Mazda Motor Corporation today delivered one Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid each to the City of Hiroshima and Hiroshima Prefecture government authorities in western Japan. The Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid is Mazda’s latest hydrogen rotary engine (RE) vehicle that uses hydrogen as a fuel and features a unique hybrid system. Including the first lease of a Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid to the Iwatani Corporation in May 2009, Mazda has now delivered three hydrogen hybrid vehicles to fleet customers to date. The City of Hiroshima and Hiroshima Prefecture each had a rotary engine RX-8 Hydrogen RE vehicle delivered in April 2006, making this the second hydrogen-fueled model that has been handed over to the local government authorities.

Will Nonnamaker wrote in to tell us that Mazdaspeed has announced that Team Sahlen will be campaigning 2 Mazda RX-8s in the 2010 ROLEX Grand American Sports Car Series. Team Sahlen will be a fielding a full contingent of drivers who have contributed to Mazda Championships through the years. For the #43 RX-8, the father and son duo of Joe & Wayne Nonnamaker will co-driver together, and Joe Sahlen & Will Nonnamaker will be partnered in the #42 RX-8.

Every year, the Monterey Historics bring classic race cars from around the world to the famous Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. This year, the RX-792P 4 Rotor was piloted by Mazda staff, and Actor Race Car driver Patric Dempsey. Weldon Munsey (Mazda Dealer Affairs Manager) qualified 10th out of 28th in a pack that included a ton of Porsche 962 and 956s on Friday. Patrick Dempsey ran it in Saturday morning warm-up and in the race. He finished 4th. Thanks to RotaryNews.com reader Allan Rodgers, he was the first to send in this story, even before Mazda Staff had a chance to email us!

08/10/2009 - The SpeedSource team returned to the historic Watkins Glen International track to run a 2-hour sprint race on the short course. With only 4 races remaining in the season, the #70 SpeedSource Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 looked to gain valuable points in the GT Class Championship alongside team car #69 SpeedSource FXDD Mazda RX-8. The shortened race format demanded absolute perfection and concentration from all competitors as heavy race traffic and shortened pit windows complicated the normal racing procedures that crews were used to. As night fell over Watkins Glen, the duo of Emil Assentato and Jeff Segal took the GT Class win in the #69 SpeedSource FXDD Mazda RX-8.

10 years ago, rumors about a concept Mazda Rotary appeared in magazines and the still young internet; they were reaching a fever pitch. Most magazines had Mazda unveiling a next generation RX-7, a 2 seat sports car. A few sources claimed Mazda would unveil a 4 door sports sedan, like the Lexus IS series. At the show, Mazda did introduce a new concept, but the RX-Evolv was wilder than anyone had speculated, a 4 door sports car. Over the course of the next 4 years, the RX-Evolv evolved into the RX-8, and revived the rotary community in the US and around the world...

07/21/2009 - Round 8 of the Rolex Sports Car Series brought the SpeedSource Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 to Barber Motorsports Park. Located in sunny Birmingham, Alabama, beautiful landscaping surrounds the twisting and flowing 2.3 mile road course. Being able to manage traffic effectively at this track, which is already difficult to pass at, is critical to success. After a race that demanded near perfect performances from both drivers and pit crew, the SpeedSource Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 claimed a 2nd place finish in the GT Class.

07/07/2009 - Leading the SpeedSource team into the second half of the Rolex Sports Car Series schedule was a return to Daytona International Speedway for the Brumos Porsche 250. This year's event was particularly special as it served as the precursor to the NASCAR Coke-Zero 400 on Independence Day. While enduring blistering heat and managing a weekend schedule which was compacted into just one day, the #70 SpeedSource Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8 earned a Second Place finish.

June 1, 2009 - Bergenholtz Racing and Justin Pawlak are ready to make their Formula D debut at Wall, New Jersey. Bergenholtz Racing just completed two days of testing this past weekend at Balcony and The Oval in Willow Springs. Technical testing was conducted by the team for the optimum setup for Formula D’s Wall, New Jersey event. “The Mazda RX8 is completely insane. The 3-rotor makes so much power and sounds so sick. The NT05’s are sticking so hard that we actually have too much traction. I can’t wait to rock the house for all the Mazda fans in New Jersey.” Said Justin Pawlak drift pilot of Bergenholtz Racing.

HIROSHIMA, Japan—Mazda Motor Corporation today delivered the first Mazda Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid to Iwatani Corporation, an energy development company based in Japan. The Premacy Hydrogen RE Hybrid is Mazda’s latest hydrogen rotary engine (RE) vehicle which uses hydrogen as a fuel and features a unique hybrid system. 

Works Norton team returns to world famous TT races for the first time since 1993, demonstrating the new owners commitment to the brand's racing pedigree!

Norton Motorcycles will make its long awaited return to the legendary Isle of Man TT races in May 2009 after an absence of 16 years! In an historic deal, the brand was recently brought back to the UK after 15 years stateside by UK businessman, Stuart Garner.