MAZDASPEED Motorsports Winning on Both Coasts

IRVINE, Calif., July 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazda has been noting for several years that on any-given weekend, there are more Mazdas road-raced than any other brand.  This past weekend both the strength and depth of field was very apparent.  On Saturday, Mazda raced at two of the premier racetracks in three different series with four very different cars, resulting in two wins, and a half-dozen podium finishes.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110711/LA33017)

On Saturday morning, Mazda kicked off the weekend with a one-two finish in the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge ST class at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.  It was the Freedom AutoSport Mazda MX-5 of Andrew Carbonell and Rhett O'Doski taking the win over their teammates Tom Long and Derek Whitis.  The win moved Mazda into a six-point lead in the manufacturers' championship battle, with two races remaining.

A few hours later, across the country, at Lime Rock Park, Chris Dyson and Guy Smith drove their Dyson Racing Lola-Mazda MZR-R to their first win of the 2011 season.  After three races of the nine-round ALMS season, Dyson and Smith lead the drivers' championship, Dyson leads the team, and Mazda leads the manufacturers' championships.

The afternoon concluded back at Mazda Raceway with the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16 race and a pair of Mazda RX-8's on the GT podium.  Defending GT series champions Jeff Segal and Emil Assentato drove their SpeedSource FXDD Mazda RX-8 to a close second-place finish, just 2.93 seconds shy of their first win of the season.  SpeedSource teammates Sylvain Tremblay and Jonathan Bomarito completed the podium in third.  Bomarito led the most race laps.

Between the three series, Mazda has competed against Acura, Aston Martin, BMW, Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford, Honda, KIA, Mercedes, Mini, Porsche, and VW.

"Our success as a business and on the track is a result of our total team effort.  We can't say enough about all of our teams who raced this weekend.  It's always special to win at Mazda Raceway, and thanks to Freedom Autosport it was a one-two finish at our corporate home track while the Dyson boys scored a great win at their team home track," noted John Doonan, Director, Mazda Motorsports.

Also this past weekend:

SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup @ Mazda Raceway

Michael Cooper scored his third win of the MX-5 Cup season to extend his points lead over Jason Saini.

Alumni Update:

MAZDASPEED alums performed strongly during the Honda Indy Toronto weekend.  Peter Dempsey and Anders Krohn finishing in the top-five in the Firestone Indy Lights race while Marco Andretti finished fourth in the IZOD IndyCar race.  All three are Star Mazda graduates.

What's Next for each series:

• Skip Barber Nationals – July 21-23 at Road Atlanta
• Formula D – July 22-23 at Evergreen Speedway
• Grand-Am Continental Tire Challenge – July 22-24 at New Jersey Motorsports Park
• Grand-Am ROLEX Series – July 22-24 at New Jersey Motorsports Park
• ALMS – July 22-24 at Mosport International Raceway
• Star Mazda – July 22-24 at Mosport International Raceway
• USF2000 – August 5-6 at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course
• World Challenge -- August 5-7 at the Mid Ohio Sports Car Course
• MX-5 Cup – September 2-4 at Brainerd International Raceway

About Mazda & MAZDASPEED

Mazda is the number-one brand for road-racers across North America.  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 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 success is strategic partnerships with the Skip Barber Racing School and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

MAZDASPEED 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, Canada and Mexico through nearly 900 dealers.  Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada, Inc., located in Ontario; and in Mexico 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 the action on facebook (Mazdaspeed Motorsports).

SOURCE MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development