowd gathered at the LA Auto Show during Press Days. Image Credit:Edmund Jenks (2012)

Mazda Burnishes New Mazda6 Clean-Diesel Reputation

Mazda North American Operations, in a move to further enhance its reputation as a company that builds cars that are fun to drive, announced that the new, redesigned Mazda6, Mazda's flagship mid-sized car, will be entered into the Grand Am series running on Mazda's SKYACTIV technology clean-diesel.

The 2014 Mazda6 will make its motorsports debut at the Rolex 24 endurance race on January 26-27, 2013 in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Mazda6 racecar will be powered by a Mazda SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel engine (video) and is being developed to compete in the new GRAND-AM GX class.

This announced entrant marks the first time a diesel-powered vehicle of any type will have ever raced at the Rolex 24. Mazda will be seeking their 24th class win in the American endurance classic, having most recently won in 2008 and 2010.

John Doonan, Motorsports Director, Mazda North American Operations noted that:

“We have been eager to announce this car for months, but had to wait until the production car was revealed. The SpeedSource engineering team, working with the Mazda engineers, have been flat out for months on engine development. We’re happy to report that the engine is meeting the performance targets for both power and endurance. That means 400+ hp for over 50 hours, with an engine that includes a very long list of production Mazda parts. This is not a pure race engine; it is a production block SKYACTIV-D. We’re excited about having our newest engine powering our newest car.”

A few of the Mazda Young Guns 2013 - Kenton Koch, Elliott Skeer, Gustavo Menezes, Joey Jordan, at LA Auto Show. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

The Mazda6 was one of the first models declared eligible for the GX class, along with Lotus Evora GX and Porsche Cayman. The class will help nurture emerging technologies such as alternative fuels.

When one first sees the redesigned Mazda6, one is struck at the overall upgrade to the styling, primarily with the front end grille and rear tail light configuration. The front impresses the eye with a look similar to a blending of a Mercedes and a Volvo (not bad styling company), with the rear leaving one with the feel of a high-end Lexus without the ridging jut of the tail-light ... the Mazda6 being smoothed and rounded, say sophisticated.

Strongly influenced by the TAKERI Concept, the Mazda6 makes no excuses for its style, safety and spunk – qualities usually absent in a mid-size sedan. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012) 

The GX racing version of the Mazda6 is being developed by SpeedSource and Mazda engineers. The challenge expects to have two factory entries ready to compete at Daytona.

GX will join the Daytona Prototype and GT classes in events sanctioned by Grand-Am Road Racing in 2013, the last year before Grand-Am and the American Le Mans Series merge in a single organization that has yet to be named.

Models eligible for GX besides the Mazda6, Evora and Cayman include the Audi TT, BMW 1 Series, Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus sedan, Hyundai Genesis, Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S, Nissan 370Z or Altima, and Volkswagen Eos.

The KODO "Soul of Motion" design language commands and creates every facet of the vehicle's handsome sheet metal, from its alluringly swept elongated hood and cab-forward proportions to the chiseled steel shaping its frame, the Mazda6 suggests power and elegance before the gas pedal is even floored to go. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

In making its North American debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the highly-anticipated mid-size sedan will go on sale in January 2013 and be equipped first with a SKYACTIV-G 2.5-liter gasoline engine.  The SKYACTIV-D-equipped version will follow suit during the second half of the year, making Mazda the first Asian manufacturer to offer a modern-technology clean-diesel engine in a non-commercial vehicle. The 2014 Mazda6 also will be the first production vehicle to feature Mazda's capacitor-based brake energy regeneration system called i-ELOOP.

... notes from The EDJE


** Article first published as Mazda Burnishes New Mazda6 Clean-Diesel Reputation on Technorati **