The best race in the world is hearsay unless people see it.  Some of the best racing in the world is not the headline race, but the support races featuring the stars of tomorrow.  Mazda has supported more road racers over the past decade than any other automaker, and for 2012 is stepping up that support to include extended TV coverage on the new Velocity network.

“Hardcore fans know that some of the most intense action can be found in the Playboy MX-5 Cup, Star Mazda and Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship.  But if you weren’t at the race, you are left to take our word for it. Now, thanks to a partnership with Velocity, and Carolinas Production Group, fans can enjoy the action on a regular basis from their living room,” noted Jim Jordan, Alternative Marketing Manager, Mazda North America.

Rick Benjamin, award-winning motorsports broadcaster, will host “The Mazda Motorsports Hour”.  Benjamin’s Carolinas Production Group will handle production and distribution of the Hour. Benjamin said, “It’s an honor for our company to be selected once again to produce and place coverage of the Playboy MX-5 Cup, Star Mazda, and USF2000 championships.

Our partnership with Velocity gives us a tremendous platform to showcase the incredible talents of young drivers and veterans alike who are taking full advantage of Mazda’s ladder system.” Joining Rick Benjamin in the booth will be racers Randy Pobst for the MX 5 Cup, and James Hinchcliffe on Star and USF2000. Todd Lewis will be the pit reporter.

The broadcasts will be a regularly-scheduled hour-long weekend show on Velocity – “The Mazda Motorsports Hour”.  24 shows will be broadcast on a tape-delay basis from April through November.  The content will be a variety of Mazda centric series, with an emphasis on the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup, the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear, and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda.

All three series are a part of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Ladder, while the Star and USF2000 Championships are also a part of the Mazda Road to Indy. To find Velocity on your local cable system, go to Velocity.com

Image Courtesy of   http://www.flickr.com/photos/12272789@N07/

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Automaker Mazda is recalling more than 65,000 cars in the United States, Canada and Mexico.  A small spider has decided to make certain Mazda 6S cars its new home.  This has to be the strangest reason for a recall ever.

The yellow sac spider has been nesting in the fuel hoses of some Mazdas, weaving small sacs in rubber hoses attached to the cars’ fuel tank system, blocking ventilation and causing pressure that could lead to cracks, gas leaks and in the worst-case scenario a fire.  The Japanese automaker reports there have been no serious incidents related to the bizarre spider infestations.

The spider is common to households but it is unknown what is causing the insects to choose a particular car brand for their new residence.  “We really don’t know how they’re getting in,” said Mazda spokesman Jeremy Barnes. “This is a really strange case.”

Some are speculating that the spiders are attracted to the smell of gasoline, however bug experts say there is not much science behind it.  “I think gas would kill them if they came in contact with it, and if they were attracted to it we would have found out years ago,” said Rick Vetter, a Long Island native and University of California, Riverside researcher who is one of the nation’s most prominent entomologists.  “I do a lot of myth busting regarding spiders, and it’s really amazing the amount of insanity that gets generated about these things,” he said.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln entomologist Barb Ogg agrees. “It doesn’t make any sense to me. They like to spend their time in little tight spaces, so I think it’s more likely related to how [the fuel system] constructed,” she said.

The company said it will notify owners of affected cars this month.  Dealers will inspect and clean out the fuel lines if necessary.

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