It is a well-known fact that Mazda likes to brag that on any given weekend, there are more of their cars on road courses across America than any other brand. On the weekend of June 21-22, they’ll also be able to add Germany’s iconic Nurgburgring to that list.
In honour of the Mazda MX-5 turning 25 years old this year, the automaker will unveil a race-prepped MX-5 in the 24 hours of Nurburgring. Bringing this project together, Mazdaspeed has teamed up with UK-based JOTA Sport to prepare the car and manage the race team.
The day-long endure will see four drivers taking shifts behind the wheel. Performing this grueling and laborious shift work will be: British journalist Owen Mildenhall; Wolfgang Kaufmann; Teruaki Kato, and Stefan Johansson, who had a stint behind the wheel of the iconic Mazda 787B at Le Mans in 1990.
The MX-5 will be in the V3 class, a category largely left unmodified except for safety equipment, suspension and wheel and tire enhancements. The car is based on a third-generation convertible MX-5 with a 2.0-liter, 167hp inline0four. The endure race will use part of the Nurburgring Grand Prix Circuit and the legendary Nordschleife. Expect this little bundle of handling joy to make quite the appearance on June 21st.
Source: LeftLane