October 9, 2008 (Irvine, Calif.).  The MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder is proving to be the springboard for many aspiring racers to advance - just ask Raphael Matos and Jason Saini where they would be today without Mazda. 

The heart of MAZDASPEED is in supporting club racers.  There are over 9,000 Mazda customers who compete in club racing with the Sports Club of America (SCCA) and the National Auto Sports Association (NASA).  More than a few of them have aspirations of racing professionally.  Over the past two years, Mazda has directly assisted club racers with the leap to the professional ranks. 

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif., June 13, 2008 -- Robert Davis Racing (RDR) today announced a successful run at the 2008 National Auto Sports Association (NASA) National Championship at the Mid Ohio Sportscar Course in Lexington, Ohio.  RDR made the long trip to Mid Ohio with five Performance Touring (PT) cars in three classes.  The week long event saw almost every weather condition possible, including Hurricane Ike, but no snow.

MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development will offer more than $90,000 in cash contingency rewards to the top finishers at the 3rd annual NASA National Championship event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on September 11-14th, 2008.

The contingency program will apply to all competitors racing Mazda's and Mazda-powered race vehicle in the following classes:

Spec Miata, ST1, ST2, SU, All PT Classes, All TT Classes

All above Classes (except TT)
1st Place $4,500
2nd Place $2,000
3rd Place $1,000
4th Place $750
5th Place $500

All TT Classes
1st Place $500

See our Contingency Info for more details.

NASA Championship contingency award money is only available for drivers that compete in the same class in which they earned points throughout the season in their respective region. In the event the competitor did not earn regional points in the class they are competing in at the championship event, no MAZDASPEED award will be available.

Payout amounts listed above require a minimum number of competitors in the class. To be eligible for the following Mazda contingency award payouts, the competitor is required to finish ahead of at least two (2) competitors in their class. If the Mazda competitor finishes ahead of only one (1) driver in their class, the payout amount is reduced by 25%. The Mazda competitor must finish ahead of at least one other driver in class to be eligible for an award amount.

MAZDASPEED also has another added bonus for NASA Championship competitors competing in a Mazda or Mazda powered vehicle. If you finish 1st thru 3rd in your Regional Championship in the same class you competed in at the NASA Championships, you'll receive a $200 bonus in addition to your Regional Championship award.

Competitors must be enrolled in the MAZDASPEED Team Support program prior to competing at the National Championship event.

To enroll in the program, please visit www.mazdaspeeddevelopment.com and register for membership. Make sure to follow all instructions to get approved before competing.

In addition, competitors will be required to run both Mazda and MAZDASPEED decals on the car and Mazda patch on their driver's suit while competing at the NASA National Championship event. Details on decal placement and how to order them can be found here.

Women keep up with -- and sometimes beat -- the guys in Mazda Motorsports Development Ladder

When historians look back at 2008, they may be inclined to call it the year of the woman. With roughly half the race season gone, several noteworthy accomplishments in a handful of professional series have dominated the news, illustrating that motorsports is no longer an all-boys club.

August 8, 2008 (Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin).  The 2008 race season started off on a high note, both on-track and off.  An underdog win by the Castrol Syntec SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 team at the Rolex 24 at Daytona saw Mazda take its 22nd class win in the American 24-Hour classic.  Less than a month later, all eyes turned to the unification of open wheel racing.  While that was welcome news for race fans, it created a great deal of additional work for many organizations.  Mazda was hit especially hard with four Mazda-specific series directly impacted, and has spent the past six months in rebuilding schedules for 2008 and 2009. 

After a dramatic crash at Watkins Glen, Jim Daniels piloted his newly-revived MAZDA6 Touring Car to third place in Sunday's race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.  Round Seven of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship marked Daniels' first trip to the podium in his debut season.  Teammate Jason Saini, who qualified third, took the checkered flag in fourth place after pressuring second-place Peter Cunningham for most of the 27-lap contest marked by yellow flags and restarts.  Charles Espenlaub, piloting the third MAZDASPEED/StopTech/Racing Hart MAZDA6, only made it past the first corner before a spin and hard shunt ended his race in the gravel trap outside Turn Two.  

Barber Motorsports Park --   It could have been anybody's day in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series Porsche 250 on July 20.  For SpeedSource, just getting to the grid was an event in itself. In the practice just before qualifying, the #69 FXDD Mazda RX-8 GT took a hard hit from a DP, breaking both the axle and rear upright. Crew from both cars pitched in to make the repairs and get the car ready for qualifying. SpeedSource #70 Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 GT took the pole. Then a technical infraction by another team moved #69 up to start P2, the first time both cars have qualified in the top spots.

WHAT DO RACE DRIVERS, ADOPTABLE ANIMALS, PLAYBOY PLAYMATES, BEST SELLING AUTHORS, AND THE MAZDA GRAND PRIX OF PORTLAND ALL HAVE IN COMMON?

- They are all helping the Oregon Humane Society This Week -

July 21, 2008 (Portland, Oregon) - While most people might not lump race drivers, adoptable animals, Playboy Playmates and best selling authors together in one room, that is exactly what will be happening this week during the build-up to the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland.  Fans of any of the aforementioned groups are being alerted to the following:

Mazdas will be occupying five of the top ten starting spots at Mid Ohio Sunday.

Mazdas will occupy the second row, with Cleveland native Jason Saini missing the second spot by just 0.003-second in his No. 74 Mazdaspeed/Stoptech/Racinghart MAZDA6 with a lap of 1:33.571 (86.873 mph). Chip Herr, of Lititz, Pa., who was fastest in practice in the No. 97 Mazdaspeed/Tindol Motorsports MAZDA6, will start fourth after turning a fast time of 1:33.658 (86.792 mph).
 
Dino Crescentini, of Manhattan Beach, Calif., completed the top five with his best qualifying effort since moving to RealTime Racing, with a 1:33.695 (86.758 mph) in the No. 46 Acura/RealTime/Eibach/Red Line Acura TSX.
 
Charles Espenlaub (MAZDA6), Jim Daniels (MAZDA6), Michael Galati (MAZDA6), point leader Pierre Kleinubing (Acura TSX) and James Clay (BMW 325i) completed the top 10. The top 13 cars were all within one second of the pole position time.

By Eric Prill - SCCA

LEXINGTON, Ohio (July 19, 2008) - SCCA Pro Racing announced today the revision and finalization of its SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car results from Watkins Glen International, June 8.
 
After an appeal of the final results by Tri-Point Motorsports, the fourth and fifth finishing positions were reversed, placing Charles Espenlaub fourth and Chip Herr fifth.