MAZDASPORT MAGAZINE

MAZDA RX-8 SPEED RECORD Papenburg, Germany two-car team of Mazda RX-8s
was brought to the. expansive automotive proving grounds in Papenburg,
Germany in October to make an assault on numerous FIA world speed records.
After 24 hours of flat-out driving on the high-banked oval the team set no
less than 40 international speed records in classes for both stock
production and specially prepared rotary-engined automobiles.  The RX-8s
brought to the effort were largely stock mechanically, with their
238-horsepower Renesis powerplants unchanged from showroom specification.
Indeed, the car prepared for the FIA's Category B class for mass-production
vehicles was identical to any other assembly-line RX-8 with the exception of
added safety equipment as per FIA regulations. The Category A machine,
competing under the FIA's Special Vehicles definition, was equipped with
19-inch wheels and tires and a larger fuel tank but otherwise unmodified.
The stock-class Category B car averaged 131.9 mph over the 24-hour period,
covering more than 3100 miles in the process.

The Category A car averaged nearly 134 mph in the day-long marathon. To put
those figures into perspective, the 700 horsepower Mazda 787B averaged 127
mph on the twisting Le Sarthe circuit at Le Mans in 1991 during its
overall-racewinning performance that year.

[Yea but that was a road race course and this was a banked oval.] PL

Prior to the successful record attempt, the German national sanctioning body
DMSB selected three production-spec RX-8s and sealed their engines and
gearboxes to prevent tampering.  Representatives from the DMSB board were on
hand during the record attempt to ensure that all FIA regulations were
followed.  Just past noon on Sunday, October 2, Mazda Motor Europe engineer Shoji
Tokuda waved the green flag sending the cars on their long-distance trek.
The driving team was made up of 15 automotive journalists from 11 countries,
who stopped along the way only for scheduled pitstops and driver changes. In
addition to enjoying Mazda factory support, the effort was sponsored by tire
manufacturer Kumho and fuel supplier Aral.

Though the cars completed the first 12 hours of the event without incident,
just after the clock struck midnight the skies opened and drenched the
course in rain. The tire experts from Kumho called the cars in for an
air-pressure adjustment aimed at increasing the Mazdas' resistance to
hydroplaning. Average speeds remained well into the triple-digit range
despite the downpour, which was critical for the overall total.  On Sunday,
October 3, at exactly 12:20 p.m., Tokuda waved the checkered flag for the
pair of RX-8s, sending them into the books with 40 new class records.




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