Diesel-powered Mazda6 wins first race

Mazda became the first automaker to claim victory with a diesel-powered racer in the new Rolex Grand Am GX category this past weekend when a specially prepared Mazda6 fitted with a competition-spec version of the company’s Skyactiv-D turbodiesel engine won this experimental class in the car’s fourth start of the season at a 2-hour, 45-minute event held at Road Atlanta. Developed in cooperation with its partner, SpeedSource, the car was driven by Joel Miller and Andrew Carbonell while a second Mazda6 Skyactiv-D GX entry piloted by Sylvain Tremblay and Tom Long took third place on the podium.

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John M. Doonan, Director, Mazda Motorsports, Mazda North American Operations commented on the win, noting: "In 1991, we were the first Asian company to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and today’s GX-class win with the Mazda6 SKYACTIV-D clean diesel proves that Mazda is not afraid to face a challenge. This is the first of what we hope will be many victories, but the best part of it is how well our road-car engineers from Mazda Motor Corporation worked with the racecar engineers from SpeedSource. We’ve always said that the best street cars make the best race cars, and with more than half of the components in the race engine being shared with the street engine, this program is a solid proof-point — as well as proof of the quality, durability and reliability of all Mazdas."

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