This past weekend was round eight of the WeatherTech Championship at Road America, which is always such an incredible circuit to drive and to visit. The surrounding area is beautiful, and the fans really embrace sports car racing and its atmosphere.
Our Mazda prototypes got off to a great start, coming in 1-2 in practice. They continued to show that pace through qualifying, with the No. 55 on the pole and both cars in the top five. We continued to work on setup and handling for our No. 70 Castrol Mazda through qualifying and the warm-up to get ready for the race.
Turn 1 at the start of the race!
Both cars got off to a fantastic start in the race, and I could tell right away that our Mazda was dialed in. All the work to make the car better after qualifying had really paid off. I was battling for third shortly into the race, but the crew saw signs on our telemetry that something was wrong with the engine. We had no other choice than to pit and investigate what the issue was. Unfortunately, it was terminal and our day ended way too early.
The 55 Mazda went on to lead throughout portions of the race. In the end, a late-race yellow fell in the favor of other cars, and they wound up fifth.
Throughout the weekend, we had a great turnout of special guests from Mazda, and it was a lot of fun to interact with them, not only at the incredible hospitality tent, but also through giving tours of our pits and paddock setup. I know the guests enjoyed the opportunity as much as we did. We always appreciate having so many special guests supporting us, and I’m so glad that we had perfect weather for enjoying a day at the track.