With a 12-Race championship schedule across the United States and Canada
supporting American LeMans Series, ChampCar and Formula One events, as well as
one-hour television broadcasts of each event in the United States and United Kingdom,
the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear provides excellent exposure and
marketing opportunities for businesses.
Racing at key venues across North America, alongside the world’s biggest racing
series, the Star Mazda Championship works as a training ground for the next
generation of racing stars and has become the most competitive open-wheel
development series in North America.
• Major event weekend exposure for fraction of cost of main event sponsorship.
• Events in key regions across North America
• Television coverage on Speed Channel in US and SKY Sports in UK.
• Relationships with the next generation of racing stars. History
Founded in 1991, the professionally organized Star Mazda Series has provided the
most popular format for sponsors, spectators, and upward bound drivers, a success
evidenced by fields of 30 to 40 cars at many races.
The annual schedules for the Star Mazda Series have included high profile events
where Formula Mazda cars appear as the “opening act” to some of America’s top
drawing racing series. In its supporting role, the Star Mazda Series has been paired
with a variety of major types of racing, including such headliners as the American
LeMans Series, IndyCar, ChampCar, race trucks and NASCAR stock cars.
The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear featuring the Pro Formula
Mazda, is sanctioned by the International Motor Sports Association and currently
appears with the prestigious American LeMans Series, ChampCar and Formula One.
Drivers in the series may also pursue any one of five divisional championships based
on geographically determined schedules (east, west, central, southwest and northwest)
in addition to the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Prizes and awards
valued over $700,000 are distributed annually to top series’ performers.
Joint appearances with big name racing programs, plus related television coverage
since 1996, have greatly increased Star Mazda Series exposure to the advantage of
both current and prospective sponsors.
In addition to the Star Mazda Series, the Formula Mazda race cars may be seen at the
amateur or club racing level in the Sports Car Club of America. In National competition,
drivers can ultimately qualify to race for a National Championship at year’s end. |
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Mission
The objective of Formula Mazda is to develop new race driving talent. Many American
motorsports fans are puzzled that the sport at its highest levels in North America is
dominated by European and South American drivers with North America better
represented by young Canadians than by U.S. born drivers. It is not our view that
provincialism is appropriate to developing American talent. If young American drivers
are to eventually become world class, they must compete against all comers.
The problem is not that there are few talented American drivers. The problem is that
corporate American sponsors have been painfully slow in “coming to the party” in
motorsports; thus the few young American drivers to be given the opportunity to
compete in recent years have usually been sons of established drivers or sons of
wealthy motorsports enthusiasts. Although the above-mentioned drivers have acquitted
themselves admirably in some cases, they are not the product of natural selection
based solely on talent.
We feel the way to get the best new drivers to the top in motorsports is to provide an
opportunity for the maximum number of drivers to compete “on a level playing field” on
the same race tracks that are used for major league events, for the lowest possible
cost. Formula Mazda and the Star Mazda Series were crafted to fulfill these needs.
The series administration works hard to develop an atmosphere of spirited competition
without losing the ideal of sportsmanship. Competitors are encouraged to help each
other field competitive cars and then fight fiercely for positions on the track. We have
seen members from four competing teams join to rebuild a damaged car so that a
fellow Formula Mazda competitor would not miss a qualifying session. They wanted to
best him fairly on the track, not because he started the race with a handicap.
Rotary Power
All Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear Pro
Formula Mazdas are powered by the 240-horsepower Mazda
“Renesis” rotary engine similar to the “stock” RX-8 engine
pictured on the right.
The rotary engine performs the four processes of intake,
compression, combustion, and exhaust in succession by
turning a triangular-shaped rotor in the cocoon-shaped
combustion chamber to generate power. In comparison with
the reciprocating engine, it excels in features such as "compact size and light weight," "flat torque performance," and
"less vibration and low noise." Through the introduction of
innovative technologies for the rotary engine such as the use
of "side-exhaust and side-intake ports" and the new sequential
dynamic air intake system, the Renesis delivers a high power
output for a naturally aspirated engine. |
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