So what is this Crazy contraption we're driving in the Tire Rack One Lap of America? Well, it's a 2010 MAZDA5. It's silver. And it's a fire-breather. Mazda USA provided the starting point of the van itself, a new 2010 MAZDA5 with a manual transmission. The drivetrain is from a 2008 MAZDASPEED3, expertly swapped in to the car by a couple of techs at the Autobarn Mazda in Countryside, IL. Everything from the Speed3 had to be swapped, engine, transmission, wiring harness, instrument cluster.
Then, out went the interior. Sparco provided a very nice pair of 'Chrono Road' seats, which have supported our backs wonderfully for the last 2100miles. Atomic Fabrication installed a roll cage and stitch welded the car to stiffen things up. Paint Solutions sprayed the cage and interior to match the exterior. Then came the fun bits!
Custom Performance Engineering (CPe) provided their excellent Standback fuel/spark/boost management computer, flashed the ECU and provided a modified high-pressure fuel pump. Combined with the Cobb downpipe, intake and front mount intercooler provided by Protegegarage.com it makes an honest 305hp at the wheels! That's a stock turbo, bolt ons and an excellent tune by GRD in the Chicagoland area. The car gets 25+ mpg on our highway commutes between tracks too!
Mazdaspeed provided an exhaust, camber plates, front swaybar and goodies like a trick shift knob. One of the parts of the car that interests people most is the interior - seems there's just something about a stripped out minivan with a roll cage that people can't get enough of! Probably the most important parts for the car came from Tri Point engineering, who put together a great suspension kit for us - revalved, double adjustable Koni struts and shocks, hypercoil springs and their trick rear swaybar. With just a little dialing in, this van handles like you can't believe... seriously, you wouldn't believe it!
Finally the car was wrapped with a bunch of graphics from Cynosure Custom Signs, and Fisher and I strapped on a new pair of Piloti shoes for the journey. It's been such a spectacular run so far... the van, and the event have not dissapointed. I can't get over how great this car came out, and how much people love it.
Yesterday we were at Gateway International Raceway at their excellent road course. Richard drove very well, never having seen the track. He managed to get the van more sideways than a MAZDA5 has likely ever been, and saved it with minimal time loss. Still, both the morning and the afternoon events were a loss to our main rivals in the BMW X6M, which, it has to be noted, is about 5-times the cost of our vehicle, with double the horsepower! After both events, we trailed them for the first time of the event by a mere 5 points, setting up a great battle to the finish with only 7 events remaining.
We set off on our long drive, intent on making it to a nice dinner in Mansfield. Several people recommended a place called Rocky's, and as a courtesy we called ahead to make sure they would be open. With about 67 miles to go, Fish called and the response was they were going to close, but since we were on the way they would stay. He could hear the hunger in Fish's voice, and said get here when you can and we'll feed you.
What happened when we got there simply doesn't happen any more. The owner Rick, his wife (the chef,) and their lead server Megan stayed for us, and the five of us proceeded to hang out for a couple hours while they fed us one of the most amazing meals of our lives. I'm not joking - you could take this place and put it in NYC, LA, SanFrancisco, Chicago... anywhere... and it would be one of the best restaurants in that particular city. From the beet salad with fresh goat cheese, and honey roasted hazelnuts to the Mussels in pesto to the NY strip, everything was stunning. They do everything in house too, from marinating the beets in raspberry vinagrette to honey-roasting the hazelnuts to aging the beef.
After the great food, great stories, and wonderful company, we headed in for a night's sleep. We slept well knowing there were still people and places like Rocky's where they take pride in taking care of their customers. If you are every ANYWHERE near Mansfield, Ohio and you don't go to Rocky's, you are simply nuts.
Awaking the next morning, I knew I'd be driving at my old home track, Mid Ohio. It's such an amazing place, in the middle of a park like setting there are some of the best turns in the world. Taking to the track, I placed 7th in the morning session overall! The van handled great, but I started a little low on fuel and lost some time with some fuel stumbling... so I think 6th was possible, which is just remarkable from a MAZDA5, even with the power it has. Remember, we were 35th in the drag strip times for ET, so it's fast but there are plenty of faster cars here.
On the road now to NJMP, in rural PA - it's just beautiful here. What an event this is! But driving (well riding, I can multitask, but not that well,) in this van right now I have come to the realization that I want one of these. The looks on people's faces when you dust them off in a MAZDA5 is too awesome, and the extra HP really makes this car. There might be some limited edition turbo MAZDA5's based on Tri Point's proven turbo kit available at the Autobarn... stay tuned for details!
Talk to you from NJMP!
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