Formula Mazda

Formula Mazda is a class of relatively affordable open wheel formula racing.

Formula Mazda has its own class in SCCA club racing, and there is a North American professional series named Star Mazda Championship that often runs as a support race for the American Le Mans Series. The cars are very popular; seeing a field of 40 or more cars at a race is quite common. Many drivers aspiring to the top classes of racing use the pro series to hone and demonstrate their talent. In 2006, the 2004 Formula Mazda champion, Michael McDowell, drove in the American Champ Car series, while Scott Speed, who won in Formula Mazda in 2002, became the first American Formula One driver in a decade.

In terms of both cost and performance, Formula Mazda lies between Formula Ford and Formula Atlantic, that is, close to a Formula Three and a Formula Renault 2.0. A full season in the professional Star Mazda series costs around US$200,000 - US$300,000 in 2005.

Original car - Formula Mazda

The series originally grew out of a group of chassis built by Hayashi in Japan for the Jim Russell Racing Drivers School in California, USA. These cars were completed by Russell mechanics in the paddock of the 1984 Long Beach Grand Prix, where the cars made their US debut. The cars have a basic welded steel tube frame chassis, with in-board front shocks operated by upper rocker arms. A 180hp carbureted Mazda rotary engine drives through a 5 speed H-pattern (H-gate) Hewland Mk 9 transaxle. Rear suspension is by two...
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