Mazda turbocharges Targa assault

Mazda Australia is planning one of its biggest and best assaults on Targa Tasmania yet. They have signed 2008 winner, South Australian Steve Glenney, and thrown him the keys to a 205kW turbocharged RX-8 SP.

“I’m excited to be chosen by Mazda Motorsport to play a role in the development of the Mazda RX-8, and to be driving it in its Australian rally debut,” said Glenney.

“The RX-8’s a great-looking car, the rotary engine is synonymous with Mazda’s Motorsport history in Australia, and I’m confident of getting a top result for Mazda.”

Mazda and Glenney are hoping the return of the SP badge to Australian motorsport will bring a top-three finish. The RX-7 SP, the last Mazda to race in Australia with the SP badge, won four Bathurst 12 hour races in a row from 1992–95.

Also forming part of Mazda’s Targa team will be a pair of Mazda 3 MPS vehicles. Australian motorsport perennial Rick Bates returns in Mazda colours for the third year in a row. This year he will be partnered by Anthony McLoughlin. That’s the experience covered then, what about youth? Mazda, has that angle covered as well with the brother and sister team of Brendan Reeves and Rhiannon Smyth also taking the wheel of the MPS hatch.

Targa Tasmania 2009 runs from Tuesday April 28–Sunday May 3 and AUSmotive will again be there at the coalface in support of MINI competitors Andrew Robinson and Stu Jones.

A trio of press statements detailing Mazda’s plans follows after the jump.

Mazda Readies Turbo Triple Treat for Targa Tasmania

• Mazda’s most potent attack on Australia’s premiere road race in more than a decade
• Turbocharged Mazda RX-8 SP to be driven by reigning Targa champ Steve Glenney
• Two-pronged Mazda3 MPS attack to combine experience and youth
• Rick Bates returns, chasing that elusive top-ten finish
• Brother and Sister: Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Smyth team up
• Targa Tasmania 2009: Tuesday April 28 – Sunday May 3

Mazda will drive home its commitment to motorsport in Australia with a turbocharged triple treat for Targa Tasmania 2009.

Two Mazda3 MPS performance hatchbacks and a turbocharged Mazda RX-8 SP rotary sports coupe will headline Mazda’s biggest attack on Targa Tasmania in over a decade.

Not content to merely make up the numbers, Mazda has secured a top notch driver line-up that will ensure all three Mazda Motorsport-prepared race cars perform at their peak.

Targa Tasmania 2008 winner, South Australian Steve Glenney will give the Mazda RX-8 SP its motorsport debut. He will be partnered with his co-driver of four years, Bernie Webb.

The two-pronged Mazda3 MPS attack will this year mix the best attributes of experience and youth. Australian rallying mainstay Rick Bates returns for his fourth Targa with Mazda, and is determined to achieve the top-ten finish that eluded him last year.

In the second car is the brother and sister team of Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Smyth. This is Brendan’s first Targa, but it’s far from his first motorsport event. Together the siblings won the showroom category of the 2008 Tasmanian Tarmac Challenge behind the wheel of the same Mazda3 MPS they will be driving in Targa.

Targa Tasmania

The 2009 Targa Tasmania runs from April 28 to May 3 and comprises around 1890km, including 465km across 40 competitive closed-road stages.

The Mazda RX-8 will be competing in the Modern Competition. The Mazda3 MPS will be competing for honours in the Showroom 2WD Competition. All Modern and Showroom competitors are competing for outright honours.

Mazda3 MPS

Showroom Competition
Driver: Rick Bates, ACT, Co-Driver: Anthony McLoughlin, QLD
Driver: Brendan Reeves, VIC, Co-Driver: Rhianon Smyth, VIC

Engine: Direct injection 2.3-litre turbocharged 4-cyl
Transmission: 6-speed manual, FWD
Power: 190 kW
Torque: 380 Nm
Fuel tank: 55 litres
Kerb weight: 1403 kg
Wheels: 18-inch alloys

Mazda RX-8 SP

Modern Competition
Driver: Steve Glenney, SA, Co-Driver: Bernie Webb, ACT

Engine: Rotary Turbo
Transmission: 6-speed manual, RWD
Power: 205 kW
Torque: 300 Nm
Fuel tank: 65 litres
Kerb weight: 1280 kg
Wheels: 18-inch MAZDASPEED alloys

Mazda RX-8 SP to Make Australian Rally Debut; Targa Champ to Drive

• Turbocharged Mazda RX-8 SP returns Mazda’s SP moniker to motorsport
• Mazda RX-8 SP developed by Mazda Motorsport Australia
• 2008 Targa winner Steve Glenney to drive; Bernie Webb will navigate
• Mazda RX-8 SP follows in footsteps of four-time Enduro-winning RX-7 SP
• Targa Tasmania 2009: Tuesday April 28 – Sunday May 3

Targa Tasmania 2009 will see the return to competition of Mazda’s famed SP moniker.

A production Mazda RX-8 GT – the only rotary-powered performance car in Australia – has been turbocharged, given a roll cage and readied for the toughest test in Australian endurance racing.

The Mazda RX-8 SP will enter the hotly-contested Modern Competition, piloted by a man used to racing at the highest level: 2008 Targa champion Steve Glenney.

South Australian horse trainer Glenney and his co-driver Bernie Webb are accustomed to setting the pace on Tasmania’s challenging roads, winning the 2008 event outright.

They jumped at the chance to give the Mazda RX-8 SP its motorsport debut. Glenney says nothing short of a podium finish will do.

“I’m excited to be chosen by Mazda Motorsport to play a role in the development of the Mazda RX-8, and to be driving it in its Australian rally debut,” he said.

“The RX-8’s a great-looking car, the rotary engine is synonymous with Mazda’s Motorsport history in Australia, and I’m confident of getting a top result for Mazda.”

Glenney is looking forward to his fifth Targa experience and says the RX-8’s inherent attributes will give his rotary-spun rally car a competitive edge in the five-day event.

“The RX-8’s perfect 50/50 weight balance will give it a huge dynamic advantage on Tasmania’s twisting roads. That, combined with its torquey turbocharged engine, will make the RX-8 SP a standout at this year’s Targa.”

Mazda Motorsport manager Allan Horsley is the mastermind behind Mazda’s most potent attack on Targa.

“It’s great to be able to put together our biggest Targa team in ten years, especially in these challenging times. Competitive motorsport is an integral part of Mazda’s Zoom-Zoom spirit.”

Horsley says a lot of preparation has gone into making the Mazda RX-8 SP as competitive as possible, but is cautious about its prospects.

“Targa Tasmania is not a race to be taken lightly. It’s a flat-out sprint over 2,000km in five tough days, and that’s a real test of man and machine. The RX-8 SP has plenty of potential, but it is an unknown package in a rally environment. So it’s difficult to know how it will perform at its first competitive outing.”

The Mazda RX-8 SP follows in the tyre tracks of Mazda’s four back-to-back 12-hour Endurance race wins between 1992-1995 with the Mazda RX-7 SP. Mazda’s last competitive outing with the RX-7 SP was at the 2002 Targa Tasmania with Rick Bates at the wheel.

Twin Mazda3 MPS Attack to Mix Youth and Experience at 2009 Targa Tasmania

• Mazda’s most potent attack on Australia’s premiere road race in over 10 years
• 2009 will be third Targa in a row for Mazda3 MPS
• Rick Bates returns with Anthony McLoughlin, and is chasing that elusive top-ten
• Brother and Sister to team up: Brendan Reeves and Rhianon Smyth
• Targa Tasmania 2009: Tuesday April 28 – Sunday May 3

Mazda is pairing experience and youth in the two Mazda MPS performance hatchbacks set to contest the 2009 Targa Tasmania Showroom Competition.

Experience in the form of Rick Bates, eight-time Targa competitor – three with Mazda –who finished 10th outright in 2007 in the Mazda3 MPS. In 2008 Bates was poised for a top-ten finish before mechanical gremlins scuppered his charge to the chequered flag.

“We got a great result in 2007 and were agonisingly close in 2008. This year’s a new beginning, and with the rally pedigree of the Mazda3 MPS under me, we’ve got a real opportunity to win the Showroom Competition and better our 2007 result.”

Expert co-driver Anthony McLoughlin will call the corners for Bates. The pair reunites following a successful Targa in 2007.

Brendan Reeves: One of Targa’s youngest ever
Rally up-and-comer Brendan Reeves will be piloting the second specially-prepared Mazda3 MPS. He’s the youngest driver to score a factory drive in Targa Tasmania, and is keen to show that youthful aggression can be just as effective as years of experience.

Reeves will pair up with his sister Rhianon Smyth. The dynamic brother and sister duo has competed in more than 25 rallies together, including rounds of the World Rally Championship. They won the Showroom class in the Tasmania Tarmac Challenge in October 2008 in the same Mazda3 MPS they’ll drive in Targa.

“I am really excited to be driving my first Targa with Mazda,” says Reeves, who turned 20 in August. “The Mazda3 MPS has a proven rally pedigree at endurance events like Targa, and I’ve already had some competitive time in the car, so I am confident I can get a great result for Mazda.”

Horsley: It’s going to be a great Targa for Mazda
Mazda Motorsport manager Allan Horsley believes the Mazda3 MPS hatchbacks driven by Bates and Reeves will dust up some of the more highly fancied competitors.

“Rick and Anthony will be very quick in the proven Mazda3 MPS and I have equally high expectations of Brendan and Rhianon.

“Last year the Mazda3 MPS came home ahead of Lamborghinis, Porsches, Evos and other exotica, and I’m confident the boys can do it again this year.”