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For fans of the SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Series, the premier touring car racing series in the United States, the pair of blue Tri Point Motorsports Mazda Protegs has been a fixture of some of the most competitive World Challenge racing fields for the past several years. But soon, the Tri Point Protegs will be replaced. Just over three years after spearheading Mazdas touring car efforts and two years after delivering the Protegs first World Challenge win, the Tri Point Motorsports team is ready to debut the newest Mazda racecar to the motorsports world the MAZDA6 World Challenge Touring Car. Just as in the showroom floor, the decision by Mazda and Tri Point to run the MAZDA6s will put the four-door sports sedan in competition on the track with sedans such as the BMW 330i and the Acura TSX.
Based on the very successful and acclaimed MAZDA6 sports sedan, construction on the new Mazda-sponsored Tri Point MAZDA6 racecar was begun at the end of 2003 with the big shoes of its Proteg sibling to fill. The Proteg has been very successful on the World Challenge circuit, scoring numerous victories in competition with automakers from around the world including BMW, Mercedes, and Acura. Last year, Tri Point Motorsports drivers Jeff Altenburg and Shauna Marinus led all Mazda competitors with a combined six podium finishes, one memorable victory at Mazda Laguna Raceway, and a historic first female pole position award for Marinus in their Mazda-backed Mazda Protegs. In all, Mazda Protegs finished in the top-ten 26 times and eight Mazda drivers were on the podium during the course of the ten-event 2003 SPEED World Challenge season.
So why mess with success? Well, frankly because the MAZDA6 will likely be as fast or even faster competitor according to Tri Point Motorsports partner Mark Shuler. Despite having a curb weight and exterior dimensions that will be a couple hundred pounds and a few more inches more than the current Proteg, the MAZDA6s 2.3L four-cylinder engine (as found on base model MAZDA6s) in race trim is expected to deliver more than enough horsepower to erase any power-to-weight disadvantages between the two. Like the 2.0L four-cylinder being campaigned by Tri-Point and other Mazda Proteg competitors, the 2.3L race engine, developed in-house by Mazda, will have much more horsepower than its show room cousins (160 hp in the 2.3Ls case). The race engine is exactly the same motor that you will find in a four-cylinder equipped MAZDA6 (V6 models are available as well), but tuned for race trim according to allowances from the SCCA Pro Racing, the sanctioning body of the SPEED World Challenge.
Tri Point also believes that a combination of a more sophisticated suspension package and the infusion of four years of Proteg World Challenge car experience will make the new MAZDA6 World Challenge car a threat to competitors the first time out. We are very excited about the MAZDA6 program, said Shuler. The MAZDA6 is really in a different class of preparation compared to when we first started the Proteg program its a whole new level. Many racecars take months or even years to become a contender on the circuit not in this case. Were going to track test the car in the next couple of weeks, and expect to debut a contender at the Infineon race (July 16-18).
Tri Point has steadily progressed on the MAZDA6 since receiving the bare body shell from Mazda. An entire rollcage has been designed and fabricated to offer the safety and structural rigidity demanded of a car that will be hurled at triple digit speeds at some of the most demanding tracks in the country. Besides many custom suspension components that Tri Point has been engineering, the car will also feature new Koni 4-way adjustable shocks that werent usable in the past because of the Protegs strut-design suspension (Koni 2817 race struts). The MAZDA6 sedan features a double A arm design that has been the backbone of the cars sports car-like handling. While the Proteg and the MAZDA6 are both front wheel drive platforms, many seemingly similar parts cannot be shared - even the rear spoiler of the car will be custom developed to suit the better aerodynamic characteristics of the MAZDA6. The MoTeC engine management system that is currently being used in the Proteg, however will also be used in the MAZDA6.
Tri Point expects to debut at least one MAZDA6 at the Infineon Grand Prix of Sonoma presented by Marriott Hotel and Spa with driver Jeff Altenburg behind the wheel. The rollout will likely continue with teammate Shauna Marinus getting her MAZDA6 soon after. The debut couldnt have come at a better track as Altenburg and Marinus both have great success at the Infineon track with the duo earning a double podium finish for Mazda and Tri Point last year. In any case, the newest member of a long tradition of Mazda racecars has arrived welcome, MAZDA6.
