Mazda6 Takes Sahlen’s Six Hour Watkins Glen Grand-Am GX Win
Hesperia California
This past weekend at the
Grand Am Rolex 6 hrs of Watkins Glen we bought home another victory! The
SpeedSource guys prepared a great Mazda6 and the new SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel
Technology performed when needed. This is my third win of the season and
forth in a row for the new Mazda.
Overall, I drove three and a half hours of the race and was
the driver at the end selected to drive it across the finish line.
The team is closing in on the Manufactures and team Championships, as well as
the drivers on the drivers championship. I currently lead the Rookie of
the year points which is a personal goal of mine. The team took away more
data on the new platform as we continue to develop the technology and be ready
for our next event at Indianapolis on July 26.
Thank you to Mazda,
SpeedSource, and VisitFlorida for making this year possible and all the efforts
from my crew. Also, I would like to mention OMP Racing,
Oakley, USANA, DreamCars Automotive in Hesperia, and the individuals
who have helped me along the way. Without all of you this would not be
possible.
Best Regards,
Joel Miller
@joelmilleracing
Mazda6 Takes Sahlen’s Six Hour Watkins Glen Grand-Am GX Win
June 30, 2013 (IRVINE, Calif.) The scales have tipped. After seven races, the SpeedSource Mazda team has now delivered four straight race wins. Mazda is now just one point behind Porsche for the 2013 Grand-Am GX Manufacturers Championship with five races remaining.
The Sunday race win was the longest distance race win to date for the all-new Mazda6, taking the GX class win at the Sahlen’s Six Hours at Watkins Glen. Scoring the win was the #00 Visit Florida Racing Mazda6, driven by Joel Miller, Tristan Nunez, and Yojiro Terada.
The all-new SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel engine in the all-new Mazda6 is a true production based engine. The engine is 51% stock by parts count, and 63% stock by weight. Mazda chose this path as it is the most honest way to demonstrate the quality, durability, and reliability of Mazda cars.
Meanwhile in the Continental Tire Challenge…..
The day before the Sahlen’s Six Hour Grand-Am race, the Continental Tire Challenge held round seven of their 11 race championship. The first six races have been a battle between Mazda, BMW, Honda, Nissan, Porsche, and VW in the ST class. Thanks to a great win by Steven McAleer and Marc Miller in a CJ Wilson Racing Modspace Mazda MX-5, the Mazda win count stands at three, and Mazda has taken over the points lead for the ST Manufacturers Championship.
Quotes:
John M. Doonan, Director, Mazda Motorsports, Mazda North American Operations:
“For Mazda, endurance racing is the ultimate challenge. To take this first endurance win is fantastic and demonstrates the quality, durability and reliability of the Mazda SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel engine. As always there was a large team of engineers at SpeedSource and Mazda behind the scenes making this happen. They are certainly earning some Florida vacation time. Taking the Continental Tires ST Manufacturers points lead, thanks to the CJ Wilson Racing team made a great weekend even better.”
Joel Miller, co-driver, #00 VISIT FLORIDA RACING Mazda6 – now second in the Driver’s Championship:: "The SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel technology worked very well in today's six hour race. Everything was great – the Mazda6 was fantastic, the SpeedSource crew was great during the pit stops, and my teammates did their parts. The last hour was long, knowing we had the lead. I would not have changed anything during that hour as it is always a pleasure bringing the car home for the win! So thankful to everyone, VisitFlorida, my SpeedSource crew, and all the Mazda executives that came this weekend. Win number four in a row!
About Mazda, Mazda Motorsports, and MAZDASPEED
Mazda is the number-one brand for road-racers across North America among both club racers and professionals. Thousands of Mazda powered grassroots racers compete in various classes with the SCCA and NASA highlighted by Spec Miata, the world’s largest spec class with over 2,500 cars built. In 2006 Mazda Motorsports established the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Ladder to assist racers in moving up through the ranks. In 2010 this was expanded to include the Mazda Road to Indy. Key to Mazda’s success is strategic partnerships with the Skip Barber Racing School and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
MAZDASPEED Motorsports is managed by Mazda North American Operations (MNAO). MNAO is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.
Consumer information can be found at www.mazdausa.com, with press information at www.mazdausamedia.com. Racers and fans can follow the action on facebook (Mazdaspeed Motorsports).