The Speedsource Mazdaspeed RX-8 finished second at the Grand Am GT class at Miami just today. It was leading until the last 5mins of the race, passed by a Pontiac GTO, almost... almost managed to regain the lead on the final straight, it was close, something like half a car length at the finish line.

Overall the car was pretty fast, qualified well, oh, and one interesting thing I noticed was the glowing exhaust header and also when it accelerates out the pit, the exhaust spits out a foot long flame at the exhaust for a few seconds, almost like a blow torch!! I thought that was pretty cool
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Good for them! I wonder when this may get shown on TV again.
Paul.

I believe the next one is mid april at VIR, busy weekend with both GrandAm classes, ST and GT where you can find RX-8s. the ST RX-8s dominated last year, and the GT RX-8 should/hopefully finish with a good season too! Unfortunatly the other GT RX-8 ran by Goldin bros arent doing so well, finished 3rd last, they were pretty slow and got zero TV coverage.

P.S. There are over 10 RX-8s competing in the ST class

FYI, ST class RX-8s are running stock engine with minimal modifications to the car and GT is a tubeframe + 3-rotor + carbon fibre panels

edit: Ohhhh the commentators were saying the 3-rotor was getting GREAT milage :Eyecrazy:
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Cool, I don't really watch auto racing...but if there is a RX8 in it I'd love to watch it.

Are there any RX8 race video's on the net? Like a whole race...not just a guy at a track which I've seen plenty and enjoy.

Out of sheer surfing luck I stumbled on the last 5 minutes of the race. It looked like the 8 just ran out of room at the end there - it seemed to be gaining on the GTO-R.

the rotary does get good gas mileage in racing situations. In Le Mans they got slightly more than most of the piston cars, allowing it to pit less.

NOOOOOOOOOOOO. I haven't watched it yet and now I already know who got spots 1&2.

You mean the little "underpowered" RX8 came in second to the "Heavily Powered" GTO by only a half of a car (#) length? You have to be messing with us! :icon_tup:

You mean the little "underpowered" RX8 came in second to the "Heavily Powered" GTO by only a half of a car (#) length? You have to be messing with us! :icon_tup:

No surprise there. Everyone knows the GTO is a huge, understeering land barge.

You mean the little "underpowered" RX8 came in second to the "Heavily Powered" GTO by only a half of a car (#) length? You have to be messing with us! :icon_tup:
It wasn't an RX8. It was a tube frame race car with Rx8-esque body work.

^and let us not forget teh 3 rotor engine it was using :)

by the way i hear mazdaspeed is going to be selling it (or at least the components) to the public :)

Hmm I dont think we are underpowered(3-rotor), the car just handles too well(tubeframe), compared to the Pontiac GTO, which is huge and have worse aero-dynamics.

Maybe a little overpowered...

One thing I didnt like was that the RX-8 was often referred to as "little" lol, its always, the little RX-8, that little rotary... hahaha...And it didnt get a lot of TV coverage even it was placed 1st for almost 30mins. When the porsche GT3 was first, the camera was on it, when the RX-8 was first, they switch to DP class cars. Their focus is still on domestic cars.
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since when are porsche's considered domestic?

the cars are for sale by speedsource and mazdaspeed $ 280,000 a pop.

renesis 8: get use to it, those of us that remember when mazda was really into racing this allways hapeng theres something about mazda that the media dont like for example they interview the second place finish in dp but not the guys from speedsource and the car thet led most of the race and lost it because it rang out of space and dint want to make a crash and mazda is one of theyr main sponsors.

on another note it was a fantastic race I allmost have a heart attack at the end, the guys from speedsource have the car to beat this year, I recorded the entire race :mdrmed:

I'm left to wonder how much better the ALMS P2 car would be doing if it were preparred by speedsource

the cars are for sale by speedsource and mazdaspeed $ 280,000 a pop.

I feel like in that movie...how much just for a sip, lol...how much for just the 3-rotor engine? LOL

I recorded the entire race

Please tell me you can share this video...that would be sweeeeeet! I've never seen a full race with the RX8.

it use to be, and dint do any better in turns of performance, maybe if it was a completly speedsource project

I recorde it on my dish reiciver, remember that the GT cover its limited most of the race its DP I also have most of the 2005 ALMS season, and the gran am st 2005 season :ylsuper:

wow... you ARE rotary crazy.... I wasnt near the tv when the RX-8 was passed. So the big pontiac just pushed it out?

Heh, I should start recording it on my DVD recorder, but i need to get a dual layer DVD 1st, if you guys want, i could probably post a clip or two from future races. But gotta keep it short, 2 hrs = 4.7GB... maybe i can a way to compress it...
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Hmm I dont think we are underpowered(3-rotor), the car just handles too well(tubeframe), compared to the Pontiac GTO, which is huge and have worse aero-dynamics.

Maybe a little overpowered...

One thing I didnt like was that the RX-8 was often referred to as "little" lol, its always, the little RX-8, that little rotary... hahaha...And it didnt get a lot of TV coverage even it was placed 1st for almost 30mins. When the porsche GT3 was first, the camera was on it, when the RX-8 was first, they switch to DP class cars. Their focus is still on domestic cars.
Think it was rigged?

wow... you ARE rotary crazy.... I wasnt near the tv when the RX-8 was passed. So the big pontiac just pushed it out?

Heh, I should start recording it on my DVD recorder, but i need to get a dual layer DVD 1st, if you guys want, i could probably post a clip or two from future races. But gotta keep it short, 2 hrs = 4.7GB... maybe i can a way to compress it...


The rx-8 ran out of room, there was a DP in front of him that broke hart and the pontiac put it nose along side the rx-8 on the inside line. one thing that you see in this race is the diference in engines, when the pontiac comes out of coners it jumps and lets the rx-8 far back but at the end of the strait the rx-8 was passing the pontiac, the diference of a hi hp engine and a hi torque engine.

The rx-8 ran out of room, there was a DP in front of him that broke hart and the pontiac put it nose along side the rx-8 on the inside line. one thing that you see in this race is the diference in engines, when the pontiac comes out of coners it jumps and lets the rx-8 far back but at the end of the strait the rx-8 was passing the pontiac, the diference of a hi hp engine and a hi torque engine.

Yeah, it was a shame, the RX8 driver wasn't agressive enough. Towards the end of the race, figures he doesn't have to risk pushing past the DP, pontiac driver jumps on the opportunity and passes them both into turn one. I lost a kart race the same way once - didn't know second place was right behind me and i got held up by a lapped car, its an easy mistake to make.

With the RX-8 in second on the last lap, he made a helluva charge outta the final corner, the GTO's torque get a few lengths on him out of he corner, but the 8s top end was catchin up on the straight. The 8 driver was smart and went way up on the banking, then dived down to gain more speed for the pass attempt and almost made it (i think the gap was half a car length. One more lap and the 8 woulda got him. Very exciting stuff! :rock: Too bad they didn't get that kind of coverage the whole race, I bet it was an awesome battle most of the way.

it was an awesome battle, they change position several times during the race, it was rally exciting!!!!!

my wife thoug I was going nuts from all the shouting :mdrmed:

I finally watched it yesterday, even though I already knew the results (see earlier post). The freaking Proto car!!! They are always in the way, lol.

People cant catch onto a joke. Now that makes me laugh even more! I love these Forums!

People cant catch onto a joke. Now that makes me laugh even more! I love these Forums!
It's all business here. No jokes allowed.

It's all business here. No jokes allowed.Damn I forgot! :101384_l:

I was just cheking the gran am forum ( by the way Im crazyrotary there) and found this words from sylvain trembley:

The fan support since Daytona has been overwhelming. The team has worked hard on the car since, and the on-track performance at homestead showed it. We are proud to bring a real alternative to the front running GT cars and show what a great package the Mazda is.

Keep up the support, the rotary fans are some of the most loyal out there and the kind words mean a ton to the team.

Sylvain Tremblay

http://w3.grandamerican.com/Messageboard/ShowPosts.asp?ID=3465


mr. tremblay and mr.Haskel used to post in the racing seccion a long time ago wonder what happeng?

The last min of the race was indeed exciting! The guys at speedsource put on an amazing job, car is brand new, just 2nd race into the season they got a 2nd place finish

I'm left to wonder how much better the ALMS P2 car would be doing if it were preparred by speedsource

Haha... The LMP2 car is improving, give them some time.. But yeah, the guys at speedsource should consider moving to ALMS too~ would be awesome to see more rotaries.

The RX-8 is a really popular platform in the GrandAm ST class, teams realize the potential of it and use it. Hope the rotaries can get more popularity and if Mazda gets more aggresive in racing, sponsor more teams, offer technical support, improve the rotary(3sparkplugs.. DI.. aluminum). We'll hopefully see more rotory powered race cars competing at the professional level
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Anyone have a clip of the last 5min of the race?

The last min of the race was indeed exciting! The guys at speedsource put on an amazing job, car is brand new, just 2nd race into the season they got a 2nd place finish



Haha... The LMP2 car is improving, give them some time.. But yeah, the guys at speedsource should consider moving to ALMS too~ would be awesome to see more rotaries.

The RX-8 is a really popular platform in the GrandAm ST class, teams realize the potential of it and use it. Hope the rotaries can get more popularity and if Mazda gets more aggresive in racing, sponsor more teams, offer technical support, improve the rotary(3sparkplugs.. DI.. aluminum). We'll hopefully see more rotory powered race cars competing at the professional level

And the bk motorsport team has had very bad luck, in sebring they got to second for some time of the race and then temperature problems, and keep in mind it is very diferent to run a 4 hour race than a 24 or 12 hour race all the problems the courage had was at the end of the races.

yes,
and dorsey called the car a rx7..... i was at the race, and got to drive the track before..... the race on the last lap from the exit of the infield to the finish was just great to watch...

beers :beer:




I believe the next one is mid april at VIR, busy weekend with both GrandAm classes, ST and GT where you can find RX-8s. the ST RX-8s dominated last year, and the GT RX-8 should/hopefully finish with a good season too! Unfortunatly the other GT RX-8 ran by Goldin bros arent doing so well, finished 3rd last, they were pretty slow and got zero TV coverage.

P.S. There are over 10 RX-8s competing in the ST class

FYI, ST class RX-8s are running stock engine with minimal modifications to the car and GT is a tubeframe + 3-rotor + carbon fibre panels

edit: Ohhhh the commentators were saying the 3-rotor was getting GREAT milage :Eyecrazy:

And the bk motorsport team has had very bad luckThats not luck. The car has issues, and that is why it is failing to finish. BK is a great team, and they will eventually overcome his problem. Just wanted to point out the difference between luck and reality.

-hS

what is the problem that they keep having? the egine builder is the same ? the car is working much better in terms of performance, I call lasting to the final hour of racing then failing to finihs bad luck. dont get me wromg they are having problems they keep blowing engines for no aparent reasom, at lease thats the info I have, just want to know if theres a reason that i dont know.

The next race is at VIR near Danville, VA- I believe the RX-8s race on Saturday 4/22. Details at www.virclub.com

There was a purple and red RX8 racer testing there last weekend.

I can vouch for the prowess of the RX8 at VIR-- a stock 8 passed my stock '91 NSX at a track day last weekend- he was obviously the better driver- but it shows the RX8 is no slouch in the handling department.

SpeedSource Mazda GT RX-8 Misses Win By Inches at Homestead

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (March 30, 2006) -- Following a promising debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the No. 70 Mazda GT RX-8 of SpeedSource Race Engineering landed its first podium at the team's home track of Homestead-Miami Speedway. During the weekend shared with the IRL's Toyota Indy 300 race, drivers Sylvain Tremblay and David Haskell showcased one of the most exciting new cars in the Grand American Rolex Series.

Steve Sanders of Mazdaspeed Motorsports was very impressed with the incredible success of the SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 so far this year.

"A second place finish in only their second race with their new Mazda RX-8 proves what the SpeedSource team is capable of achieving. To run competitively with the other top teams in the series and nearly win the GT class is just an awesome achievement." Sanders said.

In Friday's qualifying, driver and team technical director David Haskell qualified the rotary-powered Mazda in a solid fourth, setting up an excellent starting position in the 19 car GT field.

"David had a great qualifying session. The Porsches are still extremely fast, but for the second race in a row we out-qualified the Pontiac GTO effort," stated Tremblay.

During the March 25th night race, Tremblay and Haskell capitalized on the car's agility to run down the competition, hold off the top qualifying Porsches, and position themselves at the front of the pack. The #70 Mazda consistently held a top-five spot for most of the race, and pit stop strategy steadily moved the car further up in position. Team owner and driver Sylvain Tremblay commented on the car's race-ready abilities.

"The restarts, the overall nimbleness of the car, and how good it is on cold tires really made a difference over our competitors," stated Tremblay, who battled for second with the Porsche GT3 Cup cars and the Pontiac GTO at the end of the race.

Track temperature figured heavily in race strategy. Although the team made a few minor adjustments to the car following the Daytona race, Homestead's night time temperatures played a major factor in pre-race preparations.

"The car was in great shape mechanically after Daytona. We didn't have to do much as far as changing it. The aero package is slightly different from Daytona to Homestead but we knew the track changes quite a bit with temperature. We put a lot of effort into the night practice where we ended up second. We were pretty confident that we had a great race package," added Tremblay.

As always, pits stops and restarts were valuable pieces of the SpeedSource success. Tremblay gave credit to his team for their efforts during these critical times. "The team worked hard to gain ground during restarts and because of that, we were able to move up in position." Tremblay led the race for over 20 laps, but his 3-second lead evaporated when he was hit and held up by a slower Daytona Prototype. With just two laps remaining, he was unable to regain ground on the #64.

"The team made a huge difference in our particular program. We had great pit stops. We were able to make up positions on every restart. We went from third to second, then second to first. We followed a strategy and the professionalism of our crew and the execution of the plan put us in a position to be able to win," Tremblay stated.

Steve Sanders echoed Tremblay's praised, "The team's dedication to this program and the huge sacrifice made by the SpeedSource team members to get the car ready for the Rolex 24 At Daytona was apparent to me already. After their performance at Homestead and the obvious improvements they've made to the car, I'm impressed me all the more. I'm sure a GT win is around the corner for them. Mazda certainly appreciates their efforts and congratulates the entire SpeedSource crew."

SpeedSource Race Engineering now prepares for the next race at Virginia International Raceway. The Grand-Am Cup race will be held Saturday, April 22nd with the Grand American Rolex race on Sunday, April 23rd. Although no official announcement has been made regarding the team's GT entry, SpeedSource will work to defend its Grand-Am Cup ST class Triple Crown Championship.

The SpeedSource Race Engineering participates in Grand American Rolex competition with support from Mazda speed Motorsports, Mazda North American Operations, Racing Hart Wheels, Sparco, Motec, Hawk Performance Brakes, Dynamic Suspensions, Mothers Wax and Polish, Goodridge, and Mechanix Wear.

http://w3.grandamerican.com/News/Article.asp?ID=6021

"Tremblay led the race for over 20 laps, but his 3-second lead evaporated when he was hit and held up by a slower Daytona Prototype. With just two laps remaining, he was unable to regain ground on the #64."

Oh man.... *cries*

Hmm, as for the Bkmotorsports LMP2 car, they improved a lot, but the chassis is still their limiting factor, it just doesnt provide enough cooling, not to mention they just slapped parts together to make this race car. yeah they were able to last 10 hours in sebring, thats pretty amazing, luck or no luck, its the overheating problem that keeps come back, last year and this year. Hmm, as for engines blowing up... probably due to overheating?
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We will see if a new chassis blesses their team, one specifically with the engine in mind...

[QUOTE=Renesis_8]"Tremblay led the race for over 20 laps, but his 3-second lead evaporated when he was hit and held up by a slower Daytona Prototype. With just two laps remaining, he was unable to regain ground on the #64."

Damn, I saw that happen. we set up by turn one and saw the RX8 get bumped to the right and then the GTO took the lead because of it. Had that not happened I'm sure the RX8 would've gotten 1st place. The black RX8 was louder than the Daytona Prototype cars!!!! Sounded sweet :mdrmed:

Black?? The speedsource one is white, black must be Goldin bros'
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I dont see their name on the entry list for VIR, anybody knows if they are going to make it?

The drivers are competing in the ST class, they'll be driving the ST #70 RX-8 instead of the GT #70 RX-8
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their not in the laguna seca entry list either? whats going on? :( :banghead: