Mazda confirmed a two-car Daytona Prototype international (DPi) program and unveiled its new race car, which will compete full-time in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype class beginning in 2017.

“This new DPi race car reaffirms Mazda’s longstanding commitment to IMSA and the WeatherTech Championship,” said IMSA President Scott Atherton. “This first public unveiling of a DPi is the culmination of several months of collaboration between Mazda, the Riley/Multimatic partnership and IMSA. This car is nothing short of breathtaking, and represents a benchmark example of the vision we have for how manufacturers incorporate their production car design elements into a prototype race car.  We eagerly anticipate its competition debut in the Rolex 24 At Daytona this coming January.” 

The new DPi car – dubbed the “Mazda RT24-P” in a nod to the manufacturer’s successful “Mazda Road to 24” driver development program – will use the Mazda MZ-2.0T four-cylinder, turbocharged engine producing approximately 600 horsepower and a Riley/Multimatic prototype chassis with specially designed Mazda bodywork. The bodywork utilizes Mazda’s KODO-Soul of Motion design philosophy and will include elements such as body contours and a five-point Mazda grille.

The South Florida-based SpeedSource Race Engineering will manage the two-car program on behalf of Mazda Motorsports. The pair of Mazda RT24-P race cars will be driven by Jonathan Bomarito, Tristan Nunez, Tom Long and Joel Miller.