MAZDAPSEED Partners with HDNet to Broadcast Live MX-5 Cup Races
IRVINE, Calif. - The optimistic cliché is that tough times produce new opportunities. The current economic situation is indeed a rough one for all segments of industry, especially the automotive world. The MAZDASPEED team has taken that as a challenge, and is pleased to announce a new TV partnership that will kick off with two big weekends of live high-definition coverage on HDNet in June and July.
MX-5 Cup racing action from Road Atlanta (Al Merion photo).
The broadcasts will focus on
a pair of weekends, Mazda Formula X at New Jersey Motorsports
Park, June 13 - 14, and
the Autobahn Grand Prix Presented by Mazda at Autobahn Country Club, July 25 –
26. Each weekend features multiple classes of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports
Development ladder, including Rounds Three, Four and Five of the SCCA Pro
Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup.
Each of the four MAZDASPEED broadcasts
will be live for three hours (1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EDT). The broadcast team
will be led by veteran commentator Rick Benjamin and legendary race driver
Elliott Forbes-Robinson.
"By focusing on two of our
biggest Mazda-centric race weekends, we can offer a unique viewing
opportunity,” Mazda North American Operations Director of Marketing Mike
Nakashima said. “Frequently, support races are broadcast at a different day and
time, and often on different networks.
We know that the road racing fan who follows the Atlantic Championship
also will enjoy the Star Mazda and MX-5 Cup races. Our partnership with HDNet will allow us to
more closely share the on-track experience with fans around the country by
giving them a three-race afternoon, and the quality of the programming and
high-definition transmission means it's nearly as good as being trackside. A big thank you to our series partners at
Cooper Tires (Atlantic) and BFGoodrich Tires
(MX-5 Cup) for helping to make this happen.”
Round One of the SCCA Pro
Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup from Road Atlanta is currently airing on
syndicated cable and satellite networks across the country. Round Two of the
Championship, which took place at Mazda Raceway, will begin to air in
syndication on June 12.
A full MX-5 Cup TV schedule is available on any of the event pages. Just click the link inside the "Television Info" box.
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About Mazda
Mazda is the brand of choice
for road-racers across North America. More than 9,000 grassroots racers compete in
various classes with the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) and the National
Auto Sport Association (NASA). Racers
who are years away from earning a driver"s license can now begin their
professional motorsports careers in the Mazda family. A driver can begin in karts and progress
through the Skip Barber series, Club Racing Formula Mazda, professional Star
Mazda and finally to the Atlantic Championship, all with Mazda. No other car company has ever connected the
dots this way.
On any given weekend, there
are more Mazdas on the road-race tracks of America than any other brand of
vehicle. At the track, you’ll see MX-5
Miata, RX-8, MAZDA3, MAZDA6, RX-7 and other vintage Mazda models competing,
because every Mazda has the Soul of a Sports Car. In fact, the largest road-racing class in the
world is Spec Miata, with 2,500 first- and second-generation Miatas tearing up America’s
racetracks, making it the most-raced production car in the world. Mazda’s involvement in motorsports extends to
its relationship with Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, one of the world’s premier
road-racing circuits, and the Skip
Barber Schools
for driving and racing.
Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., Mazda
North American Operations oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer
service support of Mazda vehicles in the United
States, Canada
and Mexico
through more than 850 dealers. Operations
in Canada are managed by
Mazda Canada, Inc., located in Ontario, Canada, and in Mexico
by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico
City.
About HDNet
HDNet (www.hd.net,
twitter.com/hdnet) is a network that is original,hinks independently and
delivers unique content and provocative, authentic programming that appeals to
men of all ages, delivered in true high definition.
HDNet is the exclusive, high
definition home for popular, original programming, including television's only
HD news feature programs "HDNet World Report," and the Emmy Award
winning "Dan Rather Reports," featuring legendary journalist Dan
Rather.
HDNet presents championship
sports coverage featuring the best of Mixed Martial Arts through HDNet Fights
(www.hdnetfights.com, twitter.com/hdnetfights).
HDNet produces more live Mixed Martial Arts events than any other
network and HDNet’s “Inside MMA” is the hottest Mixed Martial Arts program on
television, giving MMA fans their weekly
fix for everything MMA.
HDNet also delivers the
world’s largest and most diverse concert line-up through the HDNet Concert
Series. The HDNet Concert Series
features leading artists and bands including Coldplay, Gwen Stefani, John Mayer
and more. “NASA on HDNet” presents all
live shuttle launches through 2010.
Launched in 2001 by Mark
Cuban and General Manager Philip Garvin, the HDNet networks are available on
AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Insight,
Mediacom, Verizon and more than 40 NCTC cable affiliate companies. To receive HDNet information via email simply
go to www.hd.net/listpage.
