HIROSHIMA, Japan—Mazda Motor Corporation will assist the Support Our Kids Project in sending ten junior and senior high school students to France for the organization's 3rd Homestay Program. While in France the students will take part in celebrations for the 90th anniversary of the 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

The Support Our Kids Project assists children affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake who will one day be responsible for the recovery of the Tohoku region. The aim of the project is to offer long-term support to these young people in their efforts to attain independence and self-reliance. One of the initiatives of the project is to offer cultural exchange experiences through overseas homestay programs and visits to foreign embassies in Japan.

The year 2013 marks 90 years since the inauguration of the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. Race organizers Automobile Club de l'Ouest have selected Mazda's 787B as one of the most memorable racing cars of the 1990s. The 787B is both the only Japanese vehicle and the only rotary engine-powered vehicle to achieve an overall victory in the prestigious race. Students on the homestay program will take part in celebrations to mark the 90th anniversary and the iconic Mazda 787B will make a demonstration run.

Mazda hopes that the participants will learn something of Mazda's inexhaustible defiance in the face of adversity and the perseverance of all those who take on the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and that this will inspire the children in developing the own challenging spirit and "never-give-up" attitude.

Participants in the program will undertake an orientation program on Saturday, June 15 before leaving Japan on Sunday, June 16. In France they will stay in Paris and Le Mans before returning to Japan on Saturday, June 29. (For more details of the program please visit the Support Our Kids website^*1.)

Mazda will support the 3rd Homestay Program	The Mazda 787B made a demonstration run at Le Mans in 2011

• *1 Support Our Kids:  http://support-our-kids.org/ (Japanese only)