NEWS: Sir Chris Hoy Podium in Mazda6 Celebrity Challenge

Sir Chris Hoy MBE contested the all-new ‘Mazda6 Celebrity Challenge’ at the F1 Australian Grand Prix at the 3.3-mile Albert Park track in Melbourne this weekend – as 21 evenly-matched, 137mph, 175PS (420Nm) Mazda6 2.2-litre SKYACTIV-D saloons battled for honours. And the Olypmic champion and budding racer, who will be racing Radicals this year in the UK, managed an excellent second place in the final of the three-race mini-series.
"The Mazda6 Celebrity Challenge in Australia was great fun and provided the perfect showcase for Mazda’s clean diesel technology," comments Jeremy Thomson, Managing Director, Mazda UK. "The event captured the ‘defy convention’ spirit at the heart of Mazda and put a fresh spotlight on our brand in a country where Mazda is already very popular and the Mazda3 topped the new car sales chart last year."
Completely standard, the all-new Mazda6 saloon racecars were fitted with additional safety equipment to comply with FIA regulations including a full roll-cage, Sparco race seat with six-point safety harness, external battery ‘kill’ switches and race compound brake pads. The cars retained their six-speed SKYACTIV-DRIVE automatic transmission with steering wheel paddle-shift selectors and ran on regular, grooved road tyres.
The only British competitor in the event, Chris Hoy qualified a promising third during Thursday’s practice session, finished fifth on Saturday (from a 20th place start) and stormed to a great second place finish in Sunday’s final.
"I am delighted with today’s performance; it was the most fun I have had in the car ever," enthused Hoy, who recently drove the Prodrive Impreza WRC that Colin McRae drove in 1998, for BBC2' Racing Legends program. "After Saturday’s charge through the field, passing 15 cars, I even had hopes of maybe winning the final, but Brad Hodge has been so consistent and he was ultimately out of reach and I had to settle for the runner-up spot."
The three-race Mazda6 Celebrity Challenge was won by former Australian test cricketer Brad Hodge who convincingly took overall honours by winning every race with celebrity chef Shane Delia and star actor Jonathan LaPaglia (Law & Order and NCIS) rounding out the podium.
Women drivers also performed well with Australian hero Olympic cyclist Anna Meares finishing fourth overall – the leading female in each race – and Holly Candy (nee Valance, formerly of Neighbours) singer of the chart-topping single Kiss Kiss, playing a starring role.
Well done Chris! Good practice for the super-fast Radicals this year... sort of!

NEWS: Aston Martin 100th Anniversary Race Meet @ Brands Hatch

Astin Martin will gather the largest collection of their racing cars ever at a meet at Brands Hatch in July for a unique race series to continue the British brand’s centenary celebrations. More than a hundred of the marque’s racing cars, dating from 1922 to the present day, will gather for the two-day race series in Kent on 6th and 7th July.
2013 is the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of Aston Martin, and the event in July will recognise the company’s achievements in sports car racing during the last century. Aston Martin has recorded multiple wins at Le Mans, including outright victory in 1959, as well as the World Sportscar Championship the same year and most recently the Le Mans Series title in 2009.
The two-day event will see Aston Martin racing cars from nearly every decade compete on the Brands Hatch Indy and Grand Prix circuits. Two special centenary races are also planned, the first covering the pre-war era to the mid 1960s, and the second open to all Astons from the mid-sixties, including the latest Aston Martin GT1, GTE, GT3 and GT4 cars in a single race on the Grand Prix circuit.
Additional races will include pre-war Aston Martins, with Lagondas and Bentleys also expected to take part. Meanwhile the AMOC Intermarque Championship, ‘50s Sports Cars, Equipe GTS and HRDC Touring Greats categories will also pit cars from throughout Aston Martin’s history against contemporary rivals. The weekend will also feature two rounds of the 2013 Aston Martin GT4 Challenge of Great Britain.
Off the track there will be examples of nearly every Aston Martin racing car ever produced, plus some of its finest road machinery, while everything from pre-war Ulsters through to Nimrods and the Aston Martin AMR1 will take part in on-track demonstrations.
The marque’s connection with James Bond will also be showcased in a display to celebrate the history of 007’s Aston Martin cars from the DB5’s first appearance in Goldfinger in 1964 to its most recent appearance in Skyfall.
Meanwhile, owners of Aston Martin and Lagonda cars will be invited to take part in track parades and to display their cars around the historic venue. A concours area, dealer stands and live music will also entertain visitors, while a special celebration dinner will be held on the Saturday night in the MotorSport Vision (MSV) Centre at Brands Hatch.
David Richards, chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda, said: "Brands Hatch has played an important part in Aston Martin’s racing history so is a fitting venue for one of the key events in our year of centenary celebrations. Legendary drivers such as Graham Hill, Jack Sears and Innes Ireland all raced at Brands Hatch in Aston Martin cars and the atmospheric Kent circuit will provide a wonderful arena for our competition and road cars to participate in what I’m sure will be a superb weekend."
Jonathan Palmer, chief executive of MSV added: "Aston Martin is an incredible brand that is synonymous with quintessentially British sports cars, famous for an enviable pedigree from James Bond 007, royal patronage and Le Mans motor racing success. With a great range of ever-evolving road cars, Aston Martin makes products that are more desirable than ever and we believe a record number of its sports cars will be present at the Brands Hatch Centenary Meeting."

For more information about entering your Aston Martin for the event please e-mail jwalters@astonmartinracing.com
Tickets for the Aston Martin Centenary Meeting are on sale now at www.brandshatch.co.uk.
And for more information contact:
MSV, Kevin Ritson on 01474 875316 or by email kevin.ritson@msv.com

NEWS: Prodrive Winter Driving Course

Rally and race Gods, Prodrive are running a great value Winter driving course – aimed at teaching you how to control your car on snow and ice and give you more confidence this Winter.

The course takes place at their own private proving ground in Warwickshire (where legendary Prodrive rally, race & road cars cars are tested), which has specially designed low friction surfaces to simulate driving on snow or ice. Prodrive say: "Many courses use a skid car, which simply raises or lowers a car on casters. Using low friction surfaces not only replicates snow and ice more accurately, but allows you to use your own car for the course. This means that you can learn how your car responds in these conditions – after all this is what you will be driving this Winter."
The course includes:
1. Briefing: including a theoretical overview of driving in snow (15min)
2. Demonstrations: our instructors will demonstrate what happens on our skid pans. (15min)
3. In-car tuition: (90 mins session)
They add: "You get behind the wheel to get a feel for driving on snow and ice and receive expert tuition in firstly, how to avoid getting into the situation where you lose control and then how to regain control should you need to. There are 2/3 people per instructor and you will get a total of 30 minutes at the wheel during the session, split into two 15 minute periods. For the remaining time you may ride in the cars to continue your learning."
The day ends with a de-brief; to review what you have learnt in theory and practice and how to prepare your car for Winter, including using Winter tyres (20min).
By the end of the Prodrive session you should have a clear understanding of what to do should you ever find yourself in driving in snow and ice this Winter.
The course can be undertaken in either your own car or a Prodrive car (sadly, not the Group N STi Impreza you see pictured, as tested by us here: http://issuu.com/roadonlinemagazine/docs/road_3). 

Prodrive say: "We recommend using your own car as your experience will be more faithful to that you may experience on the road. Due to the speeds and nature of the driving, there should be little, if any, wear and tear on the vehicle."
Prices are £125 per person in own vehicle or £150 per person in a Prodrive vehicle (all prices are inclusive of VAT).
To book a Winter driving course session, phone the Prodrive Performance Centre on 01676 536006, or click here to send an email.

VIDEO: 2012 WRC Wales Rally GB: Shakedown

Here's the highlights from the Rally GB shakedown, from a remarkable sunny and warm Wales... bring on the special stage action!

VIDEO: In-car Footage of New Right-Hand-Drive MINI WRC

Nice bit of in-car footage of the super aggro new generation right-hand-drive MINI WRC testing on some classic Irish tarmac stages. The car is run by the McGeehan Motorsport Team. Quick!