MAZDAS OF MANY KINDS IN ACTION AT THE PETIT LE MANS AT ROAD ATLANTA

September 28, 2015 by Mazda

Championships on the line for Mazda racers in several categories

IRVINE, Calif. (September 28, 2015) – Two Mazda Prototypes will be on the starting grid for the season-ending Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda at Road Atlanta, Saturday, October 3. The 10-hour endurance race is the last of 10 events in this year's TUDOR United SportsCar Series. In addition to the Soul Red prototypes, Mazda racers will also compete in championship-deciding races in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and the Battery Tender MX-5 Cup Series presented by BF Goodrich. In the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites powered by Mazda category, Mazda scholarship winner Kenton Koch has already clinched the championship with nine victories in the first 12 races.

The 10-hour TUDOR main event means SpeedSource team owner Sylvain Tremblay will be back in action as a driver in the No. 70 Mazda Prototype with teammates Jonathan Bomarito and Tristan Nunez. Tremblay stepped away from a full-time role as a driver this season to compete only in races of six hours or more. In the Mazda sister car, No. 07, Tom Long and Joel Miller are the usual driving duo.

Sylvain Tremblay, Team Owner/Driver for SpeedSource, Mazda's Factory Team

About Road Atlanta: 'It's a driver's track, an old school track. Even though they have made many upgrades, it hasn't lost its character. Turn 1 and Turn 12 are still big corners. The 'esses' are a lot of fun, and downforce and grip are important there. Overall, it's a great facility with a fantastic rhythm. I think our cars drive that track particularly well.'

About being back as a driver: 'It's the easiest part of my job. Driving the car really is the easiest thing I do, and I'm fortunate to have Jonathan and Tristan do a good job for the sprint races. I can help with my experience on the longer races.'

About the overall strategy for a 10-hour race: 'We're using it as a tune-up for the 2016 Rolex 24 at Daytona. You go from a mindset in the sprint races were you only have a few - or even one - pit stops. Now, we'll have multiple stops and we can get into that rhythm again. For us, it's a great opportunity to have both cars and get into the mindset of going into the 2016 season with a strong overall package.'

Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Championships on the Line

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In Friday's two-hour, 30 minute season finale for the Continental Tires SportsCar Challenge, Mazda teams and drivers will be in the thick of a tight championship points battle for the driver and team titles. In the Street Tuner (ST) category, Mazda drivers and teammates Chad McCumbee and Stevan McAleer lead the point standings with CJ Wilson Racing. In second place, only a single point behind the duo, is Andrew Carbonell, who drives an MX-5 for Freedom Autosport. The team point standings match the driver's standings, with the two Mazda teams separated by a single point. Carbonell's teammate, (Retired) Staff Sgt. Liam Dwyer is fifth in driver points after missing an earlier start due to a minor medical issue. Mazda team Alara Racing, while not in the championship hunt, has dominated qualifying this season, with five pole positions in the first 9 races. Drivers Justin Piscitell and Christian Szymczak will be in the Soul Red Alara No. 34 MX-5. In the manufacturers championship, Mazda is in second place, trailing Porsche by 10 points, but holding a healthy lead over Honda, BMW, Audi and Mini Cooper.

Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Crown Already Secured by Dominant Koch

While the title battles in nearly every category will come down to the wire this weekend at Road Atlanta, Mazda driver development scholarship winner Kenton Koch can have some fun. With nine wins in the first 12 races, he has already clinched the Prototype Lites championship in his rookie season for JDC Motorsports. It marks the fourth title in four seasons for the young Californian, who previously won titles in the Mazda MX-5 Cup and Skip Barber MAZDASPEED categories. The Prototype Lites series will have two races at Road Atlanta this weekend.

Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup Titles to be Decided

Close racing is the hallmark of the Mazda MX-5 Cup, and this weekend's pair of races promises to be the same. In the championship fight, John Dean II and Patrick Gallagher will battle it out. The duo are separated by only seven points coming into the race weekend. The battle in the Skip Barber category of the MX-5 series sees Robby Foley leading Ben Albano by only one point.

Mazda Motorsports' National STEM Program presented at area high school and at the track

Racing Accelerates Creative Education (R.A.C.E.) is Mazda Motorsports' national traveling program that shares the excitement and career opportunities available in the STEM disciplines: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. Since 2014, the Mazda STEM program has been presented to more than 15,000 students across the country. The presentation will take place for approximately 400 students at Lanier High School in Lanier, Georgia Tuesday morning. Students will see an interactive presentation and have an opportunity to see a Mazda Prototype up-close. Mazda factory driver Joel Miller - also a degreed mechanical engineer - is the 'star' presenter. Through the generosity of Road Atlanta, each of the students who attend the presentation will receive a voucher for a free ticket to the Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda event.

Thursday afternoon at the race track, the R.A.C.E. program will be presented to students from Bishop Hall High School in Thomasville, Georgia. The students will be visiting Road Atlanta to see the presentation and watch the on-track action. Mazda STEM events are not open to the public, but media members are welcome to attend.

Mazda Motorsports

Mazda Motorsports boasts the most comprehensive auto racing development ladder system of any auto manufacturer in the world. The Mazda Road to Indy includes USF2000, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights racing categories with Mazda power. In sports car racing, a similar ladder system involves a number of racing series, culminating with the Mazda Prototype team which races in the top level of IMSA sports car racing in North America. In the grassroots categories, more Mazdas road race on any given weekend in North America than any other manufacturer.