January 24, 2012 (IRVINE, Calif.) While the weather may be cold in many parts of the country, Mazda teams are warming up in sunny Florida. Multiple motorsports season-openers will be taking place at Daytona Beach, Sebring, and St. Petersburg, Florida starting this weekend and running through late March.

GRAND-AM
The 2012 GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series will kick off with the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona this weekend. Mazda will be seeking their 24th class win since 1975.
The #70 SpeedSource Mazda RX-8 is hoping that the odds are ‘even' this year, having won the GT class in both 2008 and 2010. Drivers Sylvain Tremblay and Jonathan Bomarito will be joined by Mazda alums James Hinchcliffe and Marino Franchitti.
Dempsey Racing has a pair of Mazda RX-8s and is hoping to improve on their third-place finish in 2011.
Team Sahlen's has three of their fan-favorite red, yellow, and black RX-8s entered and are seeking to step up their performance into the winner's circle.
Joining the rotary brigade for Daytona is one of the most famous families in all of motorsport - Andretti. John Andretti received an invitation to attend the 50th Anniversary Rolex 24 At Daytona by virtue of being a former winner of the event. John will team up with his 19-year-old son, Jarett. They will share the No. 36 Yellow Dragon Motorsports Mazda RX-8 with Star Mazda Championship alums Taylor Hacquard and Anders Krohn.

Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge
Mazda will be seeking to defend their 2011 Continental Tire Challenge Street Tuner (ST) Manufacturers Championship as the 2012 season opens on Friday at Daytona.
- Both Freedom AutoSport and i-Moto will be back with three-car teams. It was their combined efforts that delivered the 2011 championship. Freedom will be racing Mazda MX-5s (No. 25, 26, & 27) while i-Moto will have a fleet of MAZDASPEED3s (No. 30, 31, & 32).
- CJ Wilson Racing will be joining the series with a two-car effort. No. 03 will be a MAZDASPEED3 with No. 04 a Mazda MX-5. Both cars will feature new marketing partners, ModSpace, Construct Corps and Forza 4/Xbox.
- Also racing at Daytona with Mazda will be single-car teams from Nixon Motorsport (No. 44 MAZDASPEED3), Riley Racing (No. 66 Mazda RX-8), and Pirate Motorsports (No. 69 Mazda RX-8)