Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup To Mosport

BOWMANVILLE, ON - December 6, 2007) Queen Victoria might not have been amused, but many race fans will be looking forward to Canada's first big summer long weekend of 2008 - named in celebration of the monarch's birthday - with today's announcement that Playboy has become the title sponsor of the SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup and that the series will travel to the Toronto area to race as part of Mosport's Victoria Day SpeedFest, May 16-18.

More Victoria Day SpeedFest Weekend schedule announcements will be made in the near future. For information and tickets on this and all Mosport events, call the Mosport Hotline (1-800-866-1072) or visit online at http://www.mosport.com/ .

Re-launched in 2006, the series features fields of Mazda MX-5s, providing an affordable, entry-level North American professional series whereby drivers compete in identically outfitted vehicles. Sanctioned by the Sports Car Club of America's Pro Racing division, the MX-5 Cup saw thirty-percent growth in 2007 and is projected to become the number one spec professional series in the world.

The announcement was made in Orlando on the opening day of the world's largest annual racing trade show, PRI.

"We are excited to be working with Mazda on this program and can't wait for the season to begin," said Playboy Vice President and Publisher Lou Mohn. "We look forward to putting all of Playboy's brand assets into high gear to leverage this initiative and reach racing enthusiasts and Playboy fans alike."

SCCA Pro Racing President and CEO Robert Wildberger remarked, "We are excited to have such an established brand associated with what is quickly becoming one of the most exciting new series."

The 2008 SCCA Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup schedule is a great balance of North American locations. The season begins with the Houston Grand Prix and concludes six months later at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

2008 SCCA Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup Schedule

April 25-27, 2008 Houston Grand Prix, Houston, Texas
(with ALMS, Champ Car, Champ Car Atlantic, Star Mazda)

May 2-4, 2008 Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia
(with HSR Mitty)

May 16-18, 2008 Mosport's Victoria SpeedFest Weekend

June 20-22, 2008 Cleveland Grand Prix, Cleveland, Ohio
(with Champ Car, Champ Car Atlantic, Star Mazda)

July 25-27, 2008 Portland Grand Prix
(with Champ Car, Champ Car Atlantic, Star Mazda)

Sept. 19-21, 2008 Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, Utah
(with Grand Am, Champ Car Atlantic)

Oct. 17-19, 2008 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Monterey, California
(with ALMS, Star Mazda, IMSA Lites)

(One additional race will be added to complete an eight race series)

Media contacts: Eric Prill, Sports Car Club of America, Inc., SCCA Pro Racing eprill@scca.com
Jerry Priddle, Mosport International Raceway jerry@mosport.com

Ford Racing Mustang Challenge: Mosport Adds Horsepower to Father's Day Doubleheader

BOWMANVILLE, ON - December 6, 2007) Mosport's added more horsepower to an already strong racing line-up at the 2008 Father's Day Doubleheader Weekend, June 13-15, as the popular event is now part of the inaugural season of the new Ford Racing Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup, Presented by BFGoodrich Tires.

The Mustang Challenge joins a packed three-day weekend schedule that features the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series drivers in the Dickies 200 and the domestic and imported high performance sedans of the U.S.-based Grand-Am KONI Challenge. More races will be announced to the Father's Day Doubleheader line-up soon.

Tickets for the Father's Day weekend are now on sale and can be ordered by calling the Mosport Hotline (1-800-866-1072) or online at http://www.mosport.com/ .

The series will be an eight-round championship utilizing the new Ford Mustang FR500S fitted with BFGoodrich g-Force R1 tires. A television package for the series, which will be sanctioned by the Grand American Road Racing Association, will be announced in the near future.

Officials from the Ford Racing Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup presented by BFGoodrich Tires announced their provisional schedule today at the 20th annual Performance Racing Industry (PRI) Show at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The Series opens May 2-4 at Road Atlanta and will come to a close at the site of the series' birth, Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah, with a double-header season finale on September 19-21.

Provisional 2008 Schedule
Ford Racing Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup
Presented by BFGoodrich Tires

May 2-4 Road Atlanta, Walter Mitty Challenge

June 13-15 Mosport Int'l Raceway, Father's Day Doubleheader

June 20-22 Grand Prix of Cleveland

July 18-20 Barber Motorsports Park (Birmingham, Ala.)

August 29-31 New Jersey Motorsports Park (Millville, NJ)

September 19-21 Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, Utah (double-header)

(An additional venue will be announced in the near future)

Contacts: John Gardner, Miller Motorsports Park jgardner@millermotorsportspark.com
Jerry Priddle, Mosport International Raceway jerry@mosport.com

Mosport Roadshow kicks off this weekend at the Toronto Motorcycle Show

BOWMANVILLE, ON (December 3, 2007) - The countdown to the start of the 2008 season will officially get underway this weekend when Mosport International Raceway kicks off its 2007-08 RoadShow Tour with the 2007 Toronto Motorcycle Show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (December 7-9).

Located in the Rider Nation section (Level 800- South Building), the RoadShow display will feature the sleek and powerful Suzuki sport bikes of Go Big Racing, along with team riders Paul Glenn and Ross Millson, both of whom compete in Canada's top professional motorcycle series, The Parts Canada Superbike Championship.

There will be daily draws to win tickets to next year's Parts Canada Superbike Championship Doubleheader Weekend at Mosport (July 18-20), along with the new motorcycle season schedules and information. Fans are welcome to bring their cameras and have their pictures taken with the motorcycles on display. The hours for the 2007 Toronto Motorcycle Show are 10 a.m.- 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday (Dec. 7 and 8) and 10 a.m.-5 p.m., on Sunday (Dec. 9). For more information visit www.sportsmensshows.com/tms

The Metro Toronto Convention Centre is located at 255 Front St. West in the heart of downtown Toronto. It is Canada's #1 convention and trade show facility, with over 600,000 square feet of exhibit and meeting space including 64 meeting rooms, a world-class 1,330-seat theatre and two well-appointed ballrooms.

From Lee Bailie / Mosport

Mosport Can-Am: Vinegaroon To Run At Mosport

The Vintage Automobile Racing Association of Canada (VARAC) has announced that Tom Stephani, son of one of the original owners of Nikey Chevrolet, will be driving the car in the Historic Can-Am race at Mosport June 20-22. The Vinegaroon, a Genie Mk 10, was originally owned by Dan Blocker, "Hoss" on the sixties TV show Bonanza, with sponsorship from Nikey Chevrolet. John Cannon, at that time from Montreal, drove the car to victory in the 1966 Stardust Grand Prix at Las Vegas. Stephani acquired the car in 2002 after it had undergone a meticulous restoration by Floyd Sable of Eden Prairie Minnesota.

Stephani has been racing since the early seventies and was Chicago Region Driver of the Year in 1972. He was the Formula Vee Central Division National Champion in 1979. and Rocky Mountain Division National Formula Vee Champion in: 1977;1979;1988;1989;1996 and 1997. He holds track records at Blackhawk, Waterford Hills, and Watkins Glen. Since acquiring the Vinegaroon he has competed with it extensively all over North America. He has previously raced the Vinegaroon at Mosport in 2006 and is enthusiastically looking forward to returning for the Can-Am Feature at the VARAC Vintage Festival June 20-22, 2008.

Stephani joins the growing list of drivers who are enthusiastic about the opportunity to return the Can-Am Thunder to Mosport. Don�t miss this opportunity to be part of a great weekend at a track that hosted more Can-Am races than any other, see you there!

From Bob Harrington // http://www.harringtonphoto.ca/