News Releases
MONTEREY, Calif (September 14, 2015) – Mazda racers capped off the 2015 Pirelli World Challenge Championship season with five wins during the season finale weekend at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Thanks to amazing customer teams, Mazda earned the Touring Car Manufacturers’ Championship. The championship was delivered by the combined efforts of Breathless Performance, EASTEX Motorsports, BERG Racing, Snader Racing and Hale Motorsports. The Mazda MX-5 Miata teams edged out Nissan, Porsche, VW, Hyundai, Honda, Volvo and Ford for the title.
“The 2015 World Challenge Touring Car Manufacturer Championship can be summed up in one word: Customers. We are so proud and appreciative of all of our customer teams that have dedicated themselves to running up front, standing on the podium and winning races for the Mazda brand,” said John Doonan, director of motorsports, Mazda North American Operations. “We are grateful for their investment of time, energy and resources in racing Mazdas. This championship is a celebration of them and their efforts. Special thanks to each and every member of all the teams that brought this championship to Mazda.”
The Pirelli World Challenge includes three classes where Mazda teams compete, and all three included success for the Zoom-Zoom Nation.
Season highlights for the Mazda racers:
- In Touring Cars (TC) Ernie Francis Jr. from Davie, Florida, drove his Breathless Performance Mazda MX-5 to four wins and second place in the drivers’ championship and the Breathless team was voted TC crew of the year. Adam Poland from Mount Vernon, Texas, drove his EASTEX Motorsports Majestic Pet Products Mazda MX-5 to one win and nine podium finishes for a third-place finish in the championship.
- In Touring Car ”A” Elivan Goulart, from Shelton, Connecticut, scored a win at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park in the TechSport Racing Mazda RX-8.
- In Touring Car “B”, aka B-Spec, Joey Jordan from Santa Barbara, California, was a late-season arrival in his Corksport Mumford Brewery / Minx Nails Mazda2. Joey scored four wins in the final five races of the season.
Other Mazda racers in the season were Kevin Anderson, Steve Bottom, Gino Carini, Robby Foley, Randy Hale, Chris Holter, Cameron Parsons, Jason Saini, Austin Snader, Steve Taake, Yiannis Tsiounis, John Weisberg, Dinah Weisberg and James Wilson.
Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at www.mazdausamedia.com.
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Jade Gurss, Mazda Motorsports (317) 517-4121 MazdaMotorsports@icloud.com
