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New Lola, Mazda-Derived Engine for B-K In 2007

News from B-K Motorsports

BRASELTON, Georgia (January 11, 2007) — B-K Motorsports will debut its new Lola chassis and MZR-R engine at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. With the prospects of facing a lineup of Porsches, Acuras, Radicals and other Lolas in 2007, MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development and B-K Motorsports have announced a partnership with AER and Lola to develop an all-new Mazda-derived engine and purpose-built chassis for this season's championship effort.

 

The goal is to improve on the 2006 result of third place in the American Le Mans Series LMP2 championship and a return to the top of the class podium. B-K Motorsports' first step with its Mazda-powered Lola B07/40 comes at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring on March 17, the first round of the 12-race American Le Mans Series.

 

"Since announcing its return to the premier level of sports car racing in 2005, Mazda has exhibited the utmost level of commitment and enthusiasm for the American Le Mans Series," said Series President and CEO Scott Atherton. "A key component of Mazda's involvement is helping to promote young drivers through the ranks of Star Mazda and into American Le Mans Series competition, providing us with the prototype drivers of tomorrow. We are eagerly looking forward to seeing B-K Motorsports' new Mazda-powered Lola in action starting at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring. This completely new package adds to the depth of quality and quantity in our LMP2 class for 2007."

Mazda's new prototype engine, developed by AER, replaces the triple rotor B-K Motorsports used in 2005 and 2006. B-K Motorsports will field an international driver lineup with American Jamie Bach and Englishman Ben Devlin running the entire season. Brazilian Raphael Matos will join the team for Sebring as well as Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. The trio will have the opportunity to test the new chassis-engine combination in one of the most demanding endurance races in the world.

 

"Mazda thrives on innovation, and the American Le Mans Series supplies a great challenge to our engineers and teams," said Robert Davis, Senior VP, Product Development and Quality, Mazda North American Operations. "Over the past two years we have enjoyed a number of successes in the P2 class and are looking forward to the increased competition in 2007."

 

At the center is the all-new MZR-R prototype engine, which replaces the three-rotor Mazda powerplant present in the B-K Motorsports' entry the past two seasons. The performance goals for the engine are 500hp and 400 lb-ft of torque, with the durability to succeed in such grueling races as Sebring and Petit Le Mans. The engineering team is working to incorporate the production-based Mazda Direct Injection Spark Ignition (DISI) system into the race motor. The technical collaboration between Mazda and AER has been non-stop in preparation for the season-opener at Sebring.

 

"Given the rules package, we needed to make a radical change to be able to match the competition," said Steve Sanders, MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Manager. "The current conditions and rules simply do not allow our rotary engine to have any competitive advantage, hence the move to piston power this season.

 

"The Mazda and AER engineers are working closely with Honeywell Turbo Technologies on the development of a new Garrett motorsports turbocharger design for this engine program," Sanders added. "The overall LMP2 program is driven by Mazda engineering, as we use motorsports to help develop future advanced technologies with the potential to transfer over to our production vehicles."

 

Housing the new Mazda engine is a Lola B07/40 chassis. It is the successor of the highly successful B05/40 that has posted eight P2 victories in the Series since debuting in 2005. Lola has a tradition of winning in the American Le Mans Series with 37 class victories, 34 coming in LMP2. Lola also holds the class record for consecutive wins with 18 (Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2002 through Mosport 2004).

 

"The partnership between Mazda, Lola, AER, Honeywell/Garrett, Kumho Tires and many other suppliers on this project has been excellent," said Marcus Haselgrove, B-K Motorsports Team Manager. "Jointly developing race and road car technology with the MZR-R is what sports car racing is about. We hope to be competitive from Round 1, but the P2 competition will be the toughest in American Le Mans Series history."

 

The team's lineup has a rich and successful history with Mazda. Bach will return for his third season with B-K Motorsports. He was the Series' 2005 Co-Rookie of the Year with a class win coming at Mid-Ohio in the team's second Series race. In 2006, Bach scored one podium finish as he helped the team to third place in the team championship. He is a graduate of the Star Mazda series and of the Skip Barber Racing School.

 

Devlin, from the UK, has extensive experience in chassis development. He has been running in the LMP2 (P675) category since 2001, notching two race wins in 2002. He made his American racing debut in a Formula Mazda race. Matos, a past champion in both the Skip Barber Racing Series (2003) and the Star Mazda Series, will be spending the bulk of his 2007 season chasing the Cooper Tires Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda, but will join the B-K team in the two endurance races (Sebring and Petit Le Mans).

 

The team expects to announce a new primary sponsor prior to the Sebring race, but is pleased that Road & Track will be returning as an associate sponsor. Additional support is coming from ASG, Sparco, and Sirius Satellite Radio.

 

The 12-race 2007 American Le Mans Series will kick-off with the 55th annual 12 Hours of Sebring on March 17th, and conclude with the Monterey Sports Car Championships at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on October 20th.