At Demaras Racing, a story about a Mazda race car bursting into flames gets our attention. We once owned the No. 16 MagiSeal Miata that smoked so much, you’d think it was on fire. Then there was the pit-lane fire we experienced at the recent Enduro Elite race at Shannonville. Let’s just say that Mazdas are hot this year!
So when footage appeared from Laguna Seca showing a historic orange-and-green Mazda prototype engulfed in flames, this one hit a little closer to home. The fire broke out during the Monterey Motorsports Pre-Reunion, where Mazda 767B No. 203 was parked under a tent in the Laguna Seca paddock. Apparently an oil line ruptured on start up, spraying oil on the hot engine, triggering the fire. Crew members rushed in with extinguishers as flames consumed the rear of the Group C prototype, which is run by privateers Ghost Riders Squad. Thankfully, nobody was injured.
For a few alarming hours, however, the story sounded much worse. Early reports identified the burning car as Mazda’s legendary 787B, the rotary-powered prototype that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1991. That victory made Mazda the first Japanese manufacturer to win Le Mans overall, turning the screaming four-rotor racer into one of the most famous competition cars ever built. Fortunately, that was not the car on fire. The damaged machine was a 1989 Mazda 767B, chassis No. 203, which itself competed at Le Mans and finished 20th in 1990. The actual Le Mans-winning 787B was also in Monterey and escaped unharmed.
There is good news beyond that correction. Ghost Riders Squad says the 767B will be restored and will “sing again.” A frightening sight, certainly, but not the motorsport catastrophe many first feared. Some racing legends survive the flames.