ALMS Podium for Mazda!!
 

Great run today for the Sportsbook.com Courage Mazda coming in second in class. Le Mans is next (maybe :) )

sweet!

I didn't get to watch any of it. Why did they qualify so poorly? did they get on podium because their car was running hard or because the other p2's had problems?

Well, they're definitely not the fastest P2 car out there (yet), but in endurance racing, the spoils don't always go to the fastest car. Consistency, dependability, driver ability and patience are often as important as speed. I didn't see the entire race so I can't answer your last question. In the first few hours they were running around 4th and when the last hour and a half TV segment came on they were in 2nd. If you really want to know, go to the ALMS or Sportsbook.com web site and I'm sure the details will be posted.

most of the cars broke down, I tape the entire race :D, very exciting race at the end the mazda had fuel pickup problems and the leading car had a miss fire spark plugs problem so the race was decided in the last 20 laps or so.

what the hell is wrong with p2 cars. why do they keep breaking down. they seem to always lose to gt1 cause they can't keep their shit together.

Well, "P" stands for prototype, suggesting that these cars are somewhat experimental and there is an effort to get the very most out of them, frequently going a bit too far. I think the GT cars have had a lot more development time and effort applied to them, so maybe that's a factor.

Everytime you see one of those cars on the track, several things have changed, sometimes not for the better. It usually takes a few years before they get all the bugs ironed out of those cars and by then it is time to build a new one to replace it.

And, "P" stands for Porsche...
http://www22.porsche.com/all/motorsp...pyder/pcna.asp

I thought the European Le Mans series still did not allow Rotarys.

yes they do, Jim Downing race in 2002