3,5,7,10 for Mazda at Sebring

[Jimmy@MV]

Roger Foo finished third place after running most of the race in second. Paul Bonaccorsi took 5th, Hemmingson 7th and Espenlaub finished 10th for Mazda. Not too bad, four out of top ten positions. Here are a couple of pics and more can be found in the galleries at www.speedarena.com

 

[Logan]

Are these supposed to have originated from ES's?
Or from MP3's?
I thought I read somewhere that these proteges were supposed to have been originally ES's, but the front bodywork makes me think they are supposed to me MP3's!
Someone help here?

 

[Newf]

probably ES's, or what's left of an ES, with the MP3 bodywork. Anyone can get the mp3 stuff. Actually, it's no different then the p5 stuff with the exception of the rear sills, which these cars don't seem to have

look nice though..... REPRESENT !

 

[Logan]

Yeah, they look real good.
From a marketing perspective, I would assume that Mazda would want the car to look like the car they want to move off the lots.
Which it doesn't.

 

[ZoomZoomH]

yes all of these cars are based on the 2.0L ES sedan... since there's no reason to get an MP3, because as soon as they get it everything gets gutted from the car all the way down to the body, and it's rebuilt from the ground up with racing parts... These racing engines (based on the stock 2.0 block) make 230+ NA, btw...

in case you guys haven't caught on, MP3/MSP are just production 'modded' REGULAR Proteges... nothing else special about it...

 

[ZoomZoomH]

oh and congrats to Mr. Foo for a great start to the season, always good to get on the podium!!!!

 

[DistantTea]

Wonderful

in case you guys haven't caught on, MP3/MSP are just production 'modded' REGULAR Proteges... nothing else special about it...

HA! Thats great. An M3 is just a modded 330i. An S4 is just a modded A4. There's no difference between a GT2 and a C2. Acura Integra Type R? Nope just a GSR with a couple mods.

You're on to us man! We're all fakes! (loser)

 

[ZoomZoomH]

Re: Wonderful

HA! Thats great. An M3 is just a modded 330i. An S4 is just a modded A4. There's no difference between a GT2 and a C2. Acura Integra Type R? Nope just a GSR with a couple mods.

yup, and none of these STREET cars will ever match its RACE-MODDED siblings in all-out performance

pretty much all the cars in the Speed Touring Car series are based on the mass-produced trim of that car, and modded the hell out of for racing, that way they can save the $$ from the special model and use it all on racing parts...

 

[ZoomZoomH]

Re: Wonderful

You're on to us man! We're all fakes! (loser)

yup the truth hurts doesn't it

you are driving a PROTEGE!!!!!!!

 

[DistantTea]

Whoa nelly

Obviously a race prepped car will be the better performer.

Seriously... Duh.

But to call the MSP just a modded protege.. you're missing out on what makes it special. Just like all the other cars I listed, someone took the time to fine tune the suspension, chasis and drive to make a car that is by far no ordinary protege.

Yeah its just mods... but technically any high performance car that is based off a regular production model is, by definition, modded.

I've seen you trying to spit on the MSP on here before... I don't understand it. The MSP is a fantastic car with amazing capabilities. No other manufacturer has managed to get a suspension setup like that past the big wigs.

When you bring in the tuning companies and pan for months on end refining it for racing performance then you end up with something much greater than the sum of its parts. Just like the M3, S4, GT2, ITR... the MSP is greater than the sum of its parts.

I think you have issues.

 

[Jimmy@MV]

They do not use the MSP because turbos are not allowed in the touring class, only the GT class. Even if they were using them, I think what Zoom Zoom is trying to say is that they would probably still start with a basic Protoge because they do not use any of the stock parts as it is.

As a matter of fact, most big teams are just starting with bodies in white from the manufacturer, which is nothing more than a body shell. So even if they were using the top of the line model, they would still be buying a body with nothing on it and building it from the ground up.

 

[ZoomZoomH]

thank you jim, that's exactly what I tried to say (albeit in a more sarcastic way )

and that little jab at the MSP/MP3 folks were just for fun. For what they are and what you get for the price, MSP/MP3s are fantastic products created by Mazda

 

[scapamouche]

GREAT JOB ROGER!!!!

It's wonderful to see him do so well right off the bat, and to see him in a YELLOW car again

 

[wcprotege]

Sebring was definitely good for the Protege ES cars.

Hey Jimmy...Baxter gets no respect Thought I saw a great picture of him during the "night" practice on the SpeedArena.com website. He got the Holeshot award after passing 13 cars on the lead lap and got as high as 12th place after starting 40th - last! A mechanical problem let him down with a couple of laps to go.

Roger showed very well and thought he could have won as he had Auberlen in his sights. His car had a fuel starvation problem the last five laps which cost him and he claims, "The reason I was the only one running out of fuel was because I was on the throttle more compared to the other Mazdas." Funny guy that Roger.

Both OPM and SpeedSport had a really good Sebring considering some of the things that happened to them. We'll hopefully have some Team News posted to the World Challenge website by the afternoon.

 

[Jimmy@MV]

Yeah, I thought I saw Robert up there pretty far during the race but looked at the final results and saw him way down there. I thought I must have been imagining it during the race, while shooting its really hard to keep track of what is actually happening on the track.

 

[dj5tyle5]

whats up with the rear spoiler on those cars?? I thought you didn't need that on a fwd?

 

[Jimmy@MV]

The rear spoilers are used to help balance out the handling of the cars. When the front splitters/spoilers are added and the suspension is worked, the grip in the front is greatly improved. The rear spoiler then allows the rear to be balanced out and get some additional grip as well, especially in the higher speed corners.

 

[dj5tyle5]

OoOoo