1992 Mazda RX-792P

August 16, 2012 Joseph Dale 861 Views

Got a call Wednesday afternoon from Mazmart inviting me to a Special last minute event they were gonna have Thursday. I was also told that there would be a “special” vehicle also to view. Knowing them and their connections to the Mazda world, I knew it was something special. All i was told was that it had 2 doors, and was rotary powered…which narrowed it to everything rotary….

I was later informed that it was the legendary one and only 4 Rotor R26B powered RX-792p GTP race car. Which was sent all the way from Mazda Headquarters in California to Downing Atlanta for some “refreshing”. I had heard of the name Jim Downing so many times in the past, but never knew how deep those roots went in the Mazda racing community. In a short summary Jim Downing has been racing Mazdas since 1974 in IMSA. Dr. Robert Hubbard, and Jim Downing were also credited for the creation of the HANS racing device, which is manufactured there also. Was also given a history lesson that majority of the Historic Mazda sponsored race cars came through these doors and still do occasionally. Stunned that such a historic place was right under my nose so long.

With all that being said I was able to see a piece of Mazda history make a rare appearance before it goes back to its home. Check out the video of the serenade of the 4 rotor R26B