Mazda racecars reunite at Monterey

Vintage Mazda Racecars Reunite at 2004 Monterey Historic Races

IRVINE, Calif. - On any given race weekend there are more Mazda vehicles thundering around the racetracks of North America than that of any other manufacturer. It's no wonder then that Mazda racecars have always made motorsports a little more exciting.

This weekend, the tradition carries on at the 2004 Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, where seven of the most famous Mazda racecars will appear together for the first time in history. Each of these cars owes its dominance in its respective racing category to the incredible Mazda rotary engine.

On display and turning laps will be:

The Mazda 787B (overall winner of the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans, the only Japanese car ever to win the endurance classic);

Two Mazda-Lola T616s (one of which won the C2 class at the 1984 24 Hours of Le Mans, the other finished third in class);

Two Mazda RX-7s (one was the 1991 IMSA GTO champion, the other was the very first racing RX-7 ever developed and won the IMSA GTU class at the 1979 Daytona 24-hour race);

A Mazda RX-2 (the very first Mazda to win a professional race in the US in 1973);

And a Mazda RX-8 (currently competing in SCCA T-2, and the latest in a long line of race-winning Mazdas).

"It's a truly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the 'rotor-heads' to see these incredible Mazdas together for the first time - and all the more special because it's at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, our home-away-from- home," said Robert Davis, Mazda's senior vice president of marketing and product development. "These cars show the progression of Mazda's rotary engines and motorsports programs. They also show the passion and emotion we build into every one of our vehicles, whether they are driven on a racetrack or into a customer's driveway."

Motorsports fans can catch the shrieking Mazda-Lolas, the 787B, the RX-7s, the RX-2 and the RX-8 running demonstration laps on Sunday, August 15th at 12:25 pm. Tickets for the full race weekend are still available at www.montereyhistoric.com.

Mazda North America Operations is responsible for the sales and marketing, customer parts and services support of Mazda vehicles in the United States. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., MNAO has more than 700 dealerships nationwide.

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