Mazda Finishes First at Road America

IRVINE, Calif., July 8 -- The Road America finish line was ablaze in Mazda "winged-Ms" as Paul Bonaccorsi's TriPoint Motorsports Protege raced to a first place win yesterday in the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car series. Following last week's second place finish, the Bonaccorsi-piloted MAZDASPEED entry topped two Acura Integras in claiming the podium's highest spot. The win marks Mazda's highest finish to date. Overall, Mazda Proteges took home two top-five, three top-10 and five top-20 finishes.

"It feels great to get the first win in this car for Mazda," said Bonaccorsi. "It's a little selfish, but I'd hoped it would be me to get the first one. My teammates and crew have worked so hard."

Bonaccorsi's victory was one of many strong finishes for Mazda and its SCCA SPEED World Challenge program, which has been enjoying a run of success all season long with a customized, high-performance, race-ready engine uniformly developed for the Mazda Proteges competing in the series. Mazda drivers are posting impressive results in this year's point standings -- boasting five of the top 15 spots. With Sunday's win, Mazda also cemented the third place spot in the manufacturer's point standings.

"Our Sunbelt-built motor is really getting the job done," said Steve Sanders, manager of MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development. "We've been developing the engine for nearly two years, and it's clear it's putting out the power we need to win."