Why IMSA glory for Mazda would be a bittersweet ending
Mazda believes it has never had a better chance of clinching the title in IMSA's Prototype division. Achieving this goal would be the bittersweet culmination of an achingly hard struggle, after which the brand has decided to quit
Nine months ago, there was some optimism that Mazda would give the green light to a new prototype for the hybrid era of the IMSA SportsCar Championship beginning in 2023. As a logical extension to this, with the LMDh rules allowing IMSA manufacturers to enter cars in the World Endurance Championship, the marque might even go transatlantic to try and recapture the Le Mans 24 Hours crown it last earned in 1991 with the shrill rotary-engined 787B.
But others, including those inside the Multimatic-run sportscar team, spotted the shadow from the sword of Damocles over the handsome RT24-P, noting the marque didn't need a halo car to sell MX-5s or SUVs.
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