- Acura
- Alfa Romeo
- Aston Martin
- Audi
- Bentley
- BMW
- Buick
- Cadillac
- Chevrolet
- Chrysler
- Dodge
- Ferrari
- Fiat
- Ford
- Genesis
- GMC
- Honda
- Hyundai
- Infiniti
- Jaguar
- Jeep
- Kia
- Lamborghini
- Land Rover
- Lexus
- Lincoln
- Lotus
- Lucid
- Maserati
- Maybach
- Mazda
- McLaren
- Mercedes-Benz
- MINI
- Mitsubishi
- Nissan
- Pagani
- Porsche
- Ram
- Rivian
- Rolls-Royce
- SMART
- Subaru
- Tesla
- Toyota
- Volkswagen
- Volvo
#tri-point
SEMA 2009: Turbo Mazda3 and Tuned MazdaSpeed3 Defy SEMA Norm By Going Clean and Less Extreme
Mazda doesn’t officially have a presence at the 2009 SEMA Show, but the Japanese automaker did decide to bring two custom cars to Las Vegas. Using in-house parts (many from the Mazda RX-8) and calling upon the automaker’s World Challenge motorsports partner, Tri-Point, Mazda has come up with two fresh and clean examples of the popular Mazda3 and its high-performance MazdaSpeed sibling.
Bimmerworld BMW 328i Clinches Victory at First 2009 Touring Car Race at Sebring
Seth Thomas, piloting the No. 38 BimmerWorld/GearWrench BMW 328i, jumped into the lead off the standing start during the first race of the 2009 World Challenge Touring Car series and never looked back.
With a qualifying run that landed him in 2nd, Thomas used the BMW’s rear-drive advantage to get a quick lead on pole-sitter Pierre Kleinubing in the front-drive RealTime Acura TSX and after just three laps had put just over a second between the two cars.
“I didn’t expect that kind of advantage going into Turn One,” Thomas said. “The BMWs have rear-wheel drive and they launch really well off the start. Pierre [Kleinubing] has a lot of experience starting up there and I expected him to be tough and get a little better launch. The way it worked out, I went into the brake zone for Turn One and looked in the mirror and saw the gap. I just thought ‘just maintain that and see what we can do.’”
Kleinubing and RealTime teammate Kuno Wittmer attempted to chase Thomas down, but after Whitmer retired due to mechanical problems, the race belonged to the Bimmerworld team, taking the podium 2.563 seconds ahead of the RealTime Acura.
“I’ve been coming here for many years,” Thomas said. “I always had good success at Sebring in the BMW Club stuff I did. Then we came to World Challenge and things went a little haywire. After last year, it’s definitely redemption here. Last year, we should have started on the pole but a technical infraction got us in trouble and we had to start from the back. I felt like this year was going to be the year.
“I keep telling everybody, there’s no words that can describe winning. It’s the best feeling. We’ve worked so hard to get here and it’s finally happened.”
Kleinubing admitted he pretty much lost the race right at the beginning thanks to an overly eager right foot.
“Halfway through first gear I spun the tires pretty badly on the big painted stripe and lost a little bit there from first to second. [Thomas] pulled a huge gap at that point. Every time I’d get a little closer, he seemed to answer and pull it back out. I just did what I could and finished second.”
Kleinubing states that he was eager to get to the next race where he will pilot a brand new TSX. At Sebring, only RealTime owner/racer and defending series champ Peter Cunningham had one of the new TSXs on the track and finished in 9th place after loosing body work in an incedent.
The final podium spot belonged to Jason Saini in the No. 74 MAZDASPEED/Stoptech/Racinghart Mazda6, who was fastest in round one of qualifying and who posted the 5th fastest qualifying time. Saini moved in to 4th after teammate Charles Espenlaub pulled into the pits with a throttle issue on one of the warm-up laps. He gave up that position to another Mazda6 driven by Chip Herr, and then gained it back when Herr’s engine let go.
“To get on the podium after all it took to get here is just great,” said Saini. “I give all the credit to Mazda and Tri-Point for making this all happen as well as some personal sponsors to make this race possible. Hopefully, we can take these results and move them forward to the rest of the season.”
Round Two of the SCCA Pro Racing SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship is scheduled for May 1 – 3, at Thunderbolt Raceway in Millville, N.J.
Complete race results after the jump:
Mazda Fastest at First 2009 World Challenge Touring Car Practice at Sebring
Mazda finished the day at Sebring yesterday with the fastest car during the first practice session ahead of the 2009 World Challenge Touring Car season.
Jason Saini, piloting the Tri-Point No. 74 Mazdaspeed/Stoptech/Racinghart Mazda, posted the best lap time at the end of the day with a 2:25.294 on the 17-turn, 3.7-mile circuit.
“Conditions were a bit variable,” Saini said. “It was damp this morning, but it got better throughout the session. It was hard to learn what the car was really doing in the changing conditions. I was lucky to have a late lap when the conditions were getting better every lap.”
“The team has done such a great job pulling things together in short order. So many people pulled together to make this happen at the last minute. All credit to the team for staying up late all last week and getting these cars together.”
The Tri-Point team of Mazda6’s also claimed 4th and 6th for the day with Charles Espenlaub piloting the No. 73 car and rookie Eric Foss in the No. 75 car taking the respective positions.
Much of the rest of the top 10 was filled with the RealTime Racing Acura TSXs with Kuno Wittmer taking 2nd, Pierre Kleinubing taking 3rd and Toby Grahovec taking 7th. Defending World Challenge Touring Car Champion Peter Cunningham, the only driver piloting a new TSX vehicle, placed 5th.
Finishing out the top ten were Andrew Aquilante and his Subaru WRX in 8th, Nick Esayian in his BMW 328i in 9th and James Clay in his BMW 328i in 10th.
The World Challenge Touring Car Series kicks-off with the opening race this Friday, March 20th .
Full Practice Session results after the jump:
