Just saw a story over on motorsport.com that this is going to be the final season for Mazda in IMSA Prototypes. I couldn't help but root for those guys, even when they were running their weird diesel....
Just saw a story over on motorsport.com that this is going to be the final season for Mazda in IMSA Prototypes. I couldn't help but root for those guys, even when they were running their weird diesel....
Yeah, sad to see a fan-favorite go away. Although when they won at Daytona last year, I can't remember getting a press release about the feat....
In reply to David S. Wallens :
They won Sebring last year, came 2nd at Daytona. They did win the Daytona sprint race after the spring covid lockdown.
Such a shame as they became a real force in the last couple of years. At the 24 they went from DNFing to contending for the overall win.
I hope they come back into touring cars, the proposed TCR car would've been good to see. Top level prototype racing doesn't seem to fit Mazda. They don't have a high performance car and they've built their sporting image on grassroots racing.
In reply to j_tso :
Yes, last summer's Daytona race. And I'm not too hurt and realize that it's an all-new crew, just weird that after past Daytona races we were there in victory lane, helped tear down their compound, etc. Good luck with future endeavors.
Ya know, prototype cars in general need to go. Let me be clear- I like them. But for a fan base, there's nothing relatable, unless the manufacturers want to start offering them to the public in mass quantity. It comes back to the same thing I keep saying about nascar and everything else- get RID of tube frame chassis.
It needs to be homegrown, factory made chassis. Factory pick up points, air conditioning, power steering, etc. Why are 911,corvette, Miata fans also racing fans? It's relatable.
In reply to Vajingo :
On the other hand, people with money want lap records to be broken. That's hard to do with a production car chassis. A pile of tubes with a body pinned in place is also easier to repair from a crash.
In general I also find it hard to relate to open wheel and prototype race cars. At least sometimes the prototypes have a production car based engine. (not the Mazda)
It was already announced a few months ago that the TCR 3 program was being killed.
I'm afraid that their position to move the brand upscale is going to errode their support of racing, both professional programs and amateur club racing endeavors.
captdownshift (Forum Supporter) said:It was already announced a few months ago that the TCR 3 program was being killed.
Yup.
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