Observant motorsport fans will have noticed that there are two Mazda racing classes in the South Island and have probably wondered what the differences are between them.
The Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Series, the oldest fully sanctioned racing series in New Zealand, runs a South and North Island Series as well as a four round national championship. South Islanders, Russell Burgess of Dunedin and Lindsay Dodd of Christchurch, set up the South Island division of the series two years ago, and have seen steady growth since that time.
“We started it primarily as we wanted to see the original basis and philosophy of Mazda Racing retained in the area, one which has been successfully used and run for over 30 years,” says Dodd.
The South Island is home to what is now known as the Pro 7/Pro 8 Series. “That series has more liberal rules while the Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Series follows the historical philosophy of a one-make series from the original Pro 7 Racing days, tight technical rules and cost effectiveness,” says Dodd.
From the outside the cars of both series look the same, they both look great and provide exciting racing. One cosmetic difference is the front bumper. The Pro 7/8 group have a bumper that is akin to a Mazdaspeed bumper whereas the Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Series retain either the factory Series 1 bumper with an option to run the newer factory series 2 bumper.
Under the skin there are differences, the biggest being the Pro 7/8 cars run on a full 18″ Kuhmo slick tyre whereas the Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Series run on a 17″ dot rated tyre for all occasions, whereas with a slick a set of wets is also needed. There is also a different diff set up. The Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Series run a KAAZ LSD unit with a pre-set factory ratio whereas the Pro 7/8 cars have more freedoms and the option of running one of three ratios.
The Pro 7/8 cars also run vents in their bonnets and oil coolers on the gearbox whereas the Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Series cars don’t. In Pro 7/8 the ABS units are disconnected whereas the Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Series still run full ABS.
The beauty of a one-make class like the Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Series means margins between the cars are much closer. At Timaru at the beginning of last season in an exceptional display, the margin between the fastest and slowest ten cars were just 7/10 of a second all weekend.
The Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Series also include the Series 1’s as a separate class, renamed to Historic last year to reflect where their series originated from.
Round 1 of the South Island Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Series is confirmed for 5 November at Levels Raceway in Timaru. Other dates for the 2022/2023 North and South Island Series plus the National Nexen Tyre Mazda Racing Series will be announced in the not-too-distant future, however it is known there will be two South Island rounds in January with the fourth and final South Island round towards the end of the traditional racing season in 2023.
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