New LMP2 CAR
You have previously seen the artist rendering. The car looks better in person, even in carbon black. The race debut is next week at the American Le Mans Series Petit Le mans @ Road Atlanta. A few notes about the car:
Photo is from first shakedown test @ Road America.
This will be the first coupe to race in the ALMS LMP2 class.
Car to debut at Petit Le Mans and will also race at the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
Outnumbered by the Porsche & Acura forces by eight to one, Mazda has stepped up their program on the chassis side. While the Mazda AER developed MZR-R has shown great speed, the results to date have not reflected that potential.
Aerodynamically the coupe is expected to have approximately 10% more downforce and 7% less drag. The air restrictor size will be increased to 45.6mm, but all coupes are required to run AC so power increase will be negated.
The car will also feature a faster refueling mechanism and improved fuel collector to reduce pit stop time.
The BP sponsored car remains on Dunlop tires with drivers Ben Devlin & Gerardo Bonilla. MAZDASPEED ladder poster boy, and former Skip Barber/Star Mazda/Atlantic and current Indy Lights champion Raphael Matos will rejoin the team for the Petit race.
Quote: John Doonan, MAZDASPEED Motorsports Team Development Manager This is the top rung of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports program and we needed to raise our efforts. The B-K team has already invested over 1200 hours into the assembly of the new car and we are optimistic about the final two races of 2008 and are already looking forward to the 2009 Sebring race.
Hope to see some of you in Atlanta next week.