Category Archives: motorsport
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
25 YEAR CLUB: Celebrating the Le Mans-winning Mazda 787B, Part 04
Twenty-five years ago today, the Mazda 787B started on a 24-hour journey that would change Japan’s motorsport history. As you know, Mazda won the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans, and in parts 01, 02, and 03 of our tribute to this … Continue reading
Posted in 25 Year Club, motorsport
Tagged 24 Hours of Le Mans, 787b, le mans, mazda, mazdaspeed, R26B, racing history, rotary engine
3 Comments
MOTORSPORT: Toyota wins the 23 Hours, 55 Minutes of Le Mans
Rumor has it that Mazda, as the only Japanese automaker to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans overall, has a pre-written letter ready to congratulate Toyota should it ever become the second. Despite what seemed like a sure victory, that letter … Continue reading
Posted in motorsport
Tagged 24 Hours of Le Mans, kamui kobayashi, Kazuki Nakajima, toyota, TS050
7 Comments
25 YEAR CLUB: Celebrating the Le Mans-winning Mazda 787B, Part 03
In the previous installments of our 25th anniversary commemoration of Mazda 787B’s historic Le Mans win, we looked at the race car’s genealogy as well as the origin of its team. With the rules change imminent, it was the last year … Continue reading
Posted in 25 Year Club, motorsport
Tagged 24 Hours of Le Mans, 787b, le mans, mazda, mazdaspeed, R26B, racing history
6 Comments
25 YEAR CLUB: Celebrating The Le Mans-winning Mazda 787B, Part 02
The 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans is now underway — a perfect occasion to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the historic victory of the Mazda 787B. If you’re listening to or watching the race live, join us on a … Continue reading
Posted in 25 Year Club, motorsport
Tagged 13G, 13J, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 717C, 727C, 737C, 757, 767, 767b, Endurance Racing, Kenichi Yamamoto, le mans, mazda, Mazda Auto Tokyo, Mazda Sports Corner, mazdaspeed, Mooncraft, Nigel Stroud, R25B, racing history, rotary engine, Takashi Yorino, Takayoshi Ohashi, Takuya Yura, yojiro terada, Yoshimi Katayama
1 Comment
25 YEAR CLUB: Celebrating the Le Mans-winning Mazda 787B, Part 01
The 24 Hours of Le Mans begins tomorrow. This year marks the 84th running of the iconic endurance race. For racing fans and JNCers in particular, 2016 is especially significant as it is the 25th anniversary of the first and, … Continue reading
Posted in 25 Year Club, motorsport
Tagged 787b, le mans, mazda, Mazda Auto Tokyo, Mazda Sports Corner, mazdaspeed, racing history, rotary engine
5 Comments
RIP Peter Williamson, Aussie Toyota racing legend, 1938-2016
Australia, Toyota, and the world of motorsport has collectively lost a great ambassador with the passing of Peter “Willo” Williamson. For those of us who grew up in southwestern Sydney in the 1970s and 1980s, Willo was a legend and a … Continue reading
Posted in motorsport
Tagged a20, a40, a60, a70, australia, Bathurst, celica, Peter Williamson, supra, toyota
4 Comments
MOTORSPORT: Watch the fire-breathing Skyline Super Silhouette decimate Group 5
The Group 5 Skyline Turbo is one of the most legendary race cars in Japanese motorsport history. By now you know that its extreme Super Silhouette aero inspired a whole genre of tuning, but why was it so epic?
Posted in motorsport
Tagged dr30, fuji speedway, group 5, KDR30, masahiro hasemi, nissan, r30, skyline, super silhouette, Tsukuba Circuit
4 Comments
RIP Yoshimi Katayama, 1940 — 2016
It was announced in Japanese media yesterday that Yoshimi Katayama (片山義美) — the legendary race car driver often associated with Mazda — had passed away on March 26. He was 75. His prolific career was marked by some of Japan’s most … Continue reading
Posted in motorsport
Tagged 787, capella, cosmo sport, le mans, mazda, r100, rx-2, rx-3, savanna, suzuki, yamaha, Yoshimi Katayama
8 Comments
MOTORSPORT: The Super Silhouette Nissans that inspired a generation of bosozoku
One of the biggest treats from the NISMO Festival at Fuji Speedway the display of Nissan’s Super Silhouette racers from the late 1970s and early 1980s. Developed for Group 5 specifications, their extreme aero styling inspired a generation of bosozoku and kaido racers.
Posted in events, motorsport
Tagged bluebird, Bluebird 910, dr30, gazelle, group 5, haruhito yanagida, K10, Kazuyoshi Hoshino, march, masahiro hasemi, Matchy Kondo, NISMO Festival, nissan, r30, s110, s12, silvia, skyline, super silhouette
7 Comments
MOTORSPORT: How Nissan thwarted Toyota in the golden age of the Japan Grand Prix
By 1968 Toyota had had enough of losing their home country’s biggest race — the annual Japan Grand Prix — to Nissan. They had just debuted the nation’s flagship sports car in the 2000GT, but it was getting trounced by the Prince/Nissan R380, a … Continue reading
MOTORSPORT: 25 Hours of Thunderhill Miatas in retro livery
If you’re watching the 25 Hours of Thunderhill this weekend you might see a very familiar livery blasting around the northern California circuit. Mazda has sent a quartet of ND Miatas into the longest enduro in America and, fittingly, they’re … Continue reading
Posted in motorsport
Tagged 25 Hours of Thunderhill, mazda, miata, motorsport, mx-5, ND, rx-7, sa22
1 Comment
50 Years Ago: Honda F1 car wins Grand Prix of Mexico
Fifty years ago, on October 24, 1965, the Honda RA272 crossed the finish line at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City to clinch the company’s first Formula One victory. The effort began in May 1962, and it was said that when Soichiro Honda gave the order … Continue reading
MOTORSPORT: Dome recreates Honda S-based Macransa and Karasu to celebrate 50th anniversary
You might know Dome from its wild 1978 Zero concept car, but the firm dates back to 1965. Recently, Dome celebrated its 50th anniversary by recreating two of its very first cars. Based off of 1960s Honda S-Series roadsters, the Karasu … Continue reading
Posted in motorsport
Tagged dome, honda, Karasu, macransa, Minoru Hayashi, S500/S600/S800, tojiro ukiya, Zero
3 Comments
MOTORSPORT: 1968 Honda RA302 replica
Do you wish you could have a 1960s Honda F1 car of your very own? A British outfit called Stuart-Taylor Motorsport is building a life-size replica of the 1968 Honda RA302, an interesting choice considering the original’s morbid history.
MOTORSPORT: The Mazda RX-7 that won the 24 Hours of Spa
With a small but passionate maker of sporty cars and oddball engines taking center stage at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, all manner of Hiroshima steel could be found on the show grounds. A seemingly mundane Mazda RX-7 looked like any number of cars … Continue reading
MOTORSPORT: 1976 Kojima Engineering KE007
You never know what you’ll encounter at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Meandering through the paddocks, we came across the 1976 Kojima Engineering KE007, a Japanese Formula One car that was poised to become a formidable challenger in F1 a decade before McLaren-Hondas began their domination. … Continue reading
Posted in motorsport
Tagged Cosworth, formula 1, KE007, Kojima Engineering, masahiro hasemi, Matsuhisa Kojima, mazda, rotary engine, suzuki
8 Comments
MOTORSPORT: Mazda at Le Mans
As you’re reading this sentence, the world’s most advanced race cars are barreling down a country road in France at 200-plus miles per hour. The 24 Hours of Le Mans is happening right now, and to commemorate their own win … Continue reading
MOTORSPORT: Nissan GT-R NISMO LM gets retro livery
One heritage car may be dead, but another lives on, sort of. Since its US debut at the Chicago Auto Show we’ve been immensely curious about the front-wheel-drive Nissan GT-R NISMO LM. And no, that is not a typo. The car with … Continue reading
MOTORSPORT: Mr K and the rise of Nissan racing
Yutaka Katayama, who passed away last month, was unlike most executives. There was more than just spreadsheets and sales statistics to him; he was a true motoring enthusiast. Although this is exactly the type of automotive executive enthusiasts in the outside … Continue reading
