Mazda Performance | CorkSport Mazda Performance Blog

August 14, 2015March 16, 2021

Become a Racecar Driver with Mazda

So you want to become a professional racecar driver. Awesome plan, I mean who doesn’t right? But where do you start? The answer is Mazda.

Mazda can help you become the race car driver you always wanted to be. — Image via Road & Track

Hop on Craigslist and start looking for a car. You’re going to need a good solid platform to start with and something that’s easy to work on. A car that is relatively inexpensive, easy to find parts for, super reliable, and can give you the best driving experience along with great aftermarket support for future upgrades. BAM you just bought your ‘91 Miata racecar. A car that has everything you need and then some.

First things first, you need to make sure it’s safe and in tiptop shape to handle the abuse you’re about to put on it. Go on the hunt for pieces you need to replace like brake pads, shocks, and maybe a wheel bearing or two. Don’t settle for some cheap aftermarket pieces. You are going to be racing this car and don’t want to lose a track weekend because of premature part failure. You need OEM top notch quality.

Mazda was the first company to offer a support program for their grassroots racers. The Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development program sells OEM parts to drivers at cost in order to keep them on the track longer. If you provide them with at least two current race results within the past 12 months you can join the program and reap the benefits they have to offer. Along with parts, you also have access to trained employees and other racers who can provide help and guidance.

Once the car is ready to go, you need a place to go racing. Mazda has partnerships with some of the largest sanctioned racing bodies such as SCCA Solo, NASA, and SCCA Club Racing. With over 20,000+ racers, it’s easy to see why more Mazdas are raced on any given weekend than any other brand in the world.

So you have been racing for a year or two and you’re ready to take it to the next level. Introducing the Mazda driver development ladder system, the one and only true program to help guide you from the grassroots level of club racing to the high ranks of Indy lights. If you really have what it takes, the skill and the character that Mazda embodies, you may be lucky enough to find yourself in the cockpit of a Mazda prototype racing in the Tudor United Sports Car Championships, the most prestigious road racing campaign in North America.

Mazda driver development ladder helps drivers pursue their dream of racing. — Image via Mazdaspeed Motorsports Development

We all know racing is expensive. The cost of gas, food, entry fees, and travel can add up quickly during a regular season. Who can help you pay for these things? Mazda of course. As a competitor in the Mazda ladder system, you have the ability to compete and earn scholarships worth thousands of dollars to help you pursue your dreams. Imagine winning the run-offs or the MX-5 cup and being awarded a grant to help fund your racing expenses. Now that’s what I call support.

Mazda also created the R.A.C.E program in 2014 to help motivate and engage the next generation of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) professionals. They dedicated a whole program to developing young minds and helping them pursue their dreams even if it has nothing to do with racing cars. You can’t tell me that is not cool.

Mazda is the true racers brand. From mentoring to scholarships to the various after school programs they have invested in, no one is as committed to the driver as Mazda is. They breed the next generation of racers. A brand built by the people for the people. The reason #DrivingMatters.

Happy racing,

CorkSport

Sources:

https://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsports/a25343/mazda-is-racings-biggest-angel-investor/

https://mazdamotorsports.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/DisplayRacerStoryView?source=story&uniqueId=3568&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

Https://www.mazdausamedia.com/2014-01-13-MAZDA-KICKS-OFF-NATIONAL-EDUCATION-PROGRAM-TO-REV-UP-THE-INTELLECTUAL-ENGINES-OF-FUTURE-S-T-E-M-THOUGHT-LEADERS-AND-AUTO-ENTHUSIASTS

July 28, 2015July 31, 2015

NATOR OR BBQ and Dyno Day

As some of you may know already, CorkSport HQ made the move to a much larger and more functional building in January 2014. I think we can all agree that moving sucks and basically consumes your life for at least the month before and after the actual move. Well, I’m here to tell you it’s a hundred times worse when you are trying to move a business while still “keeping the doors open”. In the chaos of moving and getting the new location setup just right it’s easy to forget about the little yet important activities. So what better way to get back in the groove than a BBQ and Dyno Day to support the local community!

July 18th was the big day with 15 cars scheduled to get on the dyno, and another 35-45 cars planning to show up to watch the numbers! With everything set up and the burgers and dogs grilling away, people started to roll in by 12:30pm. The first car got on the dyno and the show began.

First, a bit about our dyno; it’s nicknamed “The Heartbreaker,” and oh so many hearts has it broken. The Tq/Hp curves look good, but it just reads low numbers. For example, a stock Mazdaspeed3 puts down a sad 190whp. Anyway, amongst the 15 Speed3s that planned to hit the dyno the mods varied from nearly stock to big turbo builds with lots of meth. There were quite a few Speeds in the 200-250whp range with a nice assortment of bolt-ons, a couple cars running a BNR or CS turbo in the 295-320whp range and then there is Justin England: a local out of Washington rocking a built block, GTX3071r at 34psi and tons of meth. He put down a very respectable 400wHp/365wTq on the heartbreaker dyno.

Just to give you another reference point, we threw a 07’ Corvette on the dyno that also has high flow cylinder heads, intake & exhaust manifold, performance camshaft, and full exhaust system. He put down a mere 420wHp/380wTq…yup. Anyways, enough about our depressing dyno!

Along with the constant roar of WOT pulls there was plenty of food and drinks and even a raffle thanks to a handful of sponsors: Tuned by Nishan, Justin at Freektune, Damond Motorsports, James Barone Racing, and CorkSport.

Check out the images below!

Yes, that’s a pink Miata with a V8 that’s a daily driver drift car…it’s basically badass.

All-in-all it was great day! We had a blast, put down some numbers, and stuffed our bellies. What more can you ask for?! Big thanks to all the NATOR OR members and CS employees that made this day possible and to the sponsors that donated items for the raffle! This is what makes the Mazda community so great!

Cheers,

Barett

July 10, 2015November 4, 2015

What New MX-5 Parts Do You Want to See?

With the new 2016 MX-5 due to arrive into our hands around the 21st of July, this brings up the question we’d like to ask our supporters: What new Miata parts would you like to see made?

It is a little early to ask this question, since we don’t have the 2016 MX-5 in our garage yet, but it does give our engineers a head start to think about what you value and want—beyond what we already have planned.

The short answer: Big things.

The long answer: The short list of products, below.

Intake/Airbox Kit Exhaust System
Lowering/Sport Springs
Upgraded Sway Bars
Short Shifter

Also, we’ve received a few ideas in the past, including a seat lowering kit. In other words, we’d move the seat even lower in the chassis for tall people/helmet clearance on the top. Also, a tuner.

Really, we’re open to anything, so exercise your mind and we’ll see what we can do!

Cheers,

Derrick

June 26, 2015September 13, 2018

Flashback Friday: 6 Hilariously Classic Mazda Models

We can’t wait for our new Mazda MX-5. Every time more rumors surface about the next Mazdaspeed, all of us at CorkSport can hardly contain our excitement. Still: We appreciate nostalgia, and for all the performance updates that Mazda has made over the years, it’s still fun to reminisce on their past accomplishments.

For a small player in the industry, Mazda has released some incredible cars over the years. Some have evolved into the models we mod out today; some disappeared like dinosaurs. They’re gone, but not quite forgotten, at least not by true Mazda heads. These are six of our favorite Mazda models from the past.

1. The Mazda Mazdago

First vehicle manufactured by Mazda — Mazda Philippines

Is it a motorcycle? Or an ATV? Or a truck? Technically, the Mazdago was the first “autorickshaw,” but we remember it more as the first vehicle manufactured by Mazda.

2. The Mazda Savanna RX-3

Long live the rotary, right? We can’t wait for the new one, whenever that will be, but we love any shot from the rotary family. Given the Savanna’s huge success in the 70s, it won’t ever be forgotten, but it’s sadly rare to see one of these morsels on the road today.

3. The Mazda Titan

Not to be confused with the Nissan truck, this commercial behemoth actually lives up to its name. The boxy Mazda Titan is still around, and still not the prettiest truck on the road.

4. The Mazda Bongo

Technically, these sometimes trucks, sometimes vans remain in production—at least for a little while longer. It’s the photos of the first models, though, like the first gen pictured above, that catch our eye. The Mazda Bongo has never been a sleek van, but that’s OK when their main job is to be functional.

5. The Mazda REPU

This was not a popular truck. Known for guzzling gas, its appearance right before the 1970s gas crisis might have sealed its fate. The Mazda REPU was a lot faster than its competition, though, and we kind of love that it had a rotary engine.

6. The Mazda MX-3

The Mazda MX-3 died out the same year CorkSport was born, and we remember it for the performance modifications. The MX-3 was basically made for Mazda performance enhancement. If you see one on the road today, chances are someone’s been under the hood, installing a lot of upgrades.

Did we miss any? (Rhetorical question, people. Mazda has made a lot of cars.)

Cheers,

CorkSport

June 23, 2015June 20, 2017

Love for the Skyactiv

We have gotten some great response back from our customers who have the SkyActiv Mazda 3, 6, and CX-5s over the past few years with product suggestions and questions about power, technology, and more.

We decided to have an in-house example of Mazda’s current sport model of the Mazda 3, a 2015 2.5 liter SkyActiv manual transmission. As everyone’s favorite television series host has put it in the past: There is no better way to test the breed than motorsports. So that is exactly what we are going to do with this brand new Mazda 3. Strip the interior, outfit it with CorkSport parts, install some safety gear, and go racing.

Yes. We are really going to take apart a perfectly good car to race on the track with a bunch of other people who suffer from the same mental disorder. We will be posting regular updates on the car as we proceed through the build, which will include time on our dyno and results on the races.

This also means there will be a garage sale on brand new parts from this car, interior, wheels, etc. It has every option so if you want something shoot us an email.

Stay tuned for updates.

-Derrick