Be sure and visit the Racing Beat Facebook page for a fascinating look at Racing Beat’s historical past. We’ve dug through the photo archives and uncovered countless never-before-seen photos of Jim Mederer and Takayuki Oku in the earliest days of Racing Beat’s foundation. Follow along over the next few weeks as we take a fascinating walk through the birth and development of rotary-engine racing and development in the US. To join in, just follow the Facebook link on the home page.
Exedy now offers a revised complete clutch replacement kit for the RX-8 application. This kit contains an organic compound disc, pressure plate, throw out bearing, pilot bearing, and an alignment tool. This Exedy Kit (Exedy PN 10812) replaces the RX-7/RX-8 combo kit (Exedy PN 10803A – still available for RX-7). 
Parent company Centric has recently changed the name of the Power Slot brake component line to the more familiar StopTech brand name. These are the same components, just packaged and marketed under the StopTech name. We offer an extensive line of the most popular StopTech Mazda applications in both slotted and drilled/slotted rotor configurations.
Sevenstock 16, held on 11/9/13 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA, was a great success and a ton of fun! Mazda ran several of their historic 4-rotor race cars on the speedway oval/road course, while the infield paddock area was packed with rotary-powered street cars and vendors. Racing Beat brought along a FD drift RX-7 and a Renesis-powered REPU. Here’s a panorama photo of the infield, can you spot your car?
Looking for replacement shocks for your 79-85 RX-7? We now offer KYB’s GR-2 replacement strut cartridges and shocks for these early applications. Great replacements to restore the ride quality of your RX-7 to the original new-car ride.
Jeff Kiesel in the 2014 KFR / RKR Avon Tire / Racing Beat rotary-powered Turbo Sprite brings home his 8th consecutive Title in Lincoln Nebraska at the September SCCA Solo National Championships. SCCA Solo National Championships (9/3-9/6) Kiesel crushed the 18 car E Modified field yet again earning his 7th straight National Championship in E Modified and his 8th straight National Championship win (longest active streak). Kiesel took the win by 6.048 seconds over his co-driver in the same car. Kiesel’s wife Shawn Kiesel crushed the E Modified Ladies class by 11.139 seconds earning her 5th E Modified Championship and 6th Overall Championship.
After the event Kiesel elaborated on his success this year, “The car has never handled so well, we have worked on balance all year long and we are very happy with the set up. This year we switched to Avon tires and I have never been happier with the car. We finally have a tire with multiple compounds to choose from to ensure great grip in all conditions. Along with set up and tires we worked on the new bodywork and did some more aero development with the help of Rennie Clayton of Dauntless Racing. It was a good thing we made the car handle so well as we ended up having electrical issues which pulled the power output of the motor down and only allowed me to take 2 runs per day skipping my last run each day. We have some development plans in the off season and look forward to what the new year will bring.”
A big Thanks to our sponsors who helped make this another successful year:
Racing Beat
Roger Kraus Racing / Avon Tires
Garrett Turbo
Carvin Guitars
Maxima Racing Oils
Bogart Racing Wheels
Injector Dynamics
Ankeny Racing Enterprises
Pro Gear
Sevenstock 16, the world’s largest gathering of rotary vehicles, will take place at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA on November 9th, 2013. Early news mentioned a salute to the the 1993-95 RX-7, track demos of Mazda’s historic 4-rotor race cars, and more! More info at Sevenstock’s Facebook page, keep checking back for more info.
Racing Beat is back again in the just-released Xbox game, Forza Horizon. Unlike a typical racing game, Forza Horizon is an open-world game which allows the game player to explore, race, and drift along the vast highways of Colorado while attending the fictional Horizon Festival. The goal of this game is to earn fame by competing in various competitions while driving fast, destroying property, avoiding traffic and causing general mayhem along the way!
Follow Racing Beat on Facebook for latest news, product releases and cool Mazda updates, including photos from the Sevenstock 15 event at Willow Springs Raceway. This is a great way to keep current with the latest Racing Beat news, don’t miss out!