Directing diesel's debut in U.S. Grand-Am racing

Speedsource's engineering director, a Formula SAE grad from the Univ. of Florida, is helping to put Mazda's new compounded-turbo diesel engine in the Grand-Am winner's circle.

A FLORIDA-BASED ENGINEERING and racecar-development company is spearheading the debut of clean-diesel technology in U.S. Grand-Am road racing, with Formula SAE graduates leading the charge.

SpeedSource Engineering has been Mazda's factory racecar development partner for nearly 20 years. This season the company is campaigning three all-new Mazda6-based sedans in Grand-Am's new GX class, which was created to encourage use of “clean” fuels and alternate propulsion systems. The 160-mph (257-km/h) racecars are powered by Mazda's new Skyactiv-D 2.2-L diesel, which will be an option on the 2014 production model. The stock-block race engine, modified to produce more than 400 hp (298 kW), is pioneering a new compounded-turbocharging system and a new synthetic clean diesel fuel. See story here: www.sae.org/mags/aei/11750.