IMSA: Mazda pulls gas-powered turbo P2 entry from Watkins Glen

An overnight change has seen Mazda Motorsports alter its direction on the plan to split powertrain setups for this weekend's Sahlen's Six Hours of the Glen.

The factory TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Prototype team spent most of June testing a 2.0-liter gasoline-powered 4-cylinder turbo engine as an eventual replacement for its 2.2-liter turbodiesel 4-cylinder motors that have propelled a pair of P2 chassis, and as of Thursday morning, Mazda confirmed it would race a both types of engines.

The desire to conduct more testing with the gas turbo engine was cited as the reason for withdrawing the No. 70, which is at Watkins Glen, leaving the Japanese marque with one SKYACTIV diesel P2 for Sunday's six-hour contest.

Mazda raced at the most recent IMSA event in Detroit with a single diesel-powered entry while the gas turbo car logged miles in private testing. No information was provided on a timeline for the No. 70's return.