Image
courtesy of Dave Lynn
Image
courtesy of Dave Lynn
- #006: Mazda 3-rotor: converted to DG-3 WSC, destroyed Sebring 1995.
The 1995 Le Mans
car (pictured above) actually started life as Kudzu chassis DG-2 #004.
The DG-2's aluminum monocoque tub was used to build a new DG-3 WSC after
the primary car was destroyed on the final lap of Sebring 1995. The
shop went at a frantic pace to get this car built in time for Le Mans pre-qualifying.
Further regarding
the DG-3's history, an interesting fact that came up in a conversation
with Dave Lynn. The DG-3 was designed starting in early 1993 for
introduction midway through the 1993 IMSA Camel Lights season.
This was the first Mazda 3-Rotor car and also utilized a sequential gearbox
(an IMSA first?). The DG-3 Camel Lights car was designed with
WSC rules in mind with the knowledge that ‘93 was the last year for Camel
Lights GTP. Dave suggests that things could have been different for
the ‘93 Camel Lights season. Dave feels that the DG-2 Buick car could
have possibly won the Camel Lights series in ‘93 if it weren’t for the
mid-season introduction of the DG-3 (development of the DG-2 was shelved
to handle preparation and racing of the DG-3). Instead, what
happened, is that the DG-3 Camel Lights car was introduced and suffered
through half a season of technical troubles (motor and shifter problems,
the sequential shifter was eventually scrapped). But this development
was significant in that come ‘94 and WSC, the DG-3 all ready had five races
from ‘93 under its belt (as a Camel Light), and they were far ahead
of the competition in that respect. Hence they won the Driver’s Championship
in ‘94 for Wayne Taylor out of sheer reliability and finishes. So
either they could have won the last season of Camel Lights (‘93)
or the first season of WSC (‘94). They choose the latter and
the rest is history.
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