Prototype: Big Gains Expected and Delivered

The TUDOR United SportsCar Championships begins with American endurance racing's version of The Big Game – the Rolex 24 at Daytona. While the 24-hour race is important, it doesn't necessarily tell the story of the season, especially for the P2 cars in the Prototype category. While the P2 cars certainly have their strengths, most expect the first race of the season to go to one of the Daytona Prototypes.

Still, Mazda and the SpeedSource team come into this year's contest in a much better position than they did last year. Taking a stock-block, 2.2-liter turbodiesel engine that did well in a Mazda6 silhouette at 450hp, putting it into a prototype and turning the wick up to nearly 600hp presented some challenges. The fact that in a year the team has dropped some six seconds off their lap time around Daytona International Speedway in the Mazda SKYACTIV Diesel Prototypes speaks volumes about that challenge and the way it was met.