Mazda races to success in Britcar Production

The sun sets on a successful season for the MX5 GT

Brilliantly unfussy and distinctive livery makes the MX5 stand out

Mazda’s MX-5 GT car finished the Britcar Production GTN Championship season on a high this weekend at Brands Hatch with a race pace that placed it ahead of rivals Porsche, Ferrari, Lotus, Ginetta and Marcos.

Finishing fifth overall and second in class from 21 competitors, the MX-5 GT car was only beaten in its class by a 400bhp BMW M3 and ran at a competitive GT4 pace around the Brands Hatch Indy circuit.

Regular drivers Mark Ticehurst and Owen Mildenhall qualified in damp conditions with a mid 50 second lap which put them second in class on the grid, during the two hour race they completed 129 laps, averaging 77.82mph.

Slick pit work is essential to all endurance racing.

The MX-5 GT car at Brands Hatch was the new 2012 development version, complete with a new lightweight chassis and gearbox, lower roll cage, new front splitter and rear diffuser for improved aerodynamics. The weight has been reduced by 50kg over the previous car and lowered by 20mm to give it better aerodynamic performance, better grip and more stability through the corners, which combined with the car’s legendary handling, fuel economy and light tyre usage, makes this an ideal endurance car.

Mazda finishes the race season with the lightweight Mazda MX-5 GT car ranking fourth overall in the championship and second in class, while the Mazda MX-5 production race car is fourth in class and seventh overall.

The Mazda MX-5 production race car - driven by Mike Wilds, Former F1 Driver and Major James Cameron of the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment who raced with Mazda at the Britcar 24hr Race in October - finished second in class at Brands Hatch this weekend.

Britcar Production always has varied grids - the MX5 fits right in!

“Throughout this year’s race season the MX-5 GT car has been subject to ongoing developments which has made the MX-5 GT an ideal GT4 endurance car which is competitive against Porsche, Lotus, Ginetta and Marcos. In just a year we have achieved fourth overall in the championship, three podiums and second in class overall. This is testament to professional motorsport company, Jota Sport - who designed and developed the MX-5 GT car - and the MX-5’s agility, reliability and handling,” comments Graeme Fudge, PR Director, Mazda UK.

Mazda works teams ready to go around the clock

 Mazda UK has entered three MX-5s into the Britcar 24hr race at Silverstone on 1 October. The three Mazdas will be taking on rivals Seat, BMW, Lotus and Ginetta on the 3.666 mile Silverstone GP circuit. Two of the cars are production race cars based on the Mazda MX-5 2.0i Soft-top Sport Tech alongside the world’s fastest and lightest Mazda MX-5, the MX-5 GT car. This is the fourth time that Mazda UK has entered the Britcar 24hr race, previously with the rotary engined Mazda RX-8 in 2005 and 2006 and two Mazda MX-5 production cars in 2010.

The three race prepared Mazda MX-5s will be relying on their handling, nimbleness, and lightness to reduce pit time through fewer tyre changes and frugal fuel consumption, while maximising track time to beat the race thoroughbreds including Seat, Honda, Lotus and BMW. The cars are expected to complete 1,000 competition miles in 24 hours making this the most gruelling race in the British motor racing calendar.

Currently, the 850kg Mazda MX-5 GT ranks fifth overall in the championship and third in class, while the Mazda MX-5 production race car, which is essentially a standard MX-5 with safety modifications required by the Motor Sport Association, is fourth in class and eighth overall. The entry is in keeping with Mazda’s challenger spirit - competing against much faster race cars but relying on the attributes of the MX-5 to bring victory within its grasp.

Over the 24 hour race each car will be driven by a team of four drivers. The line-up for the MX-5 GT race car see regular drivers Mark Ticehurst from Hassocks, West Sussex and motoring journalist and racing driver, Owen Mildenhall from Dartford, Kent joined by Le Mans veteran and ex F1 driver Mike Wilds. The first of the two production MX-5 race cars will be driven by a team of four journalists: freelance journalists Andrew Frankel and Jethro Bovingdon, Ben Anderson from Autosport and Matthew Prior from Autocar.

Driving the second production MX-5 race car will be a team raising the profile of British Armed Forces Charities in motorsport. These include The Not Forgotten Association – one of the 2011 chosen charities for the RAF Typhoon Display Team, of which Mazda is the 2011 vehicle sponsor, Help for Heroes, the 'Soldiers’ Charity' - the Army Benevolent Fund, Forces Children's Trust and Scotty's Little Soldiers.

Leading this team will be Major James Cameron of the 2^nd Royal Tank Regiment (2RTR) based at Tidworth in Wiltshire. James has just returned from Afghanistan where he commanded the Warthog Group - Task Force Helmand's independent armoured Squadron.   He is joined by Brigadier Mike Hickson, the Director of the Royal Logistic Corps.  Mike is a keen racer, campaigning in single seaters as well as racing classics, most recently at Silverstone and Le Mans. Former Royal Signals Sergeant Will Browning is the third driver, a keen racer and drifter from Bath who is now a Metropolitan Police Officer in the London Borough of Hackney.  Completing the line up is TV presenter and racer Tony Jardine, an ardent supporter of Forces Charities and himself the son of a Royal Navy pilot.

The Forces MX-5 will be supported in the pit garage by soldiers from the 2^nd Royal Tank Regiment including some who are recovering from injuries sustained while on operations in Afghanistan.  

“In just our first year of racing the MX-5 GT race car we are currently fifth overall in the championship which has included two podiums and we are third in class. The Britcar 24hr race will be a true test of our award winning roadster’s ability,” comments Graeme Fudge, PR Director, Mazda UK.

“It is an honour to support these British Armed Forces charities with an MX-5 race car and with the team’s endurance spirit combined with the handling, reliability and durability of the car, we are hopeful of a good result.”

The Britcar 24hr race starts on Saturday 1 October and the winning car will be the one that completes the most laps of the 3.666 mile circuit in the 24-hour period.

The MX-5 GT features a modified Mazda engine that produces 275bhp, a manual sequential gearbox and race differential. On the exterior, the Mazda MX-5 GT boasts a Spirited Green metallic body colour - a first on the MX-5 for Mazda UK - complimented by Jota Sport corporate coloured liveries in orange and grey.

For further information on the Mazda MX-5 GT race programme go to www.mazdamx5racing.co.uk or simply click here to download the free Mazda MX-5 GT motorsport iPad app from the itunes store.

Mazda MX5 teams enjoy success in Britcar Production

We think this may be Mike Wilds driving the MX5... but we're not sure!

 

The Mazda MX-5 production race car finished third in class in round seven of the Britcar Dunlop Production GTN Championship 2011 at the Snetterton 300 Circuit in Norwich on Sunday 15 August 2011.

After qualifying seventh in class on Saturday, the Mazda MX-5 production car’s 50:50 weight distribution, handling and performance combined with the driving experience of legendary ex-F1 driver Mike Wilds saw the MX-5 race car fight its way to first in class in the first half of the race, further demonstrating its potential to challenge more powerful race cars in its class.

During the halfway point on race day, Mike Wilds handed over to Piers Ward, Senior Road Test Editor, BBC Top Gear Magazine, to complete the final hour of the race. The Mazda MX-5 production race car continued to prove highly competitive and out handled rivals Seat Toledo, Seat Leon Cupra and the Synchro Motorsport Honda Jazz to give the production car its second podium of the season and third podium win for the team.

Also competing was the MX-5 GT race car - driven by Mark Ticehurst, Mazda works driver and Owen Mildenhall, racing driver and motoring journalist – and despite a misfire during qualifying, the Jota Sport team resolved the fault and on race day the 850kg car climbed to fifth in class before a drive shaft issue saw the car recovered to the pits and unable to finish the race.

“Despite the new Snetterton 300 circuit lending itself to the faster cars on track, we had a great result on Sunday, which is testament to the drivers and the handling and reliability for which the MX 5 is renowned,” commented Graeme Fudge, PR Director, Mazda UK.

The next race is the Britcar 24hr at Silverstone Circuit on 1-2 October 2011.

For further information on the Mazda MX-5 GT race programme go to www.mazdamx5racing.co.uk or simply click here to download the free Mazda MX-5 GT motorsport iPad app from the iTunes store.