Goodyear Racing Equipped Open Wheel Racer Set to Debut
Goodyear Racing signs on to be official tire of the Mazda powered Formula Car Challenge and the new 2010 FormulaSPEED2.0
 December 10th, 2009
Orlando, Florida
This weekend at the Performance Racing Industry trade show World Speed Inc. announced that they will introduce a new open wheel racecar that will compete in their nationwide Formula Car Challenge series.
The series is entering its sixth consecutive season, and has always featured Mazda powered formula cars with Goodyear Racing tires. "The new car is being designed around the Goodyear Racing Formula Eagle G19 which is a great tire that we have had a lot of experience with," stated World Speed's Operations Manager Mark Milazzo. "It also has two additional benefits; it is a reasonably priced tire that will last, and it is made right here in the United States." Goodyear Racing has agreed to support the FormulaSPEED2.0 and the Formula Car Challenge Series for five years with two consecutive five year options.
Bob Shaffer, the sales account manager for Goodyear sports car racing division had this to add, "Goodyear Racing is very happy to be involved with World Speed and its various racing enterprises. We are very optimistic about the future of the new FormulaSPEED2.0 car. We see a lot of growth potential, as evidenced by our five-year agreement. Goodyear has a long history with Mazda-powered concepts and we are pleased to see that history continue."
The new FormulaSPEED2.0 (FS2.0) was designed with three major goals in mind. The first goal is to make the car easy to work on for teams and privateers. "We know that there is a large contingent of racers who enjoy doing their own work, and we intend to make it as enjoyable as possible for them," stated World Speed's President Telo Stewart. "The racecars will be sold with complete documentation on how to service and prepare them." This is an industry first for American racecar manufacturers.
The second goal was to make the running costs reasonable. "We felt it was very important to keep costs associated with operating the car down. All the racers we know would rather spend money on track-time than parts," added Stewart.
The third goal was to to work with vendors based in the United States as much as possible. "Setting the goal of keeping our vendors close was based on the issues we have seen in the past with international shipping, the associated costs and paperwork, and even more importantly the fluctuation in different currencies. Having most of our parts made here makes it easier to meet and work with vendors, and to keep prices from wild fluctuations," stated Mark Milazzo.
The FormulaSPEED2.0 features modern racecar technologies without breaking the bank, or making the car difficult to work on. The aero kit is F3 inspired, with multiple elements front and rear. The car features a spec ECU that manages the dry-sump MZR 2.0L DOHC 16-valve 4-cylinder engine with variable valve timing. A few of the other notable features include: A spec data acquisition system with steering wheel display, 6 speed sequential transaxle, and inboard rocker suspension with double adjustable dampers.
"We're pleased that World Speed has chosen the Mazda MZR to power their new FormulaSPEED 2.0 racecar. The Mazda MZR is proving itself to be the engine of choice for a wide variety of applications where a powerful, efficient, and compact four-cylinder engine is needed. World Speed has extensive experience with our engines and we expect the new car to be a success," noted Steve Sanders, MAZDASPEED Motorsports Manager.
"We were concerned with pricing, but that didn't mean we wanted to have a cheap car," added Milazzo. "We worked with icons of the racing industry on where costs could be contained, and where high end components were mandatory. I am really proud at how hard our partners worked, and thought, to help us meet all of our objectives." The major partners in the design and development of the new car have been Hasselgren Engineering, and Fast Forward Components. Other notable companies that have featured components on the FormulaSPEED2.0 are MAZDASPEED, Aerocraft, Ian Gordon Racing, AiM Sports, Penske Shocks, Hewland, and Cosworth.
Pricing for the car will be released soon, but is expected to be in the range of what you might pay for a nice SUV, or home improvement project. Current schedule for delivery is mid-2010. The first points paying race for the new car will be opening for the Indy Racing League at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma California on August 20-22.
"Having the first race for the FormulaSPEED2.0 be at a high-level event like the IndyCar race at Infineon is great for the new car and for the Formula Car Challenge series," stated Series Official Ben Hettema.
The Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear is a multiple region NASA sanctioned series with an annual national championship. The series features a multi-class format - Standard Formula Mazda (SFM), Pro Formula Mazda (PFM), and the FormulaSPEED2.0 (FS2.0). All classes are powered by Mazda, and equipped with Goodyear Racing tires. The 2010 Formula Car Challenge regions, and FormulaSPEED2.0 dealer network will be announced in an upcoming press release. For information on starting a region, or becoming a dealer contact Mark Milazzo at: racing@FormulaSPEED.us
Icons of the Industry Partner on FormulaSPEED2.0
Industry muscle and ingenuity bring the car to life
 Dec 10th, 2009
Sonoma, CA
A who's who of open wheel experts are making the FormulaSPEED2.0 a reality. Names like; Goodyear Racing, Mazda USA, MAZDASPEED, NASA Pro Racing, Fast Forward, Hasselgren Engineering, Standing Start, and World Speed Motorsports have a part in the car's success.
The design team was price conscious, but also extremely quality conscious. The partners were chosen not on low bids, but on actual motorsports credentials and proven quality of their work. Here is some brief insight into two of the most significant design partners:
Fast Forward Racing Components -
Located in Sand City, California, Fast Forward has a professional engineering staff and over 20 years of experience with the design and manufacture of a variety of components for many different applications, everything from Formula Fords to F1 and IMSA GTP.
Hasselgren Engineering-
Located in Berkeley, California, "Hasselgren Racing Engines" was founded in 1978 by Paul Hasselgren. Hasselgren built name recognition and reputation by creating high performance, reliable, and competitive engines running in a variety of racing formats. This continues to include high level professional motorsports: Grand-Am Rolex Cup and Koni Cup, Formula Atlantic, Trans-Am and Club and Vintage Racing.
Formula Car Challenge Becomes National Class for 2010
West Coast Region also adds IndyCar Event to Schedule
 Dec 10th, 2009
Sonoma, CA
The Formula Car Challenge Series, presented by Goodyear, will be part of the Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma weekend, Aug. 20-22, at Infineon Raceway track officials announced this week..
This will mark the first time the Formula Car Challenge Series will be paired with the IZOD IndyCar® Series at the Sonoma Valley facility. It will add to an action-packed race weekend, which also boasts the Firestone Indy Lights Series, as well as the Historic Grand Prix.
"Many of the drivers have been asking us if we could get on this schedule as this is the premier open wheel event on the west coast. Infineon Raceway has been kind enough to offer us a slot in the schedule, and also provide us with our own paddock area for this event. We intend to put on a great show for the race fans and work with the IZOD IndyCar Series and Infineon Raceway so that we can hopefully make this an annual event," added Hettema.
2010 is also the first year that the Formula Car Challenge will be a featured class at the NASA National Championships. "We are really excited about this opportunity for our drivers," said World Speed's Operations Manager Mark Milazzo. "Now the Formula Mazda drivers from all over the country can meet once a season and determine who the best of the best is." The NASA National Championship attendees compete in three races during the event and the driver with the most points is crowned the NASA Formula Car Challenge National Champion. The NASA National Championships take place at Miller Motorsports Park September 16-19.
The Formula Car Challenge is a multiple-region National Auto Sport Association (NASA)-sanctioned series, featuring a multi-class format of open-wheel racecars. The west coast region, title sponsor is Molecule Nomex Care Products. Red Line Oil, Goodyear Racing, Star Race Cars, and MAZDASPEED are also series partners.
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