Tag Archives: imsa

EVENTS: 2017 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 08 — Best Booths

JCCS has become an international show. For years, the event has been growing, with ever better builds and spectators coming from farther reaches of the globe. This year, however, many top companies from Japan attended, while US-based ones upped the ante with … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2017 Japanese Classic Car Show, Part 02 — Because Race Car

In Japan, you have full-blown vintage racing events devoted to Nihon steel, factory sponsored motorsports festivals, and manufacturer exhibits. These things don’t really happen in the US with Japanese automakers, so JCCS is one of the rare opportunities for competition machines to … Continue reading

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MOTORSPORT: Team Highball IMSA RX-7, the most successful endurance racer of all time

It is often said that rotary engines are unreliable. And yet, some of the greatest long-distance racers have been pistonless Mazdas, including what has been called the most successful endurance racer of all time: the Team Highball 1985 IMSA GTU RX-7.

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RIP John Knepp, 1942 – 2017

It is with sadness that we report the passing of John Knepp, a pivotal figure in Nissan’s growth into a motorsports powerhouse in the United States. A founding partner in legendary engineering firm Electramotive, Knepp was an unsung hero of … Continue reading

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Happy 4th of July from JNC

Here’s some red, white and blue on the most American 240SX ever — an IMSA race car, not a drift missile — in honor Independence Day. Happy 4th of July from JNC.

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MOTORSPORT: A giant cutout commemorating the Nissan GTP ZX-Turbo is up for grabs [UPDATE: It’s been claimed]

For years a giant, 15-foot-wide image of Nissan’s championship GTP ZX-Turbo prototype racer has been displayed at the automaker’s marketing agency’s offices in Los Angeles. That piece of history is now up for grabs, completely free, but the catch is … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Racing Beat at the 24 Hours of Daytona

The passing of Racing Beat cofounder Jim Mederer dealt a blow to the community of rotary and Mazda enthusiasts. In remembering the accomplishments of Jim and his shop over the years, we were reminded of the magnitude of their contribution to … Continue reading

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VIDEO: Watch Adam Carolla hillclimb Paul Newman’s 300ZX

The Drive just concluded their video series following Adam Carolla’s journey to England as he enters his freshly restored, ex-Paul Newman Nissan 300ZX in the Goodwood Festival of Speed‘s hillclimb. Restored in the UK (a proper British restoration, not one of … Continue reading

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EVENTS: 2016 SevenStock celebrates 19th year as world’s premier rotary Mazda gathering

SevenStock just completed its nineteenth showing. Befitting its namesake, the event is a festival for and by the rotary Mazda community and the largest such annual gathering in the world! Once again throngs of brapping Mazdas occupied the tarmac of … Continue reading

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RIP Tony Adamowicz, 1941—2016

American racing driver Tony Adamowicz (above, third from left) has passed away at the age of 75. Over an accomplished career, he drove just about every type of car imaginable in every type of race imaginable. From Dodge Challengers in Trans-Am to … Continue reading

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MOTORSPORT: Mazda’s 787B Le Mans livery rides again

It may not be 24 hours and it may not be Le Mans, but the Six Hours of Watkins Glen is no walk in the park. In honor of the 25th anniversary of its Le Mans win, Mazda wrapped one … Continue reading

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EVENTS: SevenStock 2015

Mazdafarians far and wide came to the recent SevenStock 18, the premiere showcase of rotary-powered Hiroshima heroes. Held at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, the all-day festival mixed a car show, track day, and basically anything that was Mazda rotary-themed.

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EVENTS: Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion 2015

The Rolex Motorsports Reunion is typically a high point of Monterey Historic Car Week, but this year a black cloud hung over the festivities. The volunteers that have run Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca since it opened in 1957 is being forced out by the … Continue reading

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COLLECTIONS: Inside Mazda North America’s Basement

Talk to Mazda employees about their cars, past and present, and it immediately becomes clear that the company is comprised of people passionate about what they’ve built. This is no small feat, and we have peeked behind the walls of enough automakers to … Continue reading

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NEXT VERSION: Can you name these classic Toyota racing liveries?

In preparation for the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed, Toyota UK has prepped six GT86 (known here as the Scion FR-S) sport coupes in racing liveries from the company’s past. Can you name them all (answers below, no peeking!)? 

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EVENTS: SevenStock 17

SevenStock is the annual gathering of the Southern California Rotary Club. The combination car show and track day is one of the largest American assemblages Mazdas both old and new, held at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California with official support … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Monterey Historics, Part 04 — Running a Datsun 240Z at the Rolex Motorsports Reunion

Today’s guest writer is Alvin Gogineni, a member of the Z Car Garage team that restored and worked as pit crew for Joel Anderson’s No. 49 IMSA Datsun 240Z at the Rolex Motorsports Reunion. —Ben If it’s the smell of 110 octane, … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Monterey Historics, Part 03 — Motorsports Reunion

Perhaps the only thing more heavenly than hearing a cacophony of uncorked engines at full tear is actually witnessing a fleet of irreplaceable metal come screaming over the hills. The Rolex Motorsports Reunion is one of the highlights — possibly the highlight — of … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Monterey Historics, Part 02 — The Auctions

We’re going to do things out of chronological order because we felt it was important to report on the auctions of four significant Japanese cars as they happened. Now that we’ve recuperated from the madness, here’s how it went down, … Continue reading

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EVENTS: Monterey Historics, Part 01

So after we dropped off the hakosuka GT-R at Nissan’s garage, we set out to see what the rest of the Monterey Historics had to offer. It is the most mind-detonatingly expensive automotive festival in this hemisphere, a world we … Continue reading

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