rowan
April 18th, 2004, 08:01 PM
SPEED and Stars at Sebring
2004 SPEED World Challenge, Star Formula Mazda Series open in Florida
The 2004 Mazda motorsports season officially got underway during the Mobil 1 52nd Annual 12 Hours of Sebring event weekend at Sebring International Raceway, March 18-20. The star-studded, speed-soaked weekend included the season’s first SPEED World Challenge Touring Car race, Speed World Challenge GT race, Star Formula Mazda race, and the feature event – the Mobil 1 12 hours of Sebring for the American Le Mans Series Race - Round 1.
For sport compact road racing fans, the SPEED World Challenge Touring Car series has been one of the premier series in the world for door-to-door and nose-to-tail excitement. The international-class competition field features some of the most popular sport compacts on the road today - including nameplates Acura, BMW, Honda, Mercedes, Nissan, and Subaru. As the sole company with an entire sports car DNA-infused lineup, Mazda’s participation in the series is natural.
The official racing action for round one of the SPEED World Challenge series began on Friday. Mazda fans had much to cheer about, as the full SPEED Touring Car field featured no less than nine Mazda entries in the field of 35 cars. Once again, the Mazda SPEED assault was lead by the MAZDASPEED Protegé’s of Tri-Point Motorsports, with hotshoes Jeff Altenburg and Shauna Marinus returning in the driver’s seats.
Altenburg and Marinus qualified 6th and 9th climbed to finish 4th and 6th respectively during the race. Their standout results might have been even better were it not for a lengthy yellow full caution period. A tow truck, sent out to retrieve an off-course competitor and became stuck in the sand in the process, caused the delay. Both Altenburg and Marinus feel that the shortened race hurt their chances for a podium finish.
"I think we had the other cars covered at the end of the race," said Shauna. "The tires on the other cars were falling off. Still, it feels good to have points in the book. Strong finishes at Sebring have eluded us in the past."
"The yellow definitely hurt us," added Altenburg. "I know it pipped me out of second place. During the last three or four laps, I was closing up on the 2nd and 3rd place cars by 100 yards. I almost went for a pass for third in Turn 17 on the last lap, but I thought discretion was the better part of valor. It was better to finish in the points."
Tri-Point Motorsports Team Manager Craig Nagler was also pleased with the race results.
"I'm just ecstatic about what we've done so far," said Nagler. "We've had a rough time at Sebring in the past, so this is like winning for us. We worked very hard to get what we got. During our race, our cars got better."
Rookie Scott Fredricksen, of Gastonia, N.C., made his debut in a Mazda Protegé ES count by finishing tenth and rounding out the top ten Mazda finishers. Chip Herr, who was the 2003 MAZDASPEED Miata Cup Atlantic Division Champion, was hoping for a successful debut in the SPEED Touring series, but had to settle for a 30th place finish after mechanical trouble knocked his Mazda Protegé ES out just past the halfway point of the race. Another former Mazda champion, Scott Bradley – who was the 2001 STAR Mazda champion – also marked his return to the SPEED Touring series with a disappointing mechanical knock out. Bradley was recently tapped to drive the Circuit City/Sony Protomotive Mazda Protegé ES for the entire 2004 season after competing in SPEED Touring Car for partial seasons the past two years.
When the checkered flag dropped some 50 minutes and 17 laps after the race began, it was the no. 1 Turner Motorsport/H&R Springs BMW 325i of defending series Champion Bill Auberlen that crossed the line first. Auberlen had started from the pole after qualifying first on Thursday, but gave up two positions on the first lap before reeling in his competitors and leading the last nine laps of the race. Pierre Kleinubing finished second in the no. 42 A-SPEC/RealTime Racing Acura TSX while James Sofronas finished in the last podium spot behind the wheel of the no. 29 Lectric Air/Techmark Corporation/GMG BMW 325Ci after moving up from his fifth-place-on-grid start.
The success of the Tri-Point Motorsports MAZDASPEED Protegé’s has secured Mazda a third place standing, with three points, in the SPEED Touring Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by Racer Magazine - with BMW leading at nine points followed by Acura with seven points.
The Star Formula Mazda series always provides exciting open wheel racing but the Sebring weekend was especially exciting because it was the debut of the new STAR Pro Formula Mazda racecars. The new STAR Pro Formula Mazdas are faster and more powerful cars than the Standard Formula Mazdas and feature state-of-the-art open wheel racecar construction - including a full FIA-spec carbon fiber chassis and the same 238 hp RENESIS rotary engine that powers the Mazda RX-8 street car (pushing all of 1090 lbs. in this application!http://ib2.toprotege.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif. The series aims to prepare and move aspiring pro racers up the ladder towards competing at the top open wheel racing ranks as well as provide an affordable yet competitive open wheel series for all competitors.
The first round of the 2004 Star Mazda Series North American Championship presented by Goodyear also ran during Friday’s schedule of events. Dan DiLeo of Toronto, Canada, recorded the historic first win for the new Pro cars in his Star Race Cars Mazda. DiLeo, who hails from Toronto, Canada, had placed his Star Race Cars Mazda on the pole position earlier in the day Friday and broke the track record set by Michael McDowell in the Standard Formula Mazda last season by over eight seconds in the process. DiLeo’s pole start advantage was lost after he was passed on the opening lap but he passed Michael McDowell in the Drive 4 USA/Star Race Cars Mazda at the halfway point of the twenty lap event and held on for the victory. Moses Smith’s mission to catch DiLeo came up a few ticks short and the American Speed Factory 3 Dimensional Services Mazda driver settled for second. Taking the final spot on the podium was Eurosports Racing driver Michael Potekhen. Defending series champion, Luis Schiavo, found himself down in eighteenth place on the grid after a difficult qualifying session in his Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda but Managed to fight his way up as high as seventh place before mechanical troubles dropped him down to tenth at the finish.
In all, 34 new Pro Formula Mazdas were entered into the opening race at Sebring. The new cars drew high praise from all the competitors as well as fans and promise to be an exciting new chapter in the Star Mazda series history.
Next up for the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship is a non-points invitational race at Road Atlanta, April 24-25, as part of the inaugural Drift Atlanta event. The 10-event STAR North American Championship series heads to Mid-Ohio on June 26-27 for its next showdown, again as a featured race during the American Le Mans Series weekend.
www.world-challenge.com
www.starmazda.com
2004 SPEED World Challenge, Star Formula Mazda Series open in Florida
The 2004 Mazda motorsports season officially got underway during the Mobil 1 52nd Annual 12 Hours of Sebring event weekend at Sebring International Raceway, March 18-20. The star-studded, speed-soaked weekend included the season’s first SPEED World Challenge Touring Car race, Speed World Challenge GT race, Star Formula Mazda race, and the feature event – the Mobil 1 12 hours of Sebring for the American Le Mans Series Race - Round 1.
For sport compact road racing fans, the SPEED World Challenge Touring Car series has been one of the premier series in the world for door-to-door and nose-to-tail excitement. The international-class competition field features some of the most popular sport compacts on the road today - including nameplates Acura, BMW, Honda, Mercedes, Nissan, and Subaru. As the sole company with an entire sports car DNA-infused lineup, Mazda’s participation in the series is natural.
The official racing action for round one of the SPEED World Challenge series began on Friday. Mazda fans had much to cheer about, as the full SPEED Touring Car field featured no less than nine Mazda entries in the field of 35 cars. Once again, the Mazda SPEED assault was lead by the MAZDASPEED Protegé’s of Tri-Point Motorsports, with hotshoes Jeff Altenburg and Shauna Marinus returning in the driver’s seats.
Altenburg and Marinus qualified 6th and 9th climbed to finish 4th and 6th respectively during the race. Their standout results might have been even better were it not for a lengthy yellow full caution period. A tow truck, sent out to retrieve an off-course competitor and became stuck in the sand in the process, caused the delay. Both Altenburg and Marinus feel that the shortened race hurt their chances for a podium finish.
"I think we had the other cars covered at the end of the race," said Shauna. "The tires on the other cars were falling off. Still, it feels good to have points in the book. Strong finishes at Sebring have eluded us in the past."
"The yellow definitely hurt us," added Altenburg. "I know it pipped me out of second place. During the last three or four laps, I was closing up on the 2nd and 3rd place cars by 100 yards. I almost went for a pass for third in Turn 17 on the last lap, but I thought discretion was the better part of valor. It was better to finish in the points."
Tri-Point Motorsports Team Manager Craig Nagler was also pleased with the race results.
"I'm just ecstatic about what we've done so far," said Nagler. "We've had a rough time at Sebring in the past, so this is like winning for us. We worked very hard to get what we got. During our race, our cars got better."
Rookie Scott Fredricksen, of Gastonia, N.C., made his debut in a Mazda Protegé ES count by finishing tenth and rounding out the top ten Mazda finishers. Chip Herr, who was the 2003 MAZDASPEED Miata Cup Atlantic Division Champion, was hoping for a successful debut in the SPEED Touring series, but had to settle for a 30th place finish after mechanical trouble knocked his Mazda Protegé ES out just past the halfway point of the race. Another former Mazda champion, Scott Bradley – who was the 2001 STAR Mazda champion – also marked his return to the SPEED Touring series with a disappointing mechanical knock out. Bradley was recently tapped to drive the Circuit City/Sony Protomotive Mazda Protegé ES for the entire 2004 season after competing in SPEED Touring Car for partial seasons the past two years.
When the checkered flag dropped some 50 minutes and 17 laps after the race began, it was the no. 1 Turner Motorsport/H&R Springs BMW 325i of defending series Champion Bill Auberlen that crossed the line first. Auberlen had started from the pole after qualifying first on Thursday, but gave up two positions on the first lap before reeling in his competitors and leading the last nine laps of the race. Pierre Kleinubing finished second in the no. 42 A-SPEC/RealTime Racing Acura TSX while James Sofronas finished in the last podium spot behind the wheel of the no. 29 Lectric Air/Techmark Corporation/GMG BMW 325Ci after moving up from his fifth-place-on-grid start.
The success of the Tri-Point Motorsports MAZDASPEED Protegé’s has secured Mazda a third place standing, with three points, in the SPEED Touring Manufacturers’ Championship Presented by Racer Magazine - with BMW leading at nine points followed by Acura with seven points.
The Star Formula Mazda series always provides exciting open wheel racing but the Sebring weekend was especially exciting because it was the debut of the new STAR Pro Formula Mazda racecars. The new STAR Pro Formula Mazdas are faster and more powerful cars than the Standard Formula Mazdas and feature state-of-the-art open wheel racecar construction - including a full FIA-spec carbon fiber chassis and the same 238 hp RENESIS rotary engine that powers the Mazda RX-8 street car (pushing all of 1090 lbs. in this application!http://ib2.toprotege.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif. The series aims to prepare and move aspiring pro racers up the ladder towards competing at the top open wheel racing ranks as well as provide an affordable yet competitive open wheel series for all competitors.
The first round of the 2004 Star Mazda Series North American Championship presented by Goodyear also ran during Friday’s schedule of events. Dan DiLeo of Toronto, Canada, recorded the historic first win for the new Pro cars in his Star Race Cars Mazda. DiLeo, who hails from Toronto, Canada, had placed his Star Race Cars Mazda on the pole position earlier in the day Friday and broke the track record set by Michael McDowell in the Standard Formula Mazda last season by over eight seconds in the process. DiLeo’s pole start advantage was lost after he was passed on the opening lap but he passed Michael McDowell in the Drive 4 USA/Star Race Cars Mazda at the halfway point of the twenty lap event and held on for the victory. Moses Smith’s mission to catch DiLeo came up a few ticks short and the American Speed Factory 3 Dimensional Services Mazda driver settled for second. Taking the final spot on the podium was Eurosports Racing driver Michael Potekhen. Defending series champion, Luis Schiavo, found himself down in eighteenth place on the grid after a difficult qualifying session in his Racers Edge Motorsports Mazda but Managed to fight his way up as high as seventh place before mechanical troubles dropped him down to tenth at the finish.
In all, 34 new Pro Formula Mazdas were entered into the opening race at Sebring. The new cars drew high praise from all the competitors as well as fans and promise to be an exciting new chapter in the Star Mazda series history.
Next up for the SCCA SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship is a non-points invitational race at Road Atlanta, April 24-25, as part of the inaugural Drift Atlanta event. The 10-event STAR North American Championship series heads to Mid-Ohio on June 26-27 for its next showdown, again as a featured race during the American Le Mans Series weekend.
www.world-challenge.com
www.starmazda.com