The two Mazda cars managed this on the exhausting 5 hour endurance race
From 3 to 4 September 2022, the Powered by Hangkook 5th Match Motegi 5-Hour Race was held at Mobility Resort Motegi in Tochigi Prefecture and there were two classes of races, the ST-5 class and the ST-Q class, the former of which saw two Mazda cars win second and third place respectively.
The number 72 (OHLINS Roadster NATS) car took second place while the number 104 (Hiromatsu Demio 2) car took third. Meanwhile, the Mazda Spirit Racing Roadster, in its debut match took the twelfth position out of thirteen overall. 9 Mazda cars participated in the ST-5 class while only one took part in the ST-Q class.
The ST-Q class is very different as it is a race where automakers can challenge carbon neutral fuels and a few of our favourite Japanese brands participated including Toyota, Subaru and, of course, Mazda.
On top of that, during the 5 hour endurance race, there were a few cars which ended up facing some technical issues, such as the number 17 car experiencing drive line issues, which set the car back a fair amount in the standings despite the car starting in fifth place.
Despite this, the number 55 car, the Mazda Spirit Racing Mazda 2 Bio Concept car managed the whole stretch without any issues whatsoever and earned Mazda and the drivers along with Hiroshima Mazda the “HM Racers ” tag. Mazda is very proud of this achievement and hopes to improve further in the coming races.
Tsutomu Kida, Director of Mazda Spirit Racing stated, “First of all, I think the fact that we were able to finish the race with two cars is the result. The #55 car felt very stable throughout the weekend. Car No. 12 has taken a step forward as a team that will liven up the grassroots scene.”
“I am grateful to the drivers who carved out the time smoothly and finished the race. For the next round in Okayama, I would like to prepare myself even more fully.” He added.
The next match will be held at Okayama International Circuit from 15 to 16 October 2022 so make sure to tune in to find out what happens next. We got this from the Japanese domestic racing website, MZ Racing, and their full write up is linked here for a more detailed account.
Thank you MZ Racing for the information and images.
