MAZDASPEED Motorsports' Road Atlanta Weekend Racing Results

- Return of the rotary engine to American Le Mans competition highlights weekend -

IRVINE, Calif., April 17 -- MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development today kicked off its return to top-level professional sportscar racing with a second place finish in the LMP-2 class at the Sportsbook.com Grand Prix of Atlanta, at the famed Road Atlanta circuit. The three-rotor RENESIS-based rotary engine was jointly developed by MAZDASPEED and SpeedSource, Inc., and was chosen by B-K Motorsports to power their Courage chassis because of its compact size and broad power-band.

Representing Mazda in the Sports Car Club of America's SPEED World Challenge Touring Car race on Saturday, Jeff Altenburg drove his MAZDASPEED/Tri-Point Motorsports MAZDA6 to second place. Starting seventh on the grid, Altenburg took advantage of a strong start and consistently competitive lap times to tear through the field. Finishing fourth was Charles Espenlaub's Mazda Protege, with Altenburg's teammate Randy Pobst bringing his MAZDA6 home in seventh.

"Another great weekend in the books," said Steve Sanders, manager, MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development and the man responsible for Mazda's North American motorsport operations. "There really is nothing in the world of motorsports quite like the sound of that Mazda rotary engine at 9,000 rpm, and it's a real thrill to know we'll hear that sound at every American Le Mans race this year. This weekend saw two very different Mazdas competing in very different classes, but they both had one thing in common: the soul of a sportscar that exists in every one of our vehicles."

The next weekend out for both B-K Motorsports' ALMS LMP-2 Mazda RENESIS- powered Courage and the full complement of MAZDA6 and Protege SCCA SPEED World Challenge teams is the American Le Mans at Mid-Ohio on May 20-22. Stay tuned to http://www.mazdausamedia.com/ for regular updates on Mazda's motorsport results.

On any given weekend, there are more Mazdas on the road-race tracks of America than any other brand of vehicle. Mazda's motorsport involvement even extends to the nation's premier road-racing circuit, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Mazda North American 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.