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NEWS
2014 Mazda3 Celebrity Challenge
Drivers praised for 'clean' racing at F1 support race despite one car flipping upside downFormer Socceroos star Brett Emerton emerged victorious at the 2014 Mazda3 Celebrity Challenge, but the most talked-about driver of the race was former Miss Universe Rachel Finch, whose car slid down the Albert Park street circuit on its roof after it spun and flipped.
Finch was duelling with Channel Nine sports reporter Clint Stanaway for ninth place in the first of two races when he bumped her car, forcing it into a lurid high-speed slide that eventually flipped the car upside-down.
All of the Mazda3 vehicles are equipped with roll cages and Finch emerged from the smashed up car uninjured, smiling and waving to the crowd.
“I felt really comfortable and confident in the position I was in, I was having loads of fun,” she said.
“All of a sudden something clipped me from the back and the next thing I knew I was on my head spinning around in circles! I felt completely relaxed; I knew the safety team were coming to get me,” she explained.
It was the first rollover since former AFL footballer and now commentator Luke Darcy flipped his car in 2008.
Despite a few memorable bingles, Mazda breathed a sigh of relief after its second bite of the cherry at the infamous support race at the Australian F1 Grand Prix, which it dubbed a more sensible event than the destruction derby that was 2013. That event saw only one car undamaged.
Despite significant damage to four cars, the repair bill will be considerably lower than in 2013.
“The racing in this year's event was much cleaner, with a significant reduction in damage compared to last year,” Mazda Australia's senior manager of public relations, Steve Maciver, told motoring.com.au.
He said there were “a few incidents” and four cars with “quite serious damage” and that Rachel Finch's car may be a write-off.
The event was won by former soccer star Brett Emerton, but only after three-time Tour de France green jersey winner Robbie McEwen stalled his car at the start of race two. If the cycling sprinter had a stronger start he would have arguably taken overall honours, having just beaten Emerton in the first race.
“This whole week has been a fantastic experience; it really took me out of my comfort zone which you don't normally do on a day-to-day basis,” Emerton said.
The final placings saw Brett Emerton atop the rostrum, followed by Grease the Musical's Rob Mills in second and The Bachelor's Tim Robards in third.
Winter Olympian Torah Bright and TV reporter Catriona Rowntree both had top five finishes in individual races and ended up in a battle royale for third place on the podium with Tim Robards, resulting in plenty of panel damage to all three cars.
British adventurer Charlie Boorman was also a contender but had a big stack in the second race, which ended his hopes of spraying champagne over all and sundry. A rear puncture saw him veer wildly across the track at high speed as he tried to stabilise the car, but eventually slammed into a concrete barrier.
Although there were a few bone-jarring bingles, Maciver said the repair bill would much lower than last year's.
“We still haven't tallied up the cost to repair the cars but it will most definitely be less than last year,” he said.
Mazda has not decided what it will do with the Mazda3 SP25s used in the race, but says it may put the 138kW 2.5-litre four-cylinder hatch and sedans to use in “other events”.
Mazda has also defended the high cost of participating in the Celebrity Challenge at the Australia F1 GP, insisting the event generates roughly $7million in coverage.
“Putting on such an event doesn't come cheap,” says Maciver, “but we believe the investment is justified.
“Last year's Mazda6 Celebrity Challenge generated over $7 million worth of coverage. We're running the numbers on how much coverage has been generated from this year's Mazda3 Celebrity Challenge but expect it to be at similar levels to last year.
If the timing is right, Mazda could return to the event for a three-peat in 2015. It's unlikely the Japanese car maker will do so without a brand-new car, but with the new Mazda2 in the offing, it could work well for the importer.
“That's something we'll weigh up in the coming weeks,” said Maciver.
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Written byFeann Torr
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