Crunch time for a motorsport underachiever

By:

Gary Watkins

Jan 25, 2019, 12:35 PM

Even bringing in the team that took Audi to Le Mans dominance couldn't make Mazda a winner in IMSA in 2018. A massive winter effort has gone into putting things right, and this week's Daytona 24 Hours is the first big test

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Mazda is the big underachiever in the IMSA SportsCar Championship prototype ranks. It's still seeking an elusive first outright victory, something that legendary sportscar team Joest Racing couldn't put right in 2018.

That explains a second major revamp of the long-running programme in two years ahead of the 2019 season, which kicks off this weekend with the Rolex-sponsored Daytona 24 Hours - where Mazda secured pole on Thursday.

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Gary Watkins

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Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.

Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.