After a few seasons of racing gasoline-powered
prototypes in North America, Mazda switched to a diesel engine based on the
2.2-liter SkyActiv-D unit found in its production cars. That didn’t go very
well, so the automaker returned to the 2.0-liter gasoline four-pot in 2016,
when it continued with the same Lola chassis.
With IMSA Prototype class rules revised for 2017,
Mazda ditched the old Lola underpinnings in favor of a Riley chassis and
redesigned the bodywork of its race car. With rules now more permissive as far
as designs go, Mazda came up with a race car that uses many of the Kodo styling
cues seen on the company’s production cars.
The new race car will compete in the new DPi class
of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The category replaces last
year’s Prototype class and introduces revised regulations to the series. The
new Riley chassis was designed and built by Multimatic, while the engine was
carried over from last year’s race car.
Mazda Motorsports will tackle the 2017 season with
two vehicles. Car No. 55 will be driven by Jonathan Bomarito and Tristan Nunez,
while car No. 77 will be piloted by Joel Miller and Tom Long. The season will
commence in Daytona on January 28, while the final race will take place in
Georgia on October 7.
