As the 2011 racing season nears its end, Mazda has secured two manufacturers championships and almost scored a third. The end of the season marks another incredible championship season for Mazda.

“As any racer will tell you, championships actually take years to accomplish as you need to develop both the people and the products,” said John Doonan, Director of Motorsports for Mazda North American Operations. “We can’t thank our partners enough.”

Mazda has had numerous successes in several classes including:

American Le Mans Series (ALMS): Mazda secured all three 2011 LMP1 championships – manufacturers, team, and drivers, with a second-place finish at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Continental Tire Challenge – Street Tuner class: Mazda won the 2011 Manufacturers Championship by 26 points over VW, BMW, KIA, Mini, Honda and Porsche.

Rolex Grand-Am Championship: After an intense season of competition Mazda missed repeating as manufacturers champions by three-tenths of a second in the final race of the season thanks to the noble efforts by SpeedSource, Dempsey Racing, and Team Sahlen.

Doonan added, “The collective efforts from Dempsey Racing, Dyson Racing, Freedom Autosport, i-Moto Racing, Racers Edge, SpeedSource, and Team Sahlen has resulted in race wins in three series, a clean sweep of the ALMS titles for drivers, teams, and our Mazda MZR-R engine, and a Continental Tire manufacturers championship. This success was achieved through the same qualities as our street cars – great performance combined with quality, durability, and reliability.”