Mazda Motorsports conducted a private test on January 1st at Homestead-Miami Speedway in Florida for the three Mazda 6 GX racecars scheduled to take part in the upcoming ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA.

In the morning, the brightly coloured Mazda 6 GX racecars appeared in the paddock at Homestead: the dazzling “Soul Red” of the #70 SpeedSource machine, the Floridian Yellow of the #00 Visit Florida car, and the green/white combination of the #25 Freedom Motorsports entry all creating excitement among the fans. Initial teething woes meant they hadn't been able to run sufficient mileage in the pre-event tests that took place until January 4th. This time however, all three cars were able to get track time while the course was open. All twelve drivers participating in the legendary 24-hour race completed their practice drives within the morning's four-hour session.

During the test, the #70 SpeedSource Mazda 6, entered in this season's GRAND-AM series, was driven mainly by Jonathan Bomarito. Meanwhile experienced Japanese driver Yojiro Terada was behind the wheel of the “Visit Florida”-liveried #00 car together with young drivers selected through Mazda�@USA's driver development program. Among the trio of machines, it was the #25 Freedom-branded car that was already pushing quite hard early on.

Yojiro Terada's comments:
“Since it's come straight from the factory, the new chassis still seems to be a little ‘young’. However, I believe it will mature during the practice and qualifying sessions here at Daytona. This was my first time driving the SKYACTIV-D racing engine. It has big torque and requires a different driving style compared to rotary engines. Through discussions with my team crew and those young tigers, I'd like to share the experience I've gained in endurance racing.”

The three Mazda 6 GX racecars will be shipped to the paddock of the Daytona International Speedway on January 21st after final preparations are conducted in the SpeedSource workshops, located in Coral Springs, Florida. Official practice and qualifying sessions for the ROLEX 24 AT DAYTONA start with the free practice session, to be held on Thursday, January 24th.