ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP FOR 2009 RACING SEASON
The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear today announced a technical and promotional partnership with iRacing.com Motorsports Simulations, LLC that will begin immediately in preparation for the 2009 racing season. iRacing.com is now the "Official Simulation Service" of the Star Mazda Championship and will provide resources that allow prospective new drivers to test drive and existing drivers to train with a virtual Star Mazda race car on digital duplicates of most of the tracks that will be used by the series during the 2009 season.
iRacing.com will also provide contingency awards to top-performing Star Mazda Championship drivers and teams during the season, as well as a year-end award of a custom-built, professional-grade racing simulator. The Star Mazda Championship and iRacing.com will also cooperate on advertising programs in major motorsports publications and web sites, joint appearances at motorsports trade shows and other public relations, promotional and marketing opportunities. Additional initiatives are under discussion and will be announced as they develop.
"This new relationship with iRacing.com provides the Star Mazda Championship and our teams with innovative new ways to help current drivers prepare for upcoming races and to reach out to potential drivers, sponsors and fans," says series President Gary Rodrigues. "iRacing.com has created a unique, incredibly accurate motorsports experience that is the next best thing to being behind the wheel of the real Star Mazda race car… and you can do it from the comfort of your living room. Race drivers tell us the experience is very useful in learning a new track or getting ready to re-visit one you’re already familiar with. We're delighted with the immediate benefits of our association with iRacing.com, and excited about the possibilities. It is now possible for a race driver on the other side of the world to take a test drive in a Star Mazda pro car."
The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear is entering its 19th year as the most successful open-wheel driver development series in North America. It is the college basketball, the triple-A baseball, the Junior A hockey of auto racing, a high-speed training ground for future stars of the sport and a major step on the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder that reaches all the way from karting to the Atlantic Championship Powered by Mazda. The hottest young drivers from around the world compete on international television for a prize fund of $1.5 million in Mazda-powered, high-tech, open-wheel cars. Mazda and the Star Mazda Championship have recently announced a five-year extension of their sponsorship agreement, taking Mazda's title sponsorship of the series through the 2013 season. The Star Mazda Championship has also announced the series' 2009 schedule, 13 races on 11 weekends including road courses, street circuits and ovals.
“iRacing.com and the Star Mazda Championship share a common purpose of helping race drivers build their skills and advance in this sport,” says Scott McKee, vice president of marketing for iRacing.com. “With our missions so closely aligned, working together makes perfect sense. Our simulation service will enable drivers considering the Star Mazda Championship to truly experience the cars and tracks before committing resources to arrange a test with a team, and when they do test, they’ll be prepared to make the most out of the opportunity. Meanwhile, existing drivers will be able to practice and prepare for their races using technology that was previously beyond the reach of all but the top Formula One teams.”
iRacing.com is an online, subscription-based racing simulation service that allows drivers from all over the world to build their skills, accumulating valuable seat-time at a tiny fraction of the cost of real-world testing. The unique feature of iRacing.com is the hyper-detailed, ultra-realistic simulation with accurate track, vehicle and physics modeling that accurately duplicates the handling of the car, the feel of the track and even what the driver sees from the cockpit. In addition, the iRacing service offers members the chance to develop their racecraft in professionally sanctioned online competition, including a virtual version of the Star Mazda Championship. With a schedule of four 12-week seasons each year, proprietary software automatically groups racers of similar skill levels together, giving everyone a chance to compete for race wins and season championships. One-month ($20), three-month ($50), six-month ($90) and yearly ($156) subscriptions are available, as are a wide variety of tracks, including such 2009 Star Mazda Championship venues as Sebring, Virginia International Raceway, the Milwaukee Mile and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Other Star Mazda host venues, such as Road Atlanta and Mosport Park, will be added soon.
"For real drivers, iRacing.com is a tool, not a toy," says Alex Ardoin, winner of the 2007 Star Mazda Championship season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and driver of the #51 Mundill Racing / Oral & Facial Surgery Center / Twister Trailer / Johnstone Supply Mazda. "They've done such an amazing job of digitally re-creating the Star Mazda race car and the tracks we race on that you can save several laps of expensive track time by re-familiarizing yourself through the iRacing service; you can pick up right where you left off last time you actually raced on that track. This new partnership between Star Mazda and iRacing.com will be a great way for young drivers trying to decide what series to race in to get a real feel for what the real car is like. And for fans who love the competition but would never otherwise get the chance to actually race a Star Mazda car… the only thing missing is the sweat and smell of tire smoke."
