Mazda likes to brag that on any given weekend there are more of their cars on road courses across America than any other marque. On the weekend of June 21-22, they’ll also be able to add Germany’s iconic Nurburgring circuit to that list.
In honor of the Mazda MX-5 turning 25 years old this year, the Hiroshima-based automaker will enter a race-prepped MX-5 in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring. For the effort, Mazdaspeed has teamed up with UK-based JOTA Sport to prepare the car and manage the race team.
The day-long enduro will see four drivers taking shifts behind the wheel: British journalist and MX-5 racer Owen Mildenhall, who has previously raced the event with Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi in a Lexus IS F; Nurburgring veteran Wolfgang Kaufmann; Roadster (the Japanese name for the MX-5) Party Race series winner Teruaki Kato, and Stefan Johansson, who had a stint behind the wheel of the Mazda 787B at Le Mans in 1990.
The MX-5 will be competing in the V3 class, a category largely unmodified except for safety equipment, suspension and wheel and tire enhancements. The car is based on a third-generation soft-top MX-5 with the standard 2.0-liter, 167hp inline-four. The day-long enduro will use part of the Nurburgring Grand Prix circuit and the legendary Nordschleife.
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