Mazda avoids the big-time, big-expense world of Formula One and NASCAR racing. Instead, it focuses on grass-roots-level competition in the Sports Car Club of America, and the effort is paying off.
Mazda accounts for half the cars on SCCA racetracks, despite a much smaller light-vehicle market share than SCCA combatants Toyota, Honda and Nissan. Mazda executives say grass-roots racing brings Mazda closer to its customers than a big-league racing series can.
The bottom line also benefits. For the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2007, Mazda sold $6.9 million in Mazdaspeed-branded parts and accessories to grass-roots racing teams. That is expected to increase to $7.8 million this fiscal year, says Steve Sanders, manager of Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development.
"The biggest thing is the Spec Miata" racing series, Sanders says. "But we go all the way up to building ceramic apex shields for the RX-8 rotary racing engines."
Sales to racing teams made up only a fraction of total Mazda accessory revenue of about $130 million in the last fiscal year. But it is triple what Mazdaspeed sells to street-legal customers through Mazda dealerships, says Jack Stavana, director of Mazda's accessory operations.
Other touches endear Mazda to grass-roots participants. For instance, Mazda allows SCCA-licensed racers to buy cars at a discount, Sanders says. Mazda also has tech support working late on Thursdays and Fridays in case a racer needs advice or a spare part shipped before Saturday qualifying runs.
"We get a lot of calls at the last minute on Friday," Sanders says. "An engine builder can get parts direct from us and bill the racer."
Mazda also has a parts trailer at larger races, such as the year-end SCCA Runoffs and many MX-5 Cup races.
The racetrack is harder on a car than the street, so there are engineering benefits. A problem with the third- and fourth-gear shift forks in the MX-5 Miata was discovered in the Spec Miata series, Sanders says. A retrofit fix was in place before street-legal customers were even aware.
Even when Mazda dips its toe in big-time racing, such as when it won its class with an RX-8 at the 24 Hours of Daytona, it remains a modest effort.
Says Robert Davis, Mazda vice president of product development and quality: "Porsche's catering bill at Daytona was bigger than our motorsports budget for the entire year."
