Mazda add 2 more RX-8s to Grand-Am
 

Sahlen's moves from Corvette to RX-8 in Grand-Am's GT division, teaming up with Mazdaspeed and Speedsource. :worship:

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...azda-for-2010/

Yeah, right, the rotary engine can't compete. What's the count now in GT, 7 RX-8s? :coolkid01

70 Speedsource Castrol
69 Speedsource FXRC
40 Dempsey Racing
30 Racers Edge
43 Sahlens
42 Sahlens
36 Yellow Dragon

awesome!

holy crap that's awesome!


......also kinda funny how they didn't pick the s2k because it's clearly a superior sports car :rolleyes: *referencing the rx8 vs. s2k thread*

exactly my thought Atilla. That's my argument against people trying to degrade the rotary platform we they compare it to their overweight piston engines. If your car chassis and performance is so good as you claim, then how come they are not raced in any globally known racing series?

Let's not turn this into an RX8 vs S2K thread (cuz we all know Crossfire would win)


...o and also cuz of the whole closing the thread thing

Didn't Sahlen run RX8's in the Koni series at one time? If so, this change would seem natural. Plus the non-Speedsource RX8's have been doing better in the series. That would entice a team to use this platform.
I've been thinking about making the run down to Daytona again in February.

Great news! Al, if you do Take pictures!

sweet

dope

Sahlen decides they will get better support next year from Mazda than General Motors.
This shows that Mazda intends to support the RX8 name for the next two years.
Will they be able to sell their Corvettes?

That's awesome.
Crossfire is teh shit with it's Ass rubbing back!

that's some great news. they don't televise these races enough!
long live the rotary!

Sahlen's is running in Koni, and will continue to run in both series.

From the Team Sahlen website announcement:

"In addition to campaigning in the ROLEX series with MAZDASPEED, Team Sahlen will continue to race their SpeedSource Mazda RX-8s in the KONI Challenge Series during 2010. Both the GT and ST class Mazdas will be identically painted in the Team Sahlen red, black and yellow branding that fans have become so familiar with over the years."

Folks, this seriously rocks.

They dont use S2K for some reason.

probably some kind of class/car rules.

well yea its great that we see more Rx-8 in races. Fuxk those asswipes who just say shit like "oh rx8 sux rofl"

Isn't it because it is a two seater?

Congrats to Wayne and everyone at Team Sahlen on making the right choice finally and getting away from those crap Vettes!!!

dont be a fanboi. they dont use the s2k because they dont have a 420 hp 3 rotor to throw in it like we do.

other than the chassis, there is very little rx-8 in those cars. i still like to watch but i wish they would give us consumers the option of that engine :-)

Dude, apparently you must be blind when you watch those races. There are only 3 parts on the Rolex GT 8's that are the same as the production version...the headlight housings, tail lights, and the rear door hinges, that's all.

You are somewhat right about why the S2K isn't allowed, they don't have a comparable engine that the rest of the field is running.

BTW, SpeedSource has dyno'd over 500hp but has to de-tune for Rolex competition.

In the defense of the RX8, the vast majority of race cars have very little in common with their mass production counter parts.

^ I disagree. That Koni Challenge 8's are almost the exact same. They still use all the factory suspension parts minus they addition of the Koni coilover. They still have dashboard, and all original body panels. Other than a few engine bay mods and a dry break fuel system...it's still an RX8.

This is great, I wonder if they will be here when they come to Miller Motorsports Park. I will take some pics while I'm there on Saturday.

+1

KONI series is awesome because they are allowed so little modification from stock. I ran out of time on pit road when KONI was at Lime Rock this year, and didn't realize until everyone was emptying to allow for the start that there was an 8 at the far end from where I started ( I had been told no 8s that race).

I did get quite a bit of time with the Freedom Motorsports MX-5s, and they wonderfully explained tons of rules regarding modifications, and there really is very very little KONI can change from stock. They are allowed engine development, they have to add safety stuff like cages, harnesses, fire supression, etc..., and they can strip out interior, replace dash/controls, but they are really still the cars that they were off the factory line.

This, more than anything else, has me watching the KONI races every time I can find them broadcasted.


Great news on Grand Am though. Even more reason to watch now :)

The cars are still being built, they won't debut until the Rolex 24 next January...at least that is what I am being told.

Haha... Yeah... S2K is no bueno, im not gonna start :naughty:

lol he isnt being a fanboy. he is actually posting the truth. its pretty obvious that they are rules why the s2k cant be in the rolex series atm. because they have series in japan and europe that allows a 420+ hp s2k to race in the same series that the 3 rotor rx8 races in.

Makes sense, still 5 three rotor RX8's to watch will still be a great time.:ylsuper:

There's only 4 entered to race. Both of the Speedsource cars, Dempsey Racing, and Racer's Edge.

This is great news!

woot

What series in Japan or Europe are there 3 rotor RX-8s?

I just know of the RE-Amemiya 20B RX-7 in Super GT, don't know of any racing in Europe.

Great news for RX-8 fans, but I can't say I'm surprised that teams are switching. In speaking with Sylvain Tremblay at Mid-Ohio, he remarked that the durability of the rotary is a big selling point for the teams due to the engine rebuild costs being so low, primarily due to the fact that rebuilds don't need to be done all that often. If I recall correctly, they only need a rebuild after every 3-5 races, whereas the conventional piston cars need rebuilds much more frequently. I guess money talks, especially for a smaller team like Sahlens. I will kind of miss those Corvettes though...they were such a stand-by for the past few years, even though they typically ended up in the back of the pack.

The more RX-8s the merrier I say!

Definitely, the rebuild intervals are so much longer than piston engines. And the only other competitive choice(minus the Pontiacs) out there are the Porsches, I bet they need to rebuild those all the time and the start up cost is higher as well.
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Wiki Vaporizer

Yeah,

the Yellow Dragon car announced at the beginning of the season didn't race at all, I guess the financial crisis hit them hard.


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HornyRebel

Speaking of the Pontiacs, I'm looking forward to seeing the Camaro bodied cars racing against the RX-8 bodied cars (and other GT cars) next year. That will be much more interesting than the G6.

Keep in mind that Grand Am attempts to equalize the competition by having different rules for different engines. eg. Some will require things that lower their HP, some will be allowed improvements to remain competitive. The 20G engine is essentially circa the late 1980's so it's not some special power plant that proves the greatness of the rotary. The GT class RX-8 has nothing to do with the street car (eg. tube frame chassis). Some cars in that class start as a body from a street car. I'm not trying to be negative, simply factual.

Of course. Hasn't that already been discussed? The RX-8s and G6s are tube-frame race cars with factory-fitting body panels. This is not true of the more "exotic" cars like the 911s, though. They're the real deal.

Heard during the Grand-Am coverage this afternoon:

Sahlens purchased the current #69 and #70 Speedsource vehicles for the 2010 season.

Looks like Tremblay and Segal are going to have Riley/Mazda -8s with that "new car smell" on 'em, while Will Nonnamaker and Joe Sahlen will have some well-sorted vehicles to bring to Daytona for the 24hrs.

Methinks I need a Florida vacation this winter. :crazy:

Also: Riley/Camaro to be seen at the 2010 VIR 4hr Koni Challenge?

woohoo! go speed source!

Its a win/win situation for both parties! The nonnamakers get cars able to finish on the podium, and Speedsource gets to build new cars with lighter/more developed parts.
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Web shows

Too bad it isn't team Saleen!

I remember a Speedsource TV webisode where crew chief Matt Martin said they were running the same engine from the Daytona 24 into round 2 at VIR and that they usually get 70-80 hours out of an engine.

Yellow Dragon was a team car that was betting on being able to attract drivers willing to pay-to-drive. Not a lot of those types out there to begin with and even fewer this year.

Wouldn't be surprised if that car is the one going to Dempsey racing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx9nh4-7xjg

Around the 2:20 mark he talks about engine life but you've got the numbers right.

any idea how long it did last or if Speedsource changed it already? 70 hours is a long time. Races are a little over 2 hours, qualifying and practice less than that, so the remainder is the set up and tuning time.

Club racers in the 1970s have said they could go a whole season without rebuilding.

Great News...

http://www.teamsahlen.com/index.cfm?...s&news_id=4046

Awesome stuff. Thanks!