After besting the Holden Commodore, Toyota Corolla and Toyota HiLux to become No.1 in showrooms, the Mazda3 faces the Albert Park race test. It's a certain winner as the field for the Celebrity Race at the AGP is entirely comprised of all-new Mazda3s.
They've had only minimal safety tweaking, and each is competing with a driver-friendly automatic gearbox, which means the race will come down to skill and daring.
And the ability to keep the car alive in an environment where it's too easy to go crazy or kill the brakes and tyres by overdriving in the wide open spaces of Albert Park. "If I cannot win I'm going to take out as many people as possible. But don't tell anyone," Charlie Boorman, a long-distance motorcyclist and great mate of actor Ewan McGregor, jokes to Carsguide.
"I always tell people to get onto a racetrack to learn what it's like to be able to do something properly. I truly believe that what you learn in one day on a track will stay with you for your whole life." Last year's Celebrity Race was loaded with car-crashing craziness, so chief trainer and five-time Australian touring car champion Mark Skaife is working to ensure all 20 cars come through without damage.
"We have to make sure they apply themselves safely and enjoy the experience," says Skaife. "On the face of it, the Celebrity Challenge is fun. The people are normally full of character and ability and application, whether they are in the arts or sport or whatever.
"But, just as that is a good aspect, it can actually be one of the traps. Some of those great character traits can also cause a few problems. Some people, in the end, feel so comfortable that they think they're a bit bulletproof."
This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover
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