Idemitsu No. 55 Mazda Motorsports Mazda DPi Ends An Era With Victory At The Petit Le Mans 10-Hour Endurance Race In Atlanta

BRASELTON, GA (November 13, 2021) - With barely 20 minutes remaining in Mazda’s five-year campaign in IMSA DPi competition - in the final 22 minutes of a grueling 10-hour endurance race - Harry Tincknell, at the wheel of the Idemitsu-sponsored No. 55 Mazda Motorsports Mazda DPi RT24-P, took over the lead and drove to the win at the Petit Le Mans in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

It was a spectacular finish for a great team. Tincknell made a move for the lead past eventual series champion Felipe Nasr with 22 minutes left in the enduro, capping an incredible drive shared with co-drivers Oliver Jarvis and Jonathan Bomarito. After starting the race on the pole, the team went down three laps in the early going with a mechanical issue, but kept fighting back for the win.

“It’s a Hollywood script come true,” said an elated and emotional Tincknell after the race. “We never gave up, keep digging, keep digging, we wanted to win this one . . . we’ve got such a great team. At the start of the program we were spraying fire extinguishers at (the car), now we’re spraying champagne after one of the biggest races in the world.”

Jarvis provided a capsule summary for a storied program. “This is absolutely amazing,” he said. “For me it’s been four years, but for everyone at Mazda it’s been a lot longer, and to win our final race and to send the car off as it deserves, couldn’t be happier,” he said, acknowledging Mazda’s decades-long racing heritage. This year marked the 30th Anniversary celebration of Mazda’s historic win at the 1991 24 Hours of Le Mans, becoming the first and only rotary engine manufacturer and first Japanese manufacturer to take overall victory at Le Mans.

“What an incredible and historic way to close out this chapter of the Idemitsu/Mazda partnership,” said Bob Hashmi, Head of Marketing at Idemitsu. “This race captures the never-quit attitude of the team all season long. They’re winners! Idemitsu is proud to have been a part of it all and we look forward to a bright future.”

The Idemitsu Mazda finishes the 2021 IMSA campaign with five podium finishes, including wins at Watkins Glen and the Petit Le mans at Road Atlanta.