BOMARITO RETURNS TO MAZDA MOTORSPORTS

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It was confirmed today that Jonathan Bomarito, a driver with extensive history and success in Mazda-powered open wheel cars and RX-8 sportscars, will return to the Mazda SpeedSource team for the 2015 IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.  From 2010 through 2012, Bomarito amassed 13 podium finishes and four victories with Mazda.  His previous stint was also highlighted by his role on the 2010 ROLEX 24 at Daytona GT class winning team and the 2010 Grand American Road Racing Series Rookie-of-the-Year award.

Mazda 2015 SKYACTIV RacersBomarito will be one of the four full-time drivers in the Mazda prototypes.  SpeedSource owner/driver Sylvain Tremblay will focus more on team management, but will remain a third driver for the four endurance races; Daytona, Sebring, Watkins Glen, and Road Atlanta.  Bomarito will partner with Tom Long, Joel Miller and Tristan Nunez.  The final pairings to be determined during pre-season testing.  Ben Devlin continues with the team for the four endurance races.

The Mazda SKYACTIV Prototype will be in its second year of an ambitious five-year engineering development program in 2015.

Quotes:

Jonathan Bomarito: “I feel as though I’m coming home to be back with Mazda. It excites me to see what the future holds with SpeedSource and Mazda in the prototype class. This program has been about development, and I’m honored to come on board to add to this collaboration and watch it continue to grow. It’s a great feeling to be back in the No. 70 car with Sylvain Tremblay. It all started for us when we won the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona in 2010. I can’t think of a better way to kick off the 2015 race season.”

Sylvain Tremblay: SpeedSource Owner/Engineer/Driver:“The racer in me only wants to drive.  But the team owner knows that developing a program like the SKYACTIV-D Mazda Prototype requires every person to operate at their highest level.  We’re thrilled to have Jonathan back with SpeedSource.  I’m happy that I will remain as his co-driver as we both want at least another couple of Rolex watches.”

John Doonan, Director of Motorsports, Mazda North American Operations: “With Jonathan challenging for a GT championship this past season, we held off on making this announcement, but we had this wrapped up two months ago. Jonathan will be a great addition to the team as we continue our engineering development of the Mazda Prototype.  Jonathan is respected and loved by the team as well as Mazda fans.  We’re happy to have him back in the family.”

About Mazda, Mazda Motorsports, and MAZDASPEED

Mazda is a leading player in all aspects of sports car racing with an emphasis on endurance road racing.  Mazda is the number-one brand for road-racers across North America among both club racers and professionals.  Thousands of Mazda-powered grassroots racers compete in various classes with the SCCA and NASA highlighted by Spec Miata, the world’s largest spec class with over 2,500 cars built.  Via the Mazda SportsCar Racing Academy and the Mazda Road to Indy, Mazda supports racers at all levels of the sport from club racing up to the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship where it races with production SKYACTIV Technology.

Mazda remains the only Asian car company to score an overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1991).  Mazda has had a naming rights agreement at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca since 2000.

Mazda Motorsports is managed by Mazda North American Operations (MNAO).  MNAO is headquartered in Irvine, Calif., and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers.  Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.