Mazda Celebrates Racing Success in NYC

NEW YORK, Oct. 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- After closing out a dynamic 2013 Rolex Grand-Am GX season with nine-straight wins, the Mazda Motorsports team proceeded to New York City for the annual post-season awards celebration.  Mazda teams and racers received multiple awards and recognitions during the Grand-Am awards gala, highlighted by Mazda winning the 2013 Grand-Am GX Manufacturers Championship.   

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131001/LA89960)

In twelve races, the SpeedSource Mazda team scored nine wins, five for the #00 VISITFLORIDA.com Mazda6 and four for the #70 Castrol Edge Mazda6.  The season highlights were many:

• First diesel to compete in Grand-Am competition
• First diesel to win in Grand-Am competition
• First diesel to ever win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
• Winner - North American Endurance Championship Presented by VISITFLORIDA.com (GX Class)
• Winner - Grand-Am Manufacturers Championship (GX Class)
• Sunoco Diamond Performance Award for most laps led during the season - #70 Mazda6
• TOTAL Performance Lubricants Pole Award – Tom Long with seven (7) pole positions
• Monticello Motorsports Club Grand-Am Rookie-of-the-Year – Joel Miller
• Rolex "Moment of the Year" Finalist

In accepting the GX Manufacturers Trophy for Mazda, John Doonan, Director of Mazda Motorsports for Mazda North American Operations, noted that; "The story of Mazda's 2013 GX Manufacturer's Championship began with our colleagues in Hiroshima, Japan who had the courage to design and build an amazing SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel engine that will allow Mazda to be the first Asian automaker to bring modern clean diesel cars to the U.S. market. The vision of our management in the U.S. and Japan led us to take the very first five engines off the assembly line and ship them to our partners at SpeedSource Race Engineering to be built into race engines…with more than 50% of the stock engine still being used for the race engine….and to align this race program with the launch of our new Mazda6 road car.

The final part of our 2013 story is the conviction of everyone at SpeedSource, led by Sylvain Tremblay.  There were many long hours by everyone in the engineering department and the race shop to develop the engine and the Mazda6 platform into a race winning package in the toughest environment possible.  And for sure the driver line-up…all of whom have come up through the Mazda ladder system – Sylvain Tremblay, Tom Long, Tristan Nunez, Joel Miller, and Andrew Carbonell, who brought the cars home every race without a scratch on them.

We are grateful to all of our partners…especially BOSCH, Castrol, Continental Tire, and VISIT FLORIDA who have supported our vision, fought through early challenges with us, and celebrated our nine race wins alongside us.  We are already planning for a great 2014 season in the new TUDOR United SportsCar Championship."

The all-new SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel engine in the all-new Mazda6 is a true production based engine.  The engine is 51% stock by parts count, and 63% stock by weight.  Mazda chose this path as it is the most honest way to demonstrate the quality, durability, and reliability of Mazda cars.

About Mazda, Mazda Motorsports, and MAZDASPEED
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.  In 2006 Mazda Motorsports established the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder to assist racers in moving up through the ranks.  In 2010 this was expanded to include the Mazda Road to Indy.  Key to Mazda's success is strategic partnerships with the Skip Barber Racing School and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

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).

SOURCE Mazda Motorsports