Namesake Track Ideal for Diesel-Powered Mazdas - Speedway Digest

There’s a new kind of pressure on the Mazda Prototypes for this weekend’s Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix powered by Mazda. Race number four for the TUDOR United SportsCar Series will take place Sunday, May 3 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif.

The two-hour, forty-minute race takes place at a track which plays into the strengths of the chassis and SKYACTIV Diesel engines. The team aims to live up to the pressure of heightened expectations with drivers such as Jonathan Bomarito, who grew up in Monterey.

“Mazda Raceway allows us to showcase all of the elements where we excel,” stated Bomarito. “The track has 11 corners, and not a lot of long straights. All of the corners that lead into the straights, such as turns four and six, are smooth, medium- to high-speed corners that play to the aerodynamic strength of our chassis and the torque of our diesel engine. Our chassis likes to be run close to the ground for maximum aerodynamic efficiency, and the smooth track allows us to run much lower than at a bumpy course like Long Beach. All of those elements play into what we believe is a performance advantage. It’s our strongest track, so we expect to perform well.”

Bomarito is teamed with Tom Long, who will be pulling triple duty through the weekend. Long has three distinct roles this weekend at Mazda Raceway. In addition to driving the No. 07 Prototype, he will be racing in the Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race in a Mazda MX-5 with Freedom Autosport. Long will also be driving in the public unveiling of the 2016 Mazda Global MX-5 Cup car, which will take to the track during practice sessions for the Battery Tender Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by BF Goodrich.

Triple duty? “Yes! It’s exciting for me, and credit really goes to Mazda for having such a variety of categories that allows me to do so,” added Long. “My main focus is certainly with the SpeedSource Mazda Prototype. We have the tools we need to really compete, so that’s the number one priority for me.

I’m excited about the public debut of the Global MX-5 Cup car, and I’m joining Freedom to help them extend their four-year winning streak here at Mazda Raceway. The main thing for me is to remain organized. With so much going on, I have to understand exactly what is needed and what is important each moment. I have to make the best of it and capitalize on such a great opportunity.”

The pair of sleek Soul Red cars are coming off of their best finishes of the year, with the No. 07 finishing seventh and the No. 70 finishing eighth at the Tequila Patron Sports Car Showcase at the Grand Prix of Long Beach. The Mazda SKYACTIV engine is very efficient. In race form, the production-based diesel engine produces roughly 216 horsepower per liter. In comparison, the 5.5-liter V-8 Daytona Prototype cars produce approximately 110 horsepower per liter.

Mazda’s involvement in motorsports extends to its relationship with Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, one of the world’s premier road-racing circuits, the Mazda Road to Indy (#MRTI) and the Mazda SportsCar Racing Academy (#MRT24). On any given weekend, there are more Mazdas on the road-race tracks of America than any other brand of vehicle. For details, visit MazdaMotorsports.com, follow @MazdaRacing on Twitter or Mazda Motorsports on Facebook.

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Adam Sinclair

NHRA, IHRA, Motocross and other forms of motorsports Staff writer
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.