Mazda RX-8 Wins GT Class at 2008 Rolex 24 Daytona, Florida

The SpeedSource Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 driving team of Sylvain Tremblay, David Haskell, Nick Ham, and Raphael Matos won the GT class at the Rolex 24 at Daytona to kick off the 2008 GrandAm season. (PRNewsFoto/Mazda North American Operations)
22nd Win in Endurance Classic for Mazda since 1975 -DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Jan. 28 /PRNewswire/ — After 24 hours of close
won the GT class at the Rolex 24 at Daytona to kick off the 2008 GrandAm
season. The SpeedSource driving team of Sylvain Tremblay, David Haskell,
Nick Ham, and Raphael Matos started from the pole, and led 323 of 664 laps,
on their way to ninth overall and the class win.

The race was a severe strategic challenge as there were intermittent
rain showers for over half of the race and a total of 24 caution periods,
many the result of on track incidents. The SpeedSource team was challenged
by the slippery conditions with multiple spins, one of which resulted in
minor body damage to the rear of the car including a broken taillamp. Other
than the taillamp however, the rotary-powered Mazda ran flawlessly
throughout the day-night-day race.

The SpeedSource Mazda team beat the runner-up Porsche by over five
laps. The win was the 22nd class win at the race for Mazda and a ended a
lengthy winning streak by Porsche at the biggest 24 hour race in America.
Along the way, the SpeedSource number 70 car beat over two dozen Porsche
911 GT-3s, a handful of Pontiacs, a pair of Ferrari 430 Challenges, a
Corvette, and a BMW M6. There were a total of 55 lead changes among 10 cars
in the class, but no one could pass the RX-8 for the final 185 laps.

“This was a great win for the entire SpeedSource team. Endurance racing
in particular is a team sport and I am so proud of our collective effort.
Thanks especially to our new partners at Castrol, who believed in our
ability to deliver. Thanks also to Fresh from Florida for their support of
our in-car camera, as well as the many rotary enthusiasts who have
supported our efforts,” remarked SpeedSource owner/engineer/driver Sylvain
Tremblay.

Backing up the Castrol Syntec RX-8 were two other SpeedSource-built
RX-8s in the top ten. Finishing fifth in the GT class was the SpeedSource
FXDD RX-8 of Emil Assentato, Jeff Segal, Nick Longhi, and Lonnie Pechnik.
The final top-ten car was the RX-8 of Racers Edge Motorsports driven by Ken
Dobson, Robert Thorne, Craig Stone and Drew Staveley.

2008 Rolex 24 at Daytona Mazda Team Recap

Team Sponsor Drivers Qualified Finished Notes

SpeedSource Castrol Sylvain Tremblay, 1st 1st Early battle
#70 Syntec David Haskell, with Porsches
and MAZDASPEED Nick Ham, and and Pontiacs
Raphael Matos followed by
domination of
the final
seven hours
en-route to
the first win
by the team
in the 24
Hour classic.

SpeedSource FXDD Emil Assentato, 16th 5th Ran solidly
#69 Jeff Segal, in the top-ten
Nick Longhi, and all day.
Lonnie Pechnik

Racers Edge Guardian Edge Ken Dobson, 8th 10th A solid
Motorsports Technologies, Robert Thorne, top-ten finish.
#30 Bumper to Bumper Craig Stone and A potential
Auto Parts, and Drew Staveley top-five was
Michael Spain-Smith derailed after
Studios crash damage
caused an
electrical
problem.

Hyper-Sport SoBe Patrick Dempsey, 25th 24th An early race
#40 Life Water Charles Espenlaub, cut tire
Joe Foster, resulted in
Romeo Kapudija, and a damaged
Scott Maxwel oil cooler
and the loss
of 40+ laps
for repairs.
The team used
the balance
of the race
as an extended
test session.

Goldin CCM Cellular Steve Goldin, 40th 39th Handling the
Brothers Keith Goldin, difficulties
#08 Jim Meassick, and resulted in
Squeak Kennedy car being
retired from
the race
after 83 laps.

22 Mazda powered class wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona

1975 Ray Walle, Tom Reddy RX-3 1st in GTU Touring (14th
overall)
1979 Yoshimi Katayama, Yojiro RX-7 1st in GTU (5th overall)
Terada, Takashi Yorino

1982 Yoshimi Katayama, Yojiro RX-7 1st in GTO (4th overall)
Terada, Takashi Yorino

1982 Kathy Rude*, Lee Mueller, RX-7 1st in GTU (6th overall)
Allan Moffett
* First ever class win for a woman in IMSA history.

1983 Pete Halsmer, Bob Reed, RX-7 1st in GTO (3rd overall)
Rick Knoop, Tom Gloy

1983 Lee Mueller, Hugh RX-7 1st in GTU (12th overall)
McDonough, Terry Visger

1984 Ira Young, Bob Reed, RX-7 1st in GTU (12th overall)
Jack Baldwin, Jim Cook

1985 Kelly Marsh, Ron Pawley, Argo-Mazda 1st in Lights (10th overall)
Don Marsh

1985 Amos Johnson, Jack Dunham, RX-7 1st in GTU (12th overall)
Yojiro Terada

1986 Frank Rubino, Ray Mummery, Argo-Mazda 1st in Lights (7th overall)
John Schneider

1986 Amos Johnson, Dennis Shaw, RX-7 1st in GTU (8th overall)
Jack Dunham

1987 Amos Johnson, Dennis Shaw, RX-7 1st in GTU (10th overall)
Bob Lazier

1988 Amos Johnson, Dennis Shaw, RX-7 1st in GTU (15th overall)
Bob Lazier

1989 Al Bacon, Bob Reed, RX-7 1st in GTU (12th overall)
Rod Millen

1990 John Grooms, Michael Argo-Mazda 1st in Lights (9th overall)
Greenfield, Frank
Jellinek Jr.,
Peter Greenfield

1990 Peter Uria, Bob Dotson, RX-7 1st in GTU (12th overall)
Jim Pace

1991 Dick Greer, Al Bacon, RX-7 1st in GTU (13th overall)
Mike Mees, Peter Uria

1992 Al Bacon, Dick Greer, RX-7 1st in GTU (7th overall)
Mike Mees, Peter Uria

1993 John Grooms, Frank Kudzu-Mazda 1st in Lights (7th overall)
Jellinek Jr., Jim Downing,
Tim McAdam

1993 Dick Greer, Al Bacon, RX-7 1st in GTU (9th overall)
Peter Uria, Mike Mees

2001 Howard Katz, Jim Downing, Kudzu-Mazda 1st in SRP (11th overall)
AJ Smith, Chris Ronson

2008 Sylvain Tremblay, David
Haskell, Nick Ham, RX-8 1st in GT (9th overall)
Raphael Matos

Mazda is the brand of choice for road-racers across North America. More
than 9,000 grassroots racers compete in various classes with the Sports Car
Club of America (SCCA) and the National Auto Sport Association (NASA).
Racers who are years away from earning a driver’s license can now begin
their professional motorsports careers in the Mazda family. A driver can
begin in karts and progress through the Skip Barber series, Club Racing
Formula Mazda, professional Star Mazda and finally to Formula Atlantic, ALL
with Mazda. No other car company has ever connected the dots this way.

On any given weekend, there are more Mazdas on the road-race tracks of
America than any other brand of vehicle. At the track, you’ll see MX-5
Miata, RX-8, MAZDA3, MAZDA6, RX-7 and other vintage Mazda models competing,
because every Mazda has the Soul of a Sports Car. In fact, the largest
road-racing class in the world is Spec Miata, with more than 1,500 first-
and second- generation Miatas tearing up America’s racetracks, making it
the most-raced production car in the world. Mazda’s involvement in
motorsports extends to its relationship with Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, one
of the world’s premier road-racing circuits, and the Skip Barber Schools
for driving and racing.

Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Mazda North American Operations
oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda
vehicles in the United States, Canada and Mexico through nearly 900
dealers. Operations in Canada are managed by Mazda Canada, Inc., located in
Ontario, Canada, and in Mexico by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.

For more information on Mazda products, visit the online Mazda media
center at http://www.MazdaUSAmedia.com

For more information on MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development, visit
http://www.MAZDASPEEDMotorsports.com

SOURCE Mazda North American Operations / PR Newswire

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(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080128/LAM110)