MAZDA3 SUCCESSFUL IN NEW YORK!

Monticello, NY-- MAZDASPEED Rally Team USA took their newly revised MAZDA3 Rally Car to a second place finish in United States Rally Championship's Rally New York this past weekend. Competing for 2WD championship honors, driver, Eric Burmeister (Detroit, MI) and co-driver, Dave Shindle (Washington, DC) turned in the fastest times by a convincing margin all weekend long.

"I am so stoked to have won EVERY STAGE on this rally," exclaimed Burmeister. "We had the fastest 2WD times all weekend long."

After dealing with rain and cold temperatures all day on Friday, the weather dried up for Saturday before a new challenge was presented to the MAZDASPEED team. 'We suffered a damaged axle and spent a bit more time fixing it at the service park than was allowed,' explained Burmeister, or 'Lurch' as he is known in rally circles due to his tall figure. 'Although we were leading by over 4 minutes, we suffered 4 and a half minutes in penalties, which landed us in 2nd place by 16 seconds.'

The team proved that it is one to watch in the 2WD championship. The MAZDA3 Rally Car is the latest creation from Burmeister Rallysport and Racecraft Engineering. Employing a turbocharged 2.3 liter engine and six speed transmission, it has proven to be a development bed for Mazda's new MAZDASPEED3 that is currently on its North American debut at the New York Auto Show.

For more information, contact Eric Burmeister on 313-550-4454 or sirlurch@gmail.com