In early March, Mazda Motor Corporation will establish its second vehicle test track in Mine City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, to complement its Miyoshi Proving Ground facility.
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The car maker will acquire the land and buildings from CQ Motors Corporation of Tokyo , which decided to withdraw from the race circuit business and will close its Mine circuit at the end of February.
Mazda has opted to acquire this second test track to eventually develop facilities that are currently unavailable at the Miyoshi testing ground, such as a large turn, and a section that resembles a high speed European motorway. The Mine circuit’s existing course will continue to be used by Mazda after it obtains control, with future plans for the staged installation of a large turn, a high speed straight, and a high speed hill climb section added to the circuit’s facilities.
The Miyoshi Proving Ground will maintain its current role as the main test track for Mazda’s new product performance testing and development. The new facility – to be named the Mine Proving Ground – will be used as an R&D centre to complement vehicle development being conducted at Miyoshi, such as vehicle performance testing or quantitative data acquisition for the evaluation of driveability.
Additionally, to promote interaction with the local community, there are plans for the Mine facility to be opened to the general public on public holidays for tours and ‘safe driving’ courses.
Mazda established Hokkaido ’s Kenbuchi Proving Ground in January 1990, along with the Nakasatsunai Proving Ground in January 2002, exclusively for cold weather product testing and development.
