Driving Sports

Getting Schooled

Last summer I had the opportunity to go through an abbreviated racing class at Skip Barber's Laguna Seca school. This was a special journalist edition of the school put together to promote the new MX-5 Cup racing program. This video takes you through all the basic elements of the school, including the one "off" experienced by the journalist from Grassroots Motorsports (how embarrassed was he?) through Turn 11.

I've been through a couple schools and I have to say that the methodology of the Skip Barber instructors was superb. Highly recommended. Plus, hey, it's Laguna Seca! That, and you get to experience the fun of driving real, race-prepped MX-5's -- just like the ones running in the Playboy MX-5 Cup series.

Making room for Hot Laps

I made a few changes to our video players this morning, especially in the Video Center. Due to our video hosting partner discontinuing the pay-to-download feature, all the episodes of The Vintage Vehicle Show have been removed. As have a few of our DVD features. In time, we'll make parts of these available as individual clips. If there is a specific video you remember and want to watch, but is no longer available, let us know and we'll see if we can post it sooner rather than later.

Newly added to the Video Center is a section for our Hot Lap videos (available in the tabs above the player). We record a lot of these, mainly to include into features. Now there's a place to go if you'd like to see a specific racetrack from behind the wheel but don't want all the chatter. To kick off this new area, I've uploaded a fresh video from behind the wheel of a Spec Miata race car as it performs a lap around the newly-repaved Portland International Raceway.

As usual, let us know what you think by posting comments into this thread!

V6-Powered Miata is Awesome

Yesterday we did a photoshoot for our Miata Magazine, Forever MX-5, of this unique and very awesome V6-powered Miata.

Sure, there are V8 conversions out there, but they're simply ridiculous. Keeping "reasonable" with a Mazda-sourced V6 creates a car that is true to the essence of the Miata, but kicks performance to a new realm: 180whp in a featherweight car with fat tires. And yes, this car can handle. I may even go so far to call it brilliant.

Click the jump to see the video, and go subscribe to Forever MX-5 Magazine to read all the details in the Summer 2008 issue.

SUV with Soul - Mazda CX-9

Seven-passenger capability has always been the mark of the “big” car. I recently wrote a profile on a gentleman who is restoring a 1946 Packard seven passenger sedan, and asked the opinion of a suburban housewife and SUV fanatic about the seven passenger Land Rover LR3.  Seven passengers seems to be a magic number - maybe because it’s room for one U.S.-standard nuclear family plus one pair of grandparents, or two adults and a basketball team. Who knows?

As a Mazda enthusiast, I was interested to drive the CX-9 for a few days in California’s fabulous central coast region. I’d never driven the CX-9 before, and was curious to see if Mazda’s “Always the soul of a sports car” slogan held true even in the biggest vehicle they offer.

Western Automotive Journalists Gather For "Media Days" At Laguna Seca

The Western Automotive Journalists organization gathered this week in beautiful Monterey, Calif. to test drive the 2008 sports and luxury car field from virtually every automaker doing business in North America. Journalists from up and down the west coast arrived to test the full fleet of 2008 cars on the winding mountain roads of Carmel Valley and at speed on the track at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Yes, that's the new Nissan GT-R parked next to the NISMO Edition 350Z in the photo to the right. Yes, they're as good as you think they are.

Events such as this serve a number of purposes, including a rare chance for side-by-side tests of comparable cars from different automakers, and also to allow a relaxed atmosphere to talk shop with the manufacturer representatives. But I wouldn't lie to you and tell you it was anything like working - this event is big-time fun.

Mazda Reveals Revised Mazda6 for '09

Mazda today revealed the all-new Mazda6 and confirmed that North American sales will start in late summer 2008.

Specifically developed for North America, the all-new Mazda6 inherits and evolves the sporty styling and superb driving performance of the first generation Mazda6. The North American model features a larger body and greater engine displacement to meet the particular demands of the North American market. Handling and comfort were also optimized for North American road conditions.

Messing with our Head

It's been a while since posting an update on the Time Attack Miata Project, simply because there's been nothing to report.

Several weeks ago the head was removed and shipped down to Delta Cam for some cleaning and spiffing.

Halfway into the job we stopped by to get some details about the process of cleaning up a Miata head. Click the jump to see Rob working his magic in a short video -- you might just learn something.

NOPI Drag Racing Season Kicks Off in Florida

The NOPI drag racing series kicked its 2008 season into high gear with a recent national race at Moroso Motorsports Park in West Palm Beach, Florida. Moroso has been long known to host great events for and this weekend was no different. Spectators from all across the country and Canada came out to enjoy the weekend, with well over 16,000 in attendance. This is the second largest crowd Moroso has ever had for an event.

There was great participation all around, not only in spectator attendance but with competitors as well. NOPI had 350 car show entrants, 163 drag competitors and 24 drifters. The racing action was top notch all weekend, which set the mood for the atmosphere. NOPI Motorsports has surely set the tone for the 2008 season!

Bomarito Signs for Atlantic Season

Mathiasen Motorsports announced today that they have signed Jonathan Bomarito to drive the #26 Swift for the 2008 Cooper Tires presents the Atlantic Championship powered by Mazda.  This partnership comes on the heels of their impressive performance at the final pre-season testing session at MSR Houston, in which the team ran the fastest lap in three of the four sessions and clocked an overall fast lap over a half second quicker than the next competitor.

“From the moment Jonathan and the team met at MSR Houston throughout the test it was obvious that driver and team had great chemistry.  Jonathan was able to provide tremendous feedback on the car, which allowed for positive changes throughout the test session. We feel very fortunate that circumstances fell into place that allowed us the opportunity to bring a very talented driver like Jonathan to our team” said team owners Ray and Leslie Mathiasen.

SpeedSource Fifth at Homestead-Miami Rolex Race

Homestead-Miami Speedway - At the team's home track, SpeedSource put the victory of Daytona behind them and focused on last Saturday's Gainsco Grand Prix of Miami for the Rolex Sports Car Series. In this DP-GT combined race, traffic and yellow flags set the tone for the day. From fourth on the GT grid, the No. 70 Mazdaspeed/Castrol Syntec GT RX-8 felt the impact of the traffic, taking a bump at the start that lost the rotary powerhouse 5 positions on the first lap. Hearing the news of the incident, team owner and driver Sylvain Tremblay just shook his head. The race would take everything Tremblay and veteran driver Nick Ham could give.

USA Today Discovers Amateur Racing

National newspaper USA today has a great story about amateur racers in Mazdas, and chose to feature MazdaSport and Forever MX-5 Autocross columnist Jason Isley, saying:  "Like any other working stiff, Jason Isley commutes to the office in his sporty coupe during the week.

But come Friday, he wrestles the baby carrier out of the back seat of the Mazda RX-8, wrenches on a set of extra-grippy tires and slaps some magnetic racing numbers on the sides. Plop on a helmet, and the transformation is complete: family man to top-performing race car driver."

[Read the whole story in USA Today]

BEGi-S Kit Arrives

What you're looking at here is the harbinger of of Travis' doom. Yes, the Bell Engineering BEGi-S kit for the Driving Sports/Forever MX-5 Magazine Time Attack project car. And that's not some ordinary turbo. Nay! It's the Garrett GT2860 -- aka the "Disco Potato" -- good for enough horsepower to cause some serious scoot in our little 2200-lbs jalopy. Click the jump to see the turbo up close. Best thing about this setup? Even with the totally awesome turbo, you're still looking at just under $2-Grand.

Of course, I have to get the motor re-assembled, first. We'll see if I can do this myself, or if I'll need to bring in some expert assistance.

Project Miata Teardown

Finally started the teardown on the Miata Time Attack project car. As our initial diagnosis showed, it was, indeed, a funked exhaust valve causing the low compression on cylinder number 4 (circled with orange, for your viewing pleasure).

Later this week the head will be shipped down to Delta Cam in Tacoma, where they'll replace the valves and generally add some hotness to the topside of our little 1.6 motor. In the meanwhile, I have to decide if I'm just going to leave the bottom end alone, or pull it out and give it a once-over, too. Hrm. Decisions, decisions.

Click the jump to see the complete head (lobbed off with the stock intake manifold still attached), in all of its diminutive glory.

Time Attack Miata Gets Gear

Look what just showed up in the mail today for our Time Attack Miata project: A pile of goodies from AEM! Lessee, we have an AEM Plug-n-Play stand-alone programmable engine management system (EMS). There's also a pair of gauges: the UEGO gauge/controller that taps to the wideband for real-time tuning results (AFR/Lambda-switchable), and AEM's Serial gauge, which monitors 19-data channels from the EMS. These will go on just after we get the Bell Engineering turbo kit installed. It's looking up to be a fun month of March in tuning-ville.

Mazda offers mid-year upgrades to Mazda3 series in Canada

Mid-year Enhancements and a New 2.0L Mazda3 Sport GX Trim Add More "Zoom-Zoom" to Popular Compact Line-up

Mazda Canada is offering consumers more choice when it comes to its popular Mazda3 line-up by announcing some mid-year enhancements and the availability of a new 2.0-litre engine Mazda3 Sport GX model for the 2008 model year.

Unique to Canada in the North America market, the new 2008.5 Mazda3 Sport GX is powered by the same 148-horsepower, 2.0-litre engine found in the current Mazda3 GX and GS sedans. The new trim sports 15” steel wheels, body coloured grille, GFX front and rear bumpers, and sporty fog lamps. ABS with EBFD, 4 wheel disc brakes, side air bag and air curtains, and an AM/FM CD player with MP3 capability are also standard features.

Skip Barber/Mazda Boosts Kart Racing

After three days of intense competition and evaluation by motorsports industry professionals, Connor De Phillippi was named as the champion of the 11th Annual Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-out, topping 50 of the best karters from the U.S. and abroad.  Connor will now have a sponsored ride in the 14-race 2008 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda.  This prize is valued at approximately $45,000, the richest prize available to karters in North America. In addition, the following karters were awarded scholarships as follows:

·   Brett Smrz, a FULL SEASON in a Skip Barber Regional Racing Series

·   Fabio Orsolon, a HALF SEASON in the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda

·   Maverick Bartlett, $10,000

·   Court Vernon, $10,000

·   Michael DeNino, $10,000

In total, approximately $130,000 was awarded.

Time Attack Miata Under the Scope

Only a week has gone by and already we have an update on the Miata Time Attack project car.

A few days ago I took the car down to the local boys at F.A.M.E. Automotive (I believe they're huge Irene Cara fans) where we did a compression test to check the health of the motor. Unfortunately, cylinder #4 was well outside the normal variation for compression (100psi, versus 180psi in cylinders 1-2-3.) That meant more drastic diagnostics were required: a leakdown test

SpeedSource Takes the GT Win at the Daytona Rolex 24

After 24 hours of close competition among 41 cars, the SpeedSource castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 team won the GT class at the Rolex 24 at Daytona to kick off the 2008 GrandAm season. The SpeedSource driving team of Sylvain Tremblay David Haskell Nick Ham, and Raphael Matos started from the pole, and led 323 of 664 laps, on their way to ninth overall and the class win.

Mazda Expands Green Focus in ALMS

MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development used the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) Winter Test to unveil their 2008 colors, reflecting the addition of two new partners. BP and Yokohama Tire Corporation have joined the B-K Motorsports Lola B07/46-Mazda MZR-R LMP2 team with multi-year partnerships.

“BP and Yokohama will be active partners in our ALMS program as we enter our sophomore year with our Mazda MZR-R powered program, and we look forward to our most successful ALMS project yet,” said Robert Davis, Senior Vice President, Product Development and Quality, and the man behind MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development.

Time Attack Miata Goes Green

Though Travis contends my project won't have much of a weight advantage, his logic is about as shaky as the underpinnings of his busted old 1993 Impreza. According to MSN Autos, a 1993 Impreza weighs 2,635 lbs, versus my featherweight contender, a 1990 Miata, which tips the scales at a mere 2,182 lbs. A difference of almost 500 lbs. Last I checked, a quarter of a ton was still considered a good amount of weight. He'll have to work a lot of magic to pull of a win in this project car battle.

Even with the Miata's diminutive dimensions, it manages to have a track only one inch slighter than the Impreza's and is on the books with a height a full seven inches shorter -- and that's with the fabric top up. Travis can spin delusions of "lower center of gravity" and "the beauty of all-wheel drive" but the facts just don't back all his babbling. He's going to lose. That is, assuming his car is in any condition to start the race in the first place. Who's car has yet to put down a hot lap at our testing airfield? Oh right, that would be Travis' beloved Dreadnought Impreza. Excuses have ranged from "the clutch is going" to "the engine can't take any more," yes, I've heard it all. Fact is, the car simply hasn't been able to withstand an entire lap, let alone run a complete race.

Let the Battle Begin: Miata vs. Impreza Rumble!

I’ve come to a decision in my life. I want to go racing. Though, like many others, I don’t have the wherewithal to run the Speed Challenge series. I can’t even afford to run a privateer rally car, for that matter. I’ve recently found one form of racing that not only can I afford, but I also really enjoy: Time Attack.

What other motor sport allows you to show up and compete -- not at the local WalMart parking lot, mind you, but at real race courses. Legendary tracks like Laguna Seca and Virginia International Raceway. No race car? No problem, If you drive a Yugo and can pass tech, you can race. Motor swaps, aftermarket turbos and lots of bizarre configurations are allowed, giving those that are really into the sport lots of room for creative solutions to the never-ending quest for power. That’s one thing that frustrates me about many other forms of amateur racing: no creativity in the cars.

Even if you don’t win, in Time Attack you may still come away with stories worth telling. Such as, how you almost lost it on the infamous corkscrew, or your brakes wore out with four more laps to go. Apologies to all the autocrossers out there, but three hours of waiting for 2 minute sprints around a bunch of cones on a level parking lot doesn’t provide enough for me to chew on. Give me drop-offs, banked turns and open passing and I’ll be grinning for weeks.

Mazda unveils Furai Concept at NAIAS

No single brand has more cars racing on a given weekend than Mazda. In light of this, its new concept, the Mazda Furai (Japanese for "sound of the wind") drives that point home with a bullet. Based on Mazda's American Le Mans Series (ALMS) chassis, the car sports a 3-rotor engine.

Says Franz von Holzhausen, Mazda’s North American director of design, “Furai purposely blurs boundaries that have traditionally distinguished street cars from track cars. Historically, there has been a gap between single-purpose racecars and street-legal models — commonly called supercars — that emulate the real racers on the road. Furai bridges that gap like no car has ever done before.”

And, since embracing the future also means embracing renewable fuels, the Furai was initially tuned to operate on 100 ethanol. This is the first time a three-rotor engine has used this blend. Of course, no actual performance numbers were released--450hp was alluded to--, but even parked it appears to be breaking the speed of sound.

The Mazda design and R&D teams worked closely with Swift Engineering to refine the aerodynamic characteristics, so the Furai will remain glued to the ground at high speeds. Complex Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software tools were used to tune various Nagare design elements to function at a high degree of efficiency. Drag, downforce, lift and overall aesthetics were all key considerations according to sources on the project.

Personally, I've never drooled over a concept quite like this one. Not sure if it's the flat-black paint or the wicked lines. Either way, I want one. More pictures and video clips after the break.

 

New vs. Old Mazda MX-5 Miata

Finally had a chance to get the new MX-5 Miata PRHT out to the airstrip for some fun. Also brought in a "test subject" to compare the new model versus his old "NA" Miata.

2007 Mazdaspeed3 Reviewed

Every once in a while, a truly special car comes along. One that fundamentally changes the market baseline and sets a new standard for performance and value. That car is here today. Tatsuo Maeda, legendary product manager for the Protégé and Mazda3, calls the 2007 MAZDASPEED3 his “Wild Child.” From the first look, it’s clear that Maeda-san put everything he’s got into this car, setting it far above the standard run of the factory. This hatchback 3 has its own turbocharged version of Mazda’s fantastic 2.3 liter engine, and its own transmission, suspension, interior – even its own stereo.