Mazda avoids the big-time, big-expense world of Formula One and NASCAR racing. Instead, it focuses on grass-roots-level competition in the Sports Car Club of America, and the effort is paying off.
Mazda accounts for half the cars on SCCA racetracks, despite a much smaller light-vehicle market share than SCCA combatants Toyota, Honda and Nissan. Mazda executives say grass-roots racing brings Mazda closer to its customers than a big-league racing series can.
The bottom line also benefits. For the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2007, Mazda sold $6.9 million in Mazdaspeed-branded parts and accessories to grass-roots racing teams. That is expected to increase to $7.8 million this fiscal year, says Steve Sanders, manager of Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development.
"The biggest thing is the Spec Miata" racing series, Sanders says. "But we go all the way up to building ceramic apex shields for the RX-8 rotary racing engines."
Sales to racing teams made up only a fraction of total Mazda accessory revenue of about $130 million in the last fiscal year. But it is triple what Mazdaspeed sells to street-legal customers through Mazda dealerships, says Jack Stavana, director of Mazda's accessory operations.
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