LEXINGTON, Ohio, July 29, 2018 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Alexander Rossi and his Honda-powered Andretti Autosport crew successfully pulled off a two-pit stop strategy Sunday to win the Honda Indy 200.  Rossi’s second victory of the season moves him to second in the Drivers’ Championship after 13 of 17 races, 46 points behind fellow Honda driver Scott Dixon (494-448), who finished fifth today.

While several teams and drivers started today’s race looking to complete the 90-lap distance on just two fuel stops, all but Rossi were forced to switch to a three-stop strategy as the multiple fights for position intensified throughout the contest.  Rossi, however, was able to remain clear of most of the individual battles, enabling him to pull out a 12.8285-second victory over Robert Wickens at the checkers.  Rossi’s fourth career Indy car victory was also the third time he has won from the pole, with the others coming at Watkins Glen in 2017 and at the Grand Prix of Long Beach earlier this year.

A large crowd, including approximately 11,000 Honda associates from multiple central Ohio Honda facilities, filled the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio road circuit as multiple battles raged throughout the 24-car starting field. 

Wickens caught and passed the Team Penske duo of Josef Newgarden and Will Power, as well as Ryan Hunter-Reay, to make it a 1-2 finish for Honda.  Dixon fought his way from ninth to fifth, and continues to be the man to beat for the 2018 Verizon IndyCar Series Championship; while Sebastien Bourdais once again thrilled with multiple passes to finish sixth after starting 24^th and last due to a crash in qualifying.

Video recaps from this weekend’s Honda IndyCar Series activities at Mid-Ohio are available on the “Honda Racing/HPD” YouTube channel. Produced by the Carolinas Production Group, the video packages can be found at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV. 

The Verizon IndyCar Series now takes two weeks off before the final super-speedway race of the 2017 season, the August 19 ABC Supply Co., Inc. Pocono 500, at the unique, 2.5-mile tri-oval Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, PA.

Alexander Rossi (Andretti Autosport Honda) Started first, finished first, second win of 2018 and fourth career Indy car victory: “It’s what we needed.  We said coming into this weekend that we had to execute for five weekends in a row. This is the start of that, hopefully.  It was great [pit stop] strategy. We knew we could two-stop if we committed early and that’s what we did.  We’re thinking about [the championship], but we’re also focused on just race wins. We’ll take a very well-deserved break before Pocono.  We’ve been strong there the last two years and just try to do [there] what we did today.”

Robert Wickens (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Honda) Started fifth, finished second, fourth podium finish of 2018 and seventh top-five result: “We stuck to our guns, and I thought our [three pit stop] strategy worked well. The problem is, on my third stint, I just got stuck in a whole gaggle of [slower] cars. Unfortunately, they were on reds [Firestone softer compound, alternate tires] and I was on ‘blacks’ [more durable, but slightly slower, primary tires].  I couldn’t make it through, and just lost loads of time. I was probably losing about a second a lap for a good 10-15 laps. It’s unfortunate. Nevertheless, the Lucas Oil car went from fifth on the grid to finish second, so I can’t complain.”

Art St. Cyr (President, Honda Performance Development) on today’s Honda IndyCar Series win at Mid-Ohio: “It’s always fun to win your ‘home’ race.  It’s gratifying when you have both the fuel save and non-fuel save strategies covered, as we did today.  Alex [Rossi] showed amazing pace while saving fuel and, if not for getting hung up in the middle of the race, Robert [Wickens] would likely have been nipping at this heels at the end.  Congratulations to both teams for successfully executing very different approaches today.  With four races remaining, continuing to win is the way we’re going to win the [IndyCar Manufacturers’] Championship.”

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/724069/Alexander_Rossi.jpg

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/83597/honda_performance_development__inc__honda_racing_logo.jpg

SOURCE Honda Racing

IRVINE, Calif., July 30, 2018 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — How do you make the world’s best-selling, two-seat roadster even better? Mazda’s designers and engineers have found the answer with the 2019 MX-5 Miata RF, which goes on sale later in August.

While its biggest change comes by way of its thoroughly upgraded SKYACTIV-G 2.0-liter engine, which is now more responsive, efficient and powerful, other numerous updates include:

• A new, standard tilt/telescoping steering column with 30mm of telescoping and 42mm of tilt range
• An aluminum steering column to save weight versus the previous steel unit
• A new, standard rearview camera
• Available Traffic Sign Recognition
• Available Smart City Brake Support low-speed automatic emergency braking

MX-5 RF Grand Touring and harder-edged MX-5 RF Club models continue to be the two flavors of retractable fastback, both offering premium style, curb appeal and performance.

MX-5 Grand Touring comes equipped with 17-inch dark silver wheels; body-color interior trim; auto on/off headlights; an auto-dimming driver’s side mirror; rain-sensing windshield wipers; automatic climate control; auto-dimming rearview mirror with HomeLink^®; heated, leather-trimmed seats; a 9-speaker BOSE^® Premium audio system; a fabric-lined soft top for greater sound insulation; Sirius XM Satellite radio with a 4-month trial subscription, Mazda Navigation; Blind Spot Monitoring with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert; new Traffic Sign Recognition; Adaptive Front-lighting System; High Beam Control; Lane-Departure Warning; and Smart City Brake Support.

Listening to customers’ demands, Mazda will offer a new GT-S Package for MX-5 Grand Touring models equipped with the SKYACTIV-MT 6-speed manual transmission, equipping those models with a front shock tower brace, limited-slip rear differential and Bilstein dampers. MX-5 RF models with the GT-S Package will also come equipped with the hand-painted black roof that had previously only been offered in the U.S. on the 2017 MX-5 RF Launch Edition.

MX-5 Club models continue the two-pronged, higher-trim strategy, offering a harder-edged foil to the MX-5 Grand Touring. MX-5 Club comes with standard Bilstein dampers, shock tower brace and limited-slip rear differential in models equipped with the SKYACTIV-MT transmission. All other MX-5 Club models receive standard heated cloth seats with red contrast stitching, body-color interior trim; Metallic Black alloy 17-inch wheels, front air dam and rear lip spoilers, a 9-speaker BOSE^® Premium audio system, SiriusXM Satellite Radio with a 4-month trial subscription and Blind Spot Monitoring with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert.

MX-5 Club models are available with an i-ACTIVSENSE Club Package that comes with Smart City Brake Support and Lane-Departure Warning.

Additionally, MX-5 Club SKYACTIV-MT can be had with the Brembo/BBS Package and Brembo/BBS/Recaro Package. The Brembo/BBS Package include front Brembo rotors and calipers; red-painted brake calipers on all four corners; 17-inch, dark gunmetal BBS forged alloy wheels; functional side sill extensions; a rear bumper skirt; and heated leather-upholstered seats. The Brembo/BBS/Recaro Package is new for MX-5 RF and replaces the leather-trimmed seats with heated Recaro buckets. It also includes a black-painted roof.

All 2019 MX-5s come standard in the U.S. with a SKYACTIV-G 2.0-liter engine, producing 181 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 151 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm. That represents an increase of 26 horsepower and 3 lb-ft of torque over the previous model. Thanks to a host of internal improvements, including lighter pistons and rods and a larger throttle, MX-5’s engine produces more torque throughout its rev range and enjoys a 700 rpm higher redline for the new model year. The new engine comes paired to either a standard SKYACTIV-MT 6-speed manual transmission or an available 6-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters and Sport mode.

MSRP¹ for all models is as follows:

Premium exterior colors:

The 2019 MX-5 RF goes on sale nationwide this August. MX-5 soft top pricing, packaging and on-sale timing will be announced at a later date.

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 700 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at InsideMazda.MazdaUSA.com/Newsroom.

Follow MNAO’s social media channels through Twitter and Instagram at @MazdaUSA and Facebook at Facebook.com/MazdaUSA.

¹ Manufacturer’s suggested retail price does not include $895 for destination and handling ($940 in Alaska), taxes, title or additional fees. Dealers set actual sale prices.

SOURCE Mazda North American Operations

SILVER SPRING, Maryland, July 26, 2018 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Alex Perdikis, co-founder of automotive startup inride, announced today it plans to offer consumers in the DC area access to its subscription car service.  This growing model of car ownership is available for sign up now, and provides subscribers with the option to flip into new cars personally delivered by the inride concierge team.

As noted by Perdikis, “inride is the first to bring a subscription car service to the DC area, offering members access to the latest and most innovative approach to car ownership.  Coupled with an easy to use app, inride members have access to the most coveted garage of vehicles with just a few taps on their phone.  Subscription car service is a flexible alternative to today’s traditional means of car ownership.  We are excited to position inride at the forefront of this growing trend, and exclusively as the very first of its kind in the DC market .”  Perdikis went on to say, “The differentiator of this service is that it is a horizontal approach, offering multiple makes and models versus some of the recent manufacturers’ attempts, which are vertical models, locking you into one specific make.  With inride, if you want to drive an Audi A6 during the work week, and then flip into a Jeep Wrangler for a beach weekend, that happens with a couple swipes of the app.  Additionally, giving more confidence to our members, we have the resources of the greatest automotive name in the DC area as we will operate our first location out of Koons of Silver Spring, just outside of the city.”

How it Works:

• Members sign up by visiting inride.com or download the app from the App Store or Google Play

• Every inride subscription includes rights to a vehicle, insurance, and maintenance with no long-term commitment

• The inride concierge team delivers hand detailed vehicles to members upon request.

inride offers subscribers 2 pricing tiers to choose from at launch with special introductory offers:

• Premier – $895
• Ultra – $1395

To learn more about inride visit inride.com.
Contact: [email protected] 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Inrideapp?lang=en 
Instagram – @inrideapp
Facebook – @inrideapp

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/723008/inride_Logo.jpg

SOURCE inride