brillo

Per the autoextremist.com

Sebring, Florida. Lost in the shuffle at the 12 Hours of Sebring unfortunately was the important announcement that Mazda would be expanding its support of grassroots road racing in America yet again. The company has now created a dual path developmental "ladder" system for racers in both closed-wheel sports cars and open-wheel formula cars that is unprecedented in U.S. racing history. No company has ever supported road racing in this country to the level that Mazda is, and it's refreshing to see. Here's how it works...

If your preference is a closed-wheel sports car, following an end-of-season shootout, one winner of a 2007 SCCA Club Racing National Championship will be given a new MX-5 Miata and the parts to build a 2008 SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio MX-5 Cup car. The 2007 SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio MX-5 Cup Champion will be awarded a drive in the 2008 SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship.

For open-wheel racers, a championship-winning kart racer will be given the opportunity to participate in a full season of the BFGoodrich Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda in 2008, while the 2007 Skip Barber National Champion will be given a ride in the 2008 Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear. Finally, the 2007 Star Mazda Champion will be given a ride in the 2008 Cooper Tires Presents the Champ Car Atlantic Series Powered by Mazda. That's real and meaningful support for drivers who were for the most part ignored except for previous sporadic manufacturer involvement over the years.

Robert Davis, Senior Vice President, Product Development and Quality, and the man responsible for Mazda's North American motorsports operations under the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development banner, had this to say about Mazda's grassroots racing endeavors: "We are committed to developing the next generation of racers with a ladder system that provides drivers with Mazda and Mazda-powered open- and closed-wheel cars throughout their careers. Similar to our contingency program, these are performance-based rewards. Too often the cost of racing has meant that a promising career has stagnated due to a lack of budget. With this initiative, Mazda will change that."

It's rare when a manufacturer not only sees the "Big Picture" when it comes to motorsports, but actually does something to nurture the continued development of young drivers and support the various racing categories that are lost in the overblown media cacophony associated with all things NASCAR. Too often, manufacturers are predisposed to "using" motorsports for their own corporate agendas or marketing initiatives, with no thought given to how their actions will affect the overall health of the sport. We've seen it time and time again over the years as manufacturers have come and gone when the whim or the marketing "synergies" suits them, leaving in their wakes unhealthy racing series that have to struggle to survive. This is exactly what happened to the Trans-Am series over the years, as factory involvement came and went with the various manufacturer product launches. Remember the Mercury Merkur Trans-Am program? Although it is crucial to point out that the Trans-Am series was always meant to thrive on manufacturer involvement, which is why the rumblings that an '09 series will take place that will pit Chevrolet (Camaro), Dodge (Challenger) and Ford (Mustang) factory-supported teams against each other are true.

So I applaud Mazda for caring about the sport of road racing in a meaningful and productive way. It is such a pleasant revelation to see a company that has its corporate priorities in order and is actually taking the long view of things - because it's damn near unheard of in the sport of road racing.

Mazda's continued support will do wonders to keep the sport of road racing alive in this country for years to come, and I for one am thankful for their vision and the fact that they have the cojones to do the Right Thing.

ZoomZoomH

iTrader: (1)

woot go mazduh

now to build meself a spec miata racer lol

j_tso

That's awesome.

I think sponsors' names should be reduced to one word. I can't imagine an announcher saying "2007 SCCA Pro Racing SIRIUS Satellite Radio MX-5 Cup " every time.