March Madness Begins For Mazda Motorsports

Circuit of the Americas features a 251 feet (77 m) observation tower designed by Miró Rivera Architects and built by Patriot Erectors as a landmark for the venue. All racers have come away impressed, after their first laps, with the Circuit of The Americas, a 3.4-mile facility built to host Formula One and other major events. Image Credit: Grand Am

Circuit of the Americas features a 251 feet (77 m) observation tower designed by Miró Rivera Architects and built by Patriot Erectors as a landmark for the venue. All racers have come away impressed, after their first laps, with the Circuit of The Americas, a 3.4-mile facility built to host Formula One and other major events. Image Credit: Grand Am

GRAND-AM Road Racing teams got their first look at America’s newest motorsports venue on Thursday with unofficial testing for Saturday’s GRAND-AM of The Americas presented by GAINSCO and TOTAL.

They came away impressed with the Circuit of The Americas, a 3.4-mile facility built to host Formula One and other major events.

- See more at: http://www.grand-am.com/News/GA_News/tabid/141/Article/53285/starworks-fords-fastest-at-circuit-of-the-americas-test-day.aspx?cid=6383&sid=1#sthash.J52i92ur.dpuf

March Madness Begins For Mazda Motorsports

With 15 races run in seven supported series taking place at three different race tracks located in two different states in only one month, Mazda is ramping up the 2013 professional racing season with their usual hectic month of March.

Starting with races on March 1st in Austin, Texas, before going on to overseeing two busy weekends in Florida, at Mazda Motorsports racing is not just a single series, but the majority of all sports car and open wheel road-racing classes in North America.  2013 highlights on the professional level will include:

There has never been a four-door diesel sedan in the Grand-Am series, until now: The blunt, bewinged grille of the Mazda6GX has blown right through that wall. It's said that racing improves the breed, but usually the breed has gone on sale when the racing begins. One of the unusual aspects of the Mazda6 GX, on the other hand, is that while the diesel won't go on sale to the public until later this year, it will already have tasted racing blood by the end of the day. Caption & Image Credit: Jonathon Ramsey/autoblog (2013)

GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series (GRAND-AM)

The GRAND-AM Championship will be the first professional series other than Formula 1 to headline at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The SpeedSource Engineering team will have a pair of totally new technology SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel powered Mazda6s competing in the new for 2013 GX class on Saturday, March 2nd. Twitter Hashtag - #COTAGA

The MAZDASPEED3 and MX-5s compete in the ST class of the Grand Am Continental Tire Challenge. Image Credit: MAZDASPEED

GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC)

Supporting GRAND-AM in Austin will be the fiercely competitive ‘Conti’ (for Continental Tires) series. At least a half dozen Mazdas from Freedom Autosport, i-Moto Racing, and CJ Wilson Racing will be challenging for the ST Class win in Austin. Twitter Hashtag - #COTAGA

Dyson Racing is celebrating its thirtieth year in professional sports car racing this year. It is fitting that long-time Dyson Racing driver, Butch Leitzinger, will be joining Chris Dyson and Guy Smith in the #16 Thetford/Norcold entry for the sixty-first annual Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring on March 16th. Caption & Image Credit: Dyson Racing

American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón (ALMS)

With its race starting in Florida, the final American Le Mans Series (as ALMS becomes merged with Grand Am Series) season will kick-off with the 61st Mobil-1 12 Hours of Sebring on Saturday, March 16th. Dyson Racing will be returning to the series with their Mazda MZR-R-powered Lola. This is the same car that scored the ALMS LMP1 class win at the 2012 Sebring race.

The SCCA Pro Racing Mazda MX-5 Cup season got it’s unofficial start Feb.11, 2013 at Sebring International Raceway, with a number of teams and drivers gathered at the series’ official test session for two days on Monday and Tuesday. Caption & Image Credit Weber Photo via MX-5 Cup

SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup (MX-5 Cup)

The seventh season of MX-5 Cup competition will begin at Sebring. Joining the MX-5 Cup Championship for the second year will be a MAZDASPEED Challenge class for racers from the Skip Barber Racing School.

The Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires will debut in 2013 as a new series, replacing the Star Mazda Championship which ceased operation in 2012 after 22 years. The series is sanctioned by INDYCAR and owned and operated by Andersen Promotions. It is the second official step on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder system with the series' champion awarded a scholarship package from Mazda to advance to Firestone Indy Lights competition the following year. Caption & Image Credit: Pro Mazda

Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires (Pro Mazda)

The Cooper Tires Pro Mazda Championship takes off where the Star Mazda Championship ended in 2012, as the linchpin in the Mazda Road to Indy (MRTI). The rotary-powered Pro Mazda racers will complete a double-header at the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on March 1st/2nd before heading to the streets of St. Petersburg on March 23rd/24th. Twitter Hashtag - #COTAGA

Drivers today have a clearly defined ladder system as they aspire to reach the top echelons of the sport and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda represents the first official step on the Mazda Road to Indy. Caption & Image Credit: USF2000

Cooper Tires USF2000 National Championship Powered By Mazda (USF2000)

The USF2000 Championship kicks off their season at Sebring on March 14th/15th, before joining up with the other MRTI series in St. Petersburg.  

The Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship Powered by Mazda was developed to support the American Le Mans series, one of the premier prototype and GT endurance racing series in the world. The series features global race car constructors Élan Motorsport Technologies and West Race Cars and offers racers from around the world the opportunity to compete at historic venues like Sebring International Raceway, Road Atlanta and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Caption & Image Credit: Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Championship Powered by Mazda

Cooper Tires IMSA Prototype Lites Powered By Mazda (IMSA Lites)

The IMSA Lites Championship kicks off their season at Sebring on March 14th/15th with a double-header.
(ht: MAZDA Motorsports)

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Pro Mazda Championship Gaining SpeedSource Focus

 

As the primary constructor for the GRAND-AM Rolex GT RX-8, SpeedSource led a field of Mazda products in capturing the 2010 Manufacturers championship. Since the program's inception, SpeedSource has been the exclusive supplier of rotary engines to Mazda GRAND-AM Rolex GT teams. SpeedSource's latest project has been the development of the Mazda SKYACTIV-D compound turbo diesel motorsports engine for use in GRAND-AM's GX class in 2013. Image Credit: Pro Mazda Championship

Pro Mazda Championship Gaining SpeedSource Focus

The Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires has contracted the services of SpeedSource Race Engineering as the Official Engine Builder and Technical Consultant of the newly formed Mazda Road to Indy series which fills the opening vacated by Star Mazda. The Coral Springs, Fla., company will begin the re-manufacturing of all Mazda Renesis rotary engines currently used in the championship to 2013 specifications and also provide internal modifications to ensure parity between engines and greater longevity of a season or more.

In addition to a long and notable history of racing under the Mazda banner, SpeedSource is the exclusive engine supplier of rotary engines to Mazda-powered GRAND-AM Rolex GT teams and is currently developing the Mazda SKYACTIV-D compound turbo diesel motorsports engine for the 2013 GRAND-AM GX class. Founded and led by accomplished driver and team owner Sylvain Tremblay in 1995 to provide full-service race services and custom components to club level and professional drivers, the company operates out of a 50,000 square foot facility that houses both development and racing applications.

"I am very pleased to add SpeedSource to our list of high-quality partners," said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions, the series promoter. "Although I have not had prior dealings with SpeedSource, it is clear to me that they not only have an impressive resume and reputation but also have put together a great new Pro Mazda engine program. I am very confident that this will result in a better championship for our competing teams."

SpeedSource will begin the remanufacturing process on Pro Mazda engines this month. The program will be fully implemented by May 1. Prior to this date, competitors will have the option of using either SpeedSource engines or prior specification engines built and sealed by the former Star Mazda Series with SpeedSource mapping to ensure parity. All cars entered after May 1 and any one-off entries which have not been through the SpeedSource process will undergo a rev limiter adjustment to offset any disparity.

"We are very proud to have been chosen as the engine supplier for the Pro Mazda Series," said Tremblay. "The series itself has a great standing and we look forward to continuing the fantastic reputation of Mazda's Renesis rotary engine. Andersen Promotions has been great to work with and it is easy to see why they are the primary resource for Mazda's ladder program." 

The Mazda Renesis rotary engine used in Pro Mazda is capable of producing 260 horsepower – providing an additional 90 horsepower over the Mazda MZR powerplant utilized in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, the first step on the Mazda Road to Indy. The internationally award-winning engine also powers the Mazda RX-8 passenger car.

"With years of Mazda racing experience and specifically rotary engine experience on their resume, SpeedSource Race Engineering was the logical choice to serve as the new engine builders for the Pro Mazda Championship," said John Doonan, Director Mazda Motorsports, Mazda North American Operations. "They have put Mazda rotary engines to the ultimate tests in endurance racing and have hundreds of victories to show for it, including two Rolex 24 victories in the last five years. Mazda has every confidence that the work SpeedSource does for the Pro Mazda Championship will provide reliable engines that have a performance window that will continue the great, close racing that this series has been known for throughout its history."

A schedule for the 2013 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires will be announced in the near future. Additional information can be found at www.promazdachampionship.com.
(ht: Pro Mazda Championship)

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** Article first published as Pro Mazda Championship Gaining SpeedSource Focus on Technorati **