This year the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship is the center of attention for many car makers, especially the Japanese ones, who are looking for a way to relive their glory days in motorsport – those who are not yet ready for high-end stuff like Le Mans. After Nissan announced its 2014 TUDOR entry, Mazda too confirmed they are coming with a pair of factory-backed SKYACTIV Technology-powered prototypes.

What sets Mazda’s cars apart is the fact that they are powered by 2.2 liter Diesel engines. This SKYACTIV-D Clean Diesel unit is a true production-based engine and a carry-over from the development work done with the Mazda6 GX-class racing cars. More than 50 percent of this engine’s parts are stock; they are exactly the same as the one you get in a road-going Mazda6.

Despite being a small diesel unit the SKYACTIV-D is a gutsy engine with 450 bhp and 580 lb-ft of torque. It only weighs 143 kg (total weight of the car is 900 kg or 1984 lbs), and benefits from high-performance parts such as Bosch Motorsport MS 15.2 ECU, SpeedSource Race Engineering intake and exhaust manifolds, Bosch injectors and fuel lines, Garrett Motorsports, air-to-air Intercooler, Tial wastegate and…

Mazda realizes that racing with a diesel engine is like turning up at a gun fight with knife. But they say  this path is “most honest way to demonstrate the performance, quality, durability and reliability of Mazda powerplants.”

Mazda’s driver lineup for the 2014 USCC includes Sylvain Tremblay and Tom Long (#70 car) and Joel Miller and Tristan Nunez (#07). These are the same guys who delivered nine race wins and the 2013 Grand-Am GX Manufacturers Championship for Mazda.