AZMC Chat Room

With the hot Arizona summer fast approaching, April is normally a pretty busy month with car events. It so happened that April 2nd was booked solid with race events and car shows but that didn't stop the Arizona Mazda Club from making a great showing at all these events. This weekend there was the 4th Annual Jennabears Charity Show as well as the annual National Automotive Sports Association Night Time event. Two events and about 20 members made this an action packed weekend.



The Jennebears Foundation held their 4th annual charity show at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, AZ. This was the 3rd year the Arizona Mazda Club participated in the event which drew a wide range of dressed-up classics, domestics, trucks, imports and even some cool stuff on 2 wheels! There were vendors, raffles, and even some of the local paint shops showing off their latest works. In all, this show had something for everyone. Our own Scott Matthews (Azlizard) took home the "Best Import" award. Congratulations Scott and thanks to everyone who represented AZMC!



On the other side of Phoenix the Arizona Mazda Club had the motorsports wing representing the club on the race track! NASA hosts a widely popular night time driving event at Firebird which included driving on 2 race tracks during the day and evening. What looked liked filming for the Fast and the Furious 5 was actually the AZMC putting on a show under the lights. (No Ricers were hurt in the driving or making of the decals). Maybe one or two but who cares! It was hilarious! With over 10 members participating from
Hyperdrive, HPDE1, HPDE2, HPDE3, HPDE4 and the UMS Time Attack, there was always a Mazda on the track until the early hours of Sunday morning.



From Jeff in his turbo’d RX-8 and Michele in her MS Protege stepping it up in DE4 on West and Main. Jay and Todd were laying down some of their personal bests on main under the lights. Dave and Gabe “Rear bumper O’Conner” gaining experience in DE2 while Karl and Pablo were getting their feet wet in DE1. We also saw a Mazda 2 driven by Paul out during the Hyperdrive! This event was a blast and AZMC will be back again for more action next year!

If you're interested in participating in events like this with the Arizona Mazda Club be sure to check out our meets and gatherings section!

Your fellow members were out in full force over the weekend at the local SCCA Autocross event at Firebird International Raceway. The mildly cold temps for the setup crew gave quick way to warm sunny temperature. For the first time in months Clay and Eric had the luck of being the first to test out the cold track conditions. Clay managed a 40.381 time in his 2007 Mazda MX-5 PRHT in STR. While Eric managed a close 40.483 run in his 2009 Mazda MX-5 also running in STR.



As track temperatures increased so did the morning runs. In a lone class by himself Jeff was able to pull off a 40.277 time in his turbocharged 2004 Mazda RX8 while running in SM. Still running in Novice Andrew put down a 44.717 time in his 2005 Mazda 6. With 16 drivers in NV2 Andrew placed a respectable 6th. It was overall a great track day and hope you can come out and support your local club members on December 5 for the next event.