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Dyson Racing's Future May Be In Open Wheel
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Published: January 6, 2009
For decades Dyson Racing has been a cornerstone of American sports car racing.
The news of Dyson joining forces with Mazda for 2009 in the American Le Mans Series is good news for motorsports. Perhaps I am reading too much into the team's press release or perhaps there really is more good news to come.
"This is a long-term commitment and we look forward to utilizing Mazda's breadth of involvement in racing to build programs of driver training and team development," said Chris Dyson in a recent announcement. "Our new facility is about to come on-line shortly and will lend itself well to developing additional platforms in partnership with Mazda."
If you ask me, that's one way of saying that major-league expansion is coming to Dyson Racing. Look at the number of championships that Mazda has a hand in all over North America.
More importantly, look at the number of championships that Mazda has a hand in all over North America AND will support the American Le Mans Series throughout 2009.
The first two that come to mind are Star Mazda and the Atlantic Championship. Both are near and dear to Mazda's heart as it advances drivers through its development ladder from karting to Skip Barber to Star Mazda to Atlantics. Plus, Chris Dyson himself competed in Atlantics. If indeed Mazda considers the American Le Mans Series as the premier level, having a team competing in "the big three" would be a benefit for both, wouldn't it?
The other route that would make some sense would be SPEED World Challenge. Mazda also advances drivers from the MX-5 Cup to the Touring Car ranks. Again, having a team that represents Mazda all around would increase interest.
So given the fact that Dyson Racing soon will have a larger facility to field the cars as well as a history and knowledge across the board, I would not be surprised to see the Dyson Racing name show up in open-wheel and/or touring car as well as the LMP2 program.
The only question is when.
Jamie Howe is part of SPEED's team of motorsports broadcasters and regularly covers the action from the pit lanes of the American Le Mans Series, Star Mazda and other prominent road-racing championships.
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