Some news for Mazda fans....
 

Haven't seen anybody post this yet and thought it may be of interest. The autoexremist web site apparently has an inside scoop that Skip Barber will discontinue its partnership with Dodge in favor of Mazda. Just follow the link.

http://www.autoextremist.com/page3.shtml

On a side note, I personally find autoexremist.com to often be an entertaining read. I recommend that you also go to "on the table" and read about the Cobra replica at the bottom of the page. Classic.

Cheers

Cool read.

Your link is not working though.

http://www.autoextremist.com/page3.shtml#fumes

add #fumes to yours and it will work.

Def a good site... I like that they don't pull any punches when reporting on the Detroit auto scene. Thier racing coverage seems to get past the crap too. Cheers to Skip Barber!!! Mazda is way more in tune with real racing than Dodge these days...now if they would just open a Barber school at Beaver Run Hmmm :mdrmed:

It all so looks like they are moving away from BMW 3 series cars to the MX5 for training in closed wheel cars.
I got my training, with them, in Formula Fords (Crossle 30F).

Skip Barber to be Powered by Mazda
 

Skip Barber announced that they will start a partnership with Mazda to use their cars for their classes and power their racing series.

http://skipbarber.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=1684

FINALLY!

back in 2004 when I went to Laguna Seca for track day, i saw the Skip Barber training cars parked in the paddock, bunch of Neon ACR's, totally out of place at MAZDA Raceway at Laguna Seca.

good for Mazda, this is a great partnership w/ a premiere racing school

Let's hope for Renisis formula cars. Racing improves the breed...

FYI. There was an inside scoop on this before the official announcement. Here is the link to a previous thread I started.

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=104510

Cheers

Whoops. Went searching on the rx-8 news section and didn't see anything. If I'd thought to look in the general automotive section I would have put this in your thread.

Edit: Just posted the link in your thread as well.

Official Skip Barber announcement...

http://skipbarber.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=1684

Oops: I clicked faster than I pointed...here's the real announcement. Now back to your regularly scheduled rotary programming...

abbid, you mean this thread?

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=104510

What was the scoop on why they dropped Dodge? The original article is not available.

Damn, there goes a few thousand dollars more this summer..... arg....

Nice... I wonder when their site will reflect which events where will use Mazda vehicles and which one.... oh to drive one of those nitto formula style cars!

thank god! I was going to go to skip barber last year but wasn't really all that excited about driving a neon or dodge pickup with instructors :/

This has the be the best thing ive read this year... honestly.

I was really happy to hear about the Mazda deal as well. This past season I raced with the Skip Barber Race Series at Mid-Ohio, and Watkins glen. Don't quote me on anything, but I believe they were having issues with both:
1) car equality among the grid (engine side)
2) the cars have been rebuilt many times, from crashes and such, and I think by partering with mazda, they are hoping to add life to the current formula car lineup. They have been testing a Star Mazda car, with the current dodge engine at all the events, and it looks great!

Its good to know now that next year I will be racing a mazda, and driving one too!

Probably for making the Crossfire...

And the Caliber.

And the fact that dodge doesn't make the most popular racecar in the world (Miata/MX-5)

Dodge sucks....

Any idiot can solve the sports car problem by adding a bigger engine and completely screwing everything else that makes a sports car...

I guess that any idiot is Dodge...

I still don't understand how America is the best country to live in, but we produce some of the worst made (and engineered) products in this world...

Not to start a debate on this but the problem is every company has its niche. American cars just happen to be the big engine niche. Imagine if Ford/DaimerChrysler/etc all started using 4/6 bangers to power everything. No one would be there to sell the big v8 we're notorious for. I had a lengthy debate about the whole "American cars are shit" topic after watching the good, the bad, the ugly. Clarkson sure hates American cars. He hates them enough to compare the Ram 1500 to the Ariel Atom on a track.

My point is: Dodge doesn't suck. Dodge makes cars for a specific group of people. Maybe not your group but certain people buy them. For the sheer fact that people are buying a company's cars, that company must be doing something right.

I agree, every company does have its niche

And with that I guess I have my same niche with it's agree-ances and disagreeances.... haha, I can't spell...