The season-finale race of the 2011 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, the EMCO Gears Classic took place at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on September 17th. With several teams entering the race in championship contention, SpeedSource knew that it would be an all-out effort. In a hard-fought race, the #70 Castrol Edge Mazda RX-8 finished fifth to claim the 3rd place spot in the 2011 Rolex Series championship. The #69 FXDD Mazda RX-8 finished in 2nd place at Mid-Ohio to take their fourth podium finish of the year. The #41 Team Seattle/Global Diving & Salvage Mazda RX-8 GT scored a second consecutive third-place finish, while #40 VISIT FLORIDA/ModSpace/Construct Corps/Trina Solar Mazda RX-8 GT finished 11th. Team Sahlen's John Edwards and Wayne Nonnamaker in the #42 RX-8 GT finished 6th.

Sylvain Tremblay started the race from fourth on the grid and quickly charged for the lead. Early on it was evident that the race would be a gritty fight as the first yellow flag fell just 6 laps in. The race would go to caution two more times in the opening hour setting up many teams for their first round of pit stops. Jonathan Bomarito took over driving duties and was launched into the lead by a stellar pit stop. He would remain at the front of the GT pack through another series of cautions before pitting the car for the final fuel stop of the 2011 season. The last pit stop seemed to last an eternity as Bomarito had to wait for 19 gallons of fuel to flow. The disparity in filling time saw championship hopes dashed. Nevertheless, Bomarito pushed the car to its limits in the closing minutes of the race. Then, he finished fifth.

SpeedSource teammates Emil Assentato and Jeff Segal in the #69 RX-8 GT ran a typical trouble-free race that allowed them to steadily climb through the GT field and earn a spot on the podium.

Mazda finished 2nd in the 2011 Manufacturer's title proving that strength in numbers and having solid and reliable racecars is always a great recipe for success. With no single finish worse than 4th place, Mazda showed that consistency is critical to long-term success.