This year's Tudor United SportsCar Championship will act as a testing ground for the next generation of Mazda's SkyActiv-D diesel engine. Kicking off in Daytona, USA this week, the competition sees the new unit participating in the top tier as the only prototype diesel engine on the grid.
So far, the car has simply been dubbed 'Mazda Prototype' and it's powered by a 2.2-litre SkyActiv-D engine that has been tuned to develop 450hp and 786Nm of torque specifically for the race series. Hooked up to a six-speed sequential gearbox, the racer will hit 300km/h with its Daytona-spec aero kit, which works in conjunction with carbon brakes and 18-inch Continental slicks to keep things in order round the bends.
However, despite the colossal power, the engine is, in fact, largely stock. Mazda says that 51 per cent of the parts found in the race engine come straight from the Mazda factory; and it's 63 per cent stock in terms of weight.
Piloting the two racers are four drivers who are no strangers to success when it comes to racing with Mazda. Between Sylvain Tremblay and Tom Long in the #70 car, and Joel Miller and Tristan Nunez in the #07 car, they achieved nine race wins and the 2013 Grand-Am GX Manufacturers Championship for the team.
"We'll announce our third drivers for the Rolex 24 at a later date," comments John Doonan, Director of Motorsports for Mazda North American Operations. "But rest assured they all fit the same mould of being team thinkers and both will have Mazda heritage in their blood. There is no shortage of great racing talent in America."
Anything else?
The racer has already had its first public outing in the "Roar Before the 24" test this week, with its first Rolex 24 race scheduled for 25th-26th January.