Mazdaspeed Motorsports 2009 - Commitment to grassroots and professional motorsports - Feature

Over the past few months, it seems as though almost no good news has come out of the racing community. But despite all the pullouts and dried-up sponsorships, Mazda wants the world to know it hasn't forgotten where it believes its strength lies. After all, this is a company that claims that "on any given weekend, more Mazdas are racing than any other brand."

How does a brand often overshadowed by larger automakers substantiate such a claim? The record books tell the story. Mazda has recorded the most amateur racing victories and championships of any manufacturer and is second only to mighty Porsche in professional road-racing victories. The company claims to have 9000 active members in club racing and a full 3000 members running in the Spec Miata class alone. At the SCCA Run-Offs last year, Mazda race cars outnumbered Toyotas, Nissans, and Hondas combined.

To accomplish this, Mazda is actively involved in nine open- and closed-wheel professional racing series, some of which they created themselves, and several grassroots-level series. At the same time, Mazda has made it a point to focus only on automotive events. The company does not sponsor any kind of event that isn't auto-related, such as golf tournaments.

The point of Mazda's in-house racing division's third-annual Mazdaspeed Motorsports Lunch wasn't to brag about where they've been, though. Rather, it was about where they're going. While other automakers are pulling out of various race series by the truckload, Mazda is renewing its commitment to racing at every level -- from karting to Le Mans.