Building a racecar is easy: just throw in a roll cage, make sure you meet a few rules, and then throw it on the track. But your chances of finishing a race, let alone winning, are pretty slim. So what does it take to win races and to capture the Manufacturer’s Title in the ultra competitive Grand Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series? We asked i-Moto Racing who did just that with a great season finale race at Mid-Ohio running COBB AccessPORT tuned Mazda Mazdaspeed3s.

The most important part of any racing series is adhering to the rules. Curt Jung, i-Moto Racing’s Engineer/Tuner said that the AccessPORT allows the team to “maximize power and economy as well as precisely control the boost to meet the technical regulations.” Not only did the AccessPORT provide the ability to stay within series specs, but it also provided consistent and reliable performance. By using the built-in datalogging features, Curt was able to log a wide variety of engine data and efficiently tune the engine to “run just like production the production Mazdaspeed3, except a lot faster while using less fuel!”

During the racing season, there are always ups, downs, and a few surprises in between. Curt’s biggest surprise while tuning all season? The AccessPORT “does everything as advertised. I was sure that I would find quirks with any aftermarket tuning product that attempts to modify such a sophisticated production engine management system, and I continue to be pleasantly surprised at how nicely this interface and tuning tool works.” Late in the race at Watkins Glen, the team was poised for a 1-2 podium finish, but a flat tire with minutes to go ruined what could have been a huge day. Season long reliability paid off though when the team fought hard to finish 1st and 3rd at the season ending Mid-Ohio race. The first win for a Mazdaspeed3 also happened to lock up the Manufacturer Title for Mazda!

So what does it take to win? It takes a great team of owners, managers, engineers, and drivers to pull together a reliable and powerful car that can run at the front of the pack every race weekend. Congratulations to i-Moto Racing on a great season in their AccessPORT tuned Mazdaspeed3s and to Mazda for capturing the Manufacturer Title for the 2011 Grand Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Series!

If you’d like to learn more about what the AccessPORT can do for you, just visit www.COBBtuning.com.