Mazda rotary racers for Goodwood

Mazda will pay homage to its motorsport heritage as the Central Feature Marque at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed on June 26-28.

The Japanese company will celebrate its racing history with an unrivalled line-up of rotary-powered competition cars, including the 1991 Le Mans-winning 787B.

Making its first appearance at Goodwood since 2011, the famous ‘Charge’ liveried Le Mans winner heads an ear-splitting line-up of Wankel-engined Mazda race cars.

Joining the winner of the 1991 Le Mans classic, the 2015 running of which takes place next weekend (June 13-140, will be Mazda 787 chassis number 002, which retired from the 1990 Le Mans before following home the winning 787B with an eighth place finish in 1991.

Now owned and maintained by Mazda USA, the 787 will run alongside the 1991-winning 787B on the famous Goodwood Hill Climb.

Two Mazda 767Bs and a 757 will also take to the hill in the hands of their private owners, while Kent Abrahamsson’s Chevron B16-Mazda will appear as an example of the car used by Belgian entrant Team Levi’s International for Mazda’s first Le Mans entry in 1970.

The Le Mans cars will be joined by some of the stars of Mazda's racing efforts in North American sports car racing.

Leading the way is the flame-spitting 1992 RX-792P, which was built for Mazda’s attack on the prototype ranks of American IMSA racing. Powered by the same engine as the 787B, rule changes outlawed this type of car before it had the chance to show its true potential, yet the stunning RX-792P goes down in history as the last Mazda factory supported prototype to use the famous Le Mans winning R26B four-rotor engine. 

Also on display will be the 1991 IMSA GTO RX-7 that, on its way to taking the driver’s and manufacturer’s IMSA GTO title in 1991, contributed to the RX-7’s unbeaten record of 100 class victories in just 12 years of IMSA competition.

Powered by the same 13J four-rotor engine as the 767B Group C prototype, its steel spaceframe chassis is clad in composite panels and this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed sees it run in the UK for the first time.

Now owned and raced by British enthusiast Kevin Doyle, a far less modified RX-7 taking a starring role at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed is the 1981 Spa 24 Hours-winning RX-7, which in the hands of Pierre Dieudonne and Tom Walkinshaw gave Mazda its first major outright 24-Hour victory.

With seven starts for Mazda at Le Mans, and victory in the Spa 24 Hours, Mazda racing legend Dieudonne will be reunited with his Spa-winning RX-7 at Goodwood and will take to the hill in the 787B Le Mans winner.

Representing modern motorsport will be ‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett and his RX-7 in Goodwood’s new ‘Catch my Drift’ category, while five of Mazda's most famous Le Mans cars will warm up around the Mazda Central Feature sculpture at lunchtime on both days and the new MX-5 will take centre stage on the Mazda stand all weekend starting with the Moving Motor Show on June 25.

“The theme for this year’s Festival of Speed is ‘Flat-out and Fearless: Racing on the Edge’ and Mazda’s continual push to reject engineering conventions and strive for something unique perfectly aligns with this philosophy," said Lord March.

"We are delighted to be celebrating Mazda’s motorsport achievements and pioneering road-car technologies with the Central Feature, and to help it showcase its brand-new cars to an international community of car enthusiasts and the world’s automotive media – an audience that only Goodwood can attract.”