Mazda Prototype Race Report: Another Top-Five for Mazda

Heartbreak for the No. 55 Mazda as wheel hub failure ends strong performance.For the fifth consecutive race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, a Mazda Prototype has scored a top-five finish. The No. 70 Castrol/ModSpace machine started third and finished fifth today with drivers Tom Long and Joel Miller at the Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. Both Mazdas carried special liveries for the second race in a row to honor the 25th anniversary of Mazda's victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The two-hour, 40-minute race began with the No. 55 Mazda on the pole with 20-year-old driver Tristan Nunez, who earned his second pole position of the season. Dropping to second at the start, Nunez stalked the leader until using lapped traffic as a pick to take the lead on lap 12. Nunez stretched the lead almost effortlessly, racing to a margin of more than 16 seconds until pitting on lap 32.

The front air jack, which lifts the car in the air to change tires, failed on the stop, which sent the crew into a scramble to manually life the car high enough to perform service. During the stop, Jonathan Bomarito climbed in for Nunez, and aimed to regain the lost time. Despite Bomarito still turning faster laps than any other car on the track, the day ended on lap 60 when the right-rear wheel hub failed, bringing the car to a stop.