When something great initially comes out on the market, there are
usually two general reactions. One is to run out to the store and buy
it right away. The other is to wait for all the bugs to get worked out
and look for the next improved model to come out.

When it
comes to drifting, the trend isn’t very different. After the wild
oversteering pastime officially hit North America in 2003, many of us
souped up our (insert car model here) and went to all the competitions,
making drifting one of the fastest growing motorsports in the country.
A few, in the meantime, stood back and watched, listened and learned.

After the tire smoke settled, Bill
Montgomery, president of the International All-Stars, an automotive
marketing firm, decided it was time to venture into the budding sport
to introduce something new and improved. Little did he know it wouldn’t
be an easy task for him and his team.

In fact, this has been
in the making for the last four years, and it all started with a
relationship between the All-Stars and Mazda. After a few meetings with
Jim Jordan, head of Mazda’s Enthusiast and Motorsports Marketing, plans
for a Mazda three-car drift team were set.

The first blank
2006 MX-5 roadster shell was sent to AWR Racing in Vista, Calif.
Anthony Woodford, AWR’s namesake, is no stranger when it comes to
MX-5s. He designs and fabricates all the roll cages for the Mazda MX-5
Cup series, as well as many other products.

With a blank
canvas to start, the first action was to place the MX-5 on a chassis
rotisserie to stitch weld every square inch of the body. A pre-fabbed
AWR roll cage was then installed and the shell was all ready to powder
coat yellow.

It went back to AWR to become a roller
outfitted with Moton Suspension and Vogland racing springs. Tsuyoshi
from 5Zigen, as well as an All-Star member, supplied Pro Racer GN+
17×7.5 front and 18×8.5 rear wheels and also helped the team by
organizing transportation back and forth from AWR, to 5zigen, and to
Gary Nishimura, a long-time friend and painter of Nish Designs. He
received the one-off DG Motorsports carbon front end, doors, dash and
wing to give a fresh coat of candy yellow and sprayed the rest of car
fire red. The car then went back to AWR where a fully-built motor from
Cosworth was waiting.

Cosworth — the name says it all when
it comes to engine building. The famous tuners outfitted the MX-5’s MZR
block with a Cosworth bottom end, starting with a Cosworth billet steel
crankshaft, Cosworth-forged connecting rods, and Cosworth-forged 14:1
compression ratio pistons sitting in cylinders bored to 87.5mm with a
94mm stroke, bringing engine displacement up to 2.3 liters (2,261cc).

A
Cosworth port bore modification on the MZR head, which is equipped with
Cosworth high-lift cams, lets in massive amounts of air through
Cosworth barrel individual throttle bodies. A Cosworth oil pan cover
was also installed so the block could be tapped for ANR fittings for
the dry sump oil system, with Lucas oil as the lube of choice.

Quality
control at its best, Cosworth engine dyno’ed the motor at 290BHP at
8,000rpm with 200 lb-ft of torque at 5,600 rpm on 112 octane fuel. A
Ron Davis Radiators custom heat exchanger was installed to help keep
the motor cool, and after that the roadster went to Nate at MoTeC,
where he wired up the motor and installed a MoTeC ECU and AIM heads-up
display.

Back at AWR, a custom four-into-one header was
fabricated to redirect exhaust out to the left side behind the
passenger. A ten-gallon oil reservoir was installed in the trunk behind
the stock gas tank, and a sixty-pound fuel pump was installed. A
six-speed gearbox was accompanied by an ACT clutch, and a Kaaz LSD was
also outfitted, along with Stop Tech rotors to aid in braking. Finally,
Sparco helped out in the cockpit, making sure that everything was
secure.

With the first car nearing completion and a second
one being delivered, it was time for Montgomery to take car number one
out for testing with the help of Kyle Mohan. Mohan, a professional
Formula DRIFT competitor, helped with many inputs and adjustments,
making sure that keeping the All-Star’s MX-5 sideways never looked
easier.

For MX-5 number two, the second verse is essentially
the same as the first, the roadster built as an exact copy of the
original. For the clone, 17-year-old rising star Patrick Mordaunt was
chosen as pilot for his “gangster” high-speed initiations, just the
type of thrill All-Stars was looking for.

Armed with the
pair of sliding MX-5s, Montgomery set out with his marketing team to
make a lasting impression. After campaigning the duo in many demos and
practice sessions, it was time see where the team was at in terms of
strength against other drifting platforms.

Team All-Star’s
first true test came during the Formula D Team Drift competition at
Long Beach in April 2008, one of the support events for the annual Long
Beach Grand Prix. Mohan, who placed fourth in competition the week
before on the same track in his FC chassis RX-7, brought out the coupe
again, while Mordaunt and newcomer Johnny Kanavas battled in the newly
built MX5s. In a fierce contest, their combined efforts placed the
All-Stars team in fourth.

With a third MX-5 near completion,
it is clear that the team is still preoccupied with growth. They’ve
already laid the solid foundation, but there is so much more to come.
Given all of their hard work, the International All-Stars seem to live
up to their team motto to under-promise and over-deliver. We can’t wait
to see what comes next.

For more info, please see the following links:

www.MazdaUSA.com
www.awrracing.com
www.Cosworth.com
www.Motech.com
www.Lucasoil.com
www.Driftallstars.com
www.teamallstars.com

MODIFICATIONS SUMMARY

Engine
2.3L Mazda MZR motor
Cosworth billet steel crankshaft
Cosworth forged 14:1-compression pistons
Cosworth forged connecting rods
Cosworth dry-sump oil system
Cosworth high-lift camshafts
Cosworth cylinder head port bore
Cosworth Barrel Throttle individual throttle bodies
AWR custom 4-to-1 exhaust manifold
VP C12 race fuel
Ron Davis Racing Products custom aluminum radiator
MoTeC engine management
ACT clutch
Kaaz limited-slip differential
AWR Racing engine brace

Suspension
Vogtland Euro-spec coils
Moton Clubsport dampers
AWR rollover protection

Brakes
StopTech slotted rotors

Wheels
5Zigen ProRacer GN+ 18×7.5

Tires
Cooper Zeon 215/35 18

Exterior
Paint by Nish Designs
DG Motorsports carbon-fiber front end
DG Motorsports carbon-fiber doors
DG Motorsports carbon-fiber wing

Interior
Sparco Evo 2 driver seat
Sparco Corsa passenger seat
Sparco harnesses
Sparco quick-release steering wheel hub
DG Motorsports carbon-fiber dash
AiM Sports MXL data acquisition & digital display
Tilton Brake & Controls pedal assembly