Photo: Mazda
Japanese automaker Mazda has announced plans to return to the top tier of endurance racing with a diesel-powered vehicle that will be campaigned in the Prototype Class of the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship (USCC) beginning with the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.
The new prototypes will be developed and raced by SpeedSource Race Engineering, Mazda’s long-time racing partner, but the company is also looking to provide interested customer teams with Skyactiv-D-powered vehicles.
The cars will make their first public appearance at the "Roar Before the 24" test at Daytona, on January 3-5. Driver line-ups and team partners will be announced at a later date.
"This is the most significant step Mazda has taken towards returning to the global racing stage since our overall victory at Le Mans in 1991," said John Doonan, director of Mazda Motorsports. "And thanks to our SKYACTIV-D Mazda6 racecars winning nine of 12 Rolex GRAND-AM GX races and the GRAND-AM GX Manufacturers Championship this year, we're confident that our two prototype cars will challenge the best North America has to offer."
The cars will make their first public appearance at the "Roar Before the 24" test at Daytona, on January 3-5. Driver line-ups and team partners will be announced at a later date.
"This is the most significant step Mazda has taken towards returning to the global racing stage since our overall victory at Le Mans in 1991," said John Doonan, director of Mazda Motorsports. "And thanks to our SKYACTIV-D Mazda6 racecars winning nine of 12 Rolex GRAND-AM GX races and the GRAND-AM GX Manufacturers Championship this year, we're confident that our two prototype cars will challenge the best North America has to offer."
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