Champagne and glory are all very well but, for Mazda, motorsport is an expression of the driving spirit every customer enjoys. Victory at Le Mans in 1991 remains the works team’s crowning glory – not least for being the first win in the race for a Japanese manufacturer and for a rotary-powered car. But that victory also represents the enduring link to technology appreciated by Mazda racers and regular drivers alike. It started back in the 1960s when Mazda’s engineers met the challenge of making the rotary a viable alternative to regular piston engines. Having done so, they then needed to prove the technology on the world stage and so Mazda chose the toughest test of all, the 1968 Marathon de la Route. This was an epic 84-hour endurance race around the famously challenging Nürburgring circuit in Germany.

Thousands of miles away in Japan, engineers studied computer simulations of the circuit – which, even today, is considered the ultimate test of a car – and were confident that their engine could go the distance. The Cosmo Sport’s beauty was eye-catching in itself but, more importantly, its fourth place in the race put Mazda on the map and demonstrated the rotary engine’s performance and reliability to the world in the heat of competition. Around the same time, the thriving touring car scene back in Japan provided opportunity for Mazda to prove itself in its home market. Racing versions of the rotary-powered Familia Coupe and Capella fought hard against dominant rivals. Lessons learned in competition helped engineers develop the engine technology for improved performance to the benefit of racers and customers alike. Victory against the odds for the Savanna in the 1971 Fuji 500-mile Tourist Trophy inspired a fierce battle for local honour that thrilled crowds for years to come.

There was success in Europe too. A 1969 attempt at the 24-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps resulting in an impressive fifth place for the humble-looking Familia Rotary Coupe. With a history dating back nearly as long as Le Mans, this was a prestigious event in the European calendar and the ultimate test of racing cars representative of products customers could buy in showrooms. In 1981 Mazda returned with a near-standard RX-7, its giant-killing win launching a successful touring car career and again demonstrating the rotary engine’s reliability in long-distance racing. Around the same time on the other side of the Atlantic, the RX-7 was proving itself in American motorsport. A class win at its debut race at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1979 was followed by more than a decade of total domination and 100 class victories in the IMSA Sportscar Championship. The culmination of this success came in 1991 with the RX-7 GTO, powered by the same rotary engine as the Le Mans-winning 787B.

Mazda became the first Japanese carmaker to win at Le Mans when the rotary-engined 787B (top) scored a sensational victory. The RX-7 showed its durability with a commendable podium finish in Greece in 1985 (above)

“VICTORIES IN THE ICE AND SNOW OF SWEDEN AND THE HEAT AND DUST OF THE AUSTRALIAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP PROVED THE 323 AWD TURBO’S CREDENTIALS AS A WINNER IN THE TOUGHEST OF ENVIRONMENTS”

The RX-7 also proved its robustness in rallying. Against turbocharged, four-wheel-drive Group B rivals, Mazda’s entry looked seriously outgunned, but scored a hugely impressive podium in Greece on the notoriously tough Acropolis Rally in 1985. Rule changes then brought rally cars closer in spirit to their road-going equivalents. Mazda seized this opportunity to promote new technology such as turbocharging and four-wheel drive.

Victory in the ice and snow of Sweden and a title-winning performance in the heat and dust of the Australian Rally Championship in 1988 for the 323 AWD Turbo proved Mazda's credentials as a winner in the toughest of environments. There were track victories in Australia as well. The RX-7 scored three consecutive Australian Endurance Championships and podiums at the iconic Bathurst 1000. This was followed by four consecutive victories at the Bathurst and Eastern Creek 12 Hour in the early 1990s; Mazda’s signature agility and rotary power again beating previously dominant rivals.

Today Mazda prototype racers are winning at the very highest level in the American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the MX-5 is a mainstay of grassroots motorsport in countless championships. Drivers the world over enjoy the spirited performance, agile handling, and reliability found in all Mazdas, evidence that the challenger spirit lives on.