Search only accepts letters and numbers.

CHANNELS

CONTACTS

About us

Mazda.com.au

BRANDS

Finch Rolls, McEwen Wins Mazda3 Celebrity Challenge Race In A Thriller

16th March 2014

The first Mazda3 Celebrity Challenge race at the Formula One® Rolex Australian Grand Prix was dramatically cut short after Rachael Finch rolled her All-New Mazda3 half-way through the weekend's first race.

Trying to recover from an off at turn 10, Channel Nine presenter Clint Stanaway was attempting to control his car before hitting Finch. The contact saw her All-New Mazda3 flip onto its roof and crash into the concrete barrier.

The event's first rollover since Luke Darcy in 2008, safety crews were on the scene in seconds, checking that the former Miss Universe Australia and television presenter was safe. All-New Mazda3's five star safety rating, advanced SKYACTIV-Body, along with CAMS and FIA approved roll cage, race seat and six point safety harness did their jobs to perfection with Finch exiting the car with a smile, waving to the cheering crowd.

Prior to the race-stopping incident, Tour de France star Robbie McEwen and Socceroo great Brett Emerton had a fantastic battle for race winning honours.

Racing bumper to bumper, McEwen eventually passed pole-sitter Emerton to take the chequered flag.

Grease star Rob Mills was third, with Torah Bright the first woman home in fourth and Tim Robards fifth.

Nova breakfast presenter Tommy Little was sixth, followed by Catriona Rowntree, Lydia Lassila, Maz Compton and celebrity chef Adam D'Sylva making up the top 10.

The Mazda3 Celebrity Challenge concludes tomorrow with the second and final five lap race.

For further information on the Mazda3 Celebrity Challenge drivers go to mazda.com.au

Driver Quotes

What Rachael Finch had to say?
"I felt really comfortable and confident in the position I was in, I was having loads of fun. 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. I'm just disappointed that I have to start from the back of the grid tomorrow!"

What Clint Stanaway had to say?
"I'm not the most popular guy around Albert Park at the moment as I just took out former Miss Universe Australia (Rachael Finch). I came into a corner when I lost control, hit the gravel, tried to correct, and lost control again before clipping Rachael. It was a bit of a comedy of errors to be honest. The sound her car made when it hit mine was enormous, but the main thing is that she is fine which I'm relieved about."

What Robbie McEwen had to say?
"It was a massive battle between Brett (Emerton) and I today. We knew it was going to be that way after the first day at Sandown as we were driving almost identical practice times. Today I was just waiting for an opportunity to pass, but also had to try not to hit him as we both really want to race tomorrow. Everyone had so much fun, we just want to keep racing and are looking forward to getting out on track again tomorrow."

Race One Results
1 Robbie McEwen
2 Brett Emerton
3 Rob Mills
4 Torah Bright
5 Tim Robards
6 Tommy Little
7 Catriona Rowntree
8 Lydia Lassila
9 Maz Compton
10 Adam D'Sylva
11 Clint Stanaway
12 Scherri-Lee Biggs
13 Lauren Phillips
14 Dave Thornton
15 Charley Boorman
16 Nathan Brown
17 Megan Washington
DNF Rachael Finch
DNF Sam Mac

Qualifying Results
1 Brett Emerton
2 Robbie McEwen
3 Charley Boorman
4 Rob Mills
5 Tim Robards
6 Lydia Lassila
7 Tommy Little
8 Torah Bright
9 Rachael Finch
10 Clint Stanaway
11 Scherri-Lee Biggs
12 Lauren Phillips
13 Sam Mac
14 Dave Thornton
15 Megan Washington
16 Catriona Rowntree
17 Maz Compton
18 Adam D'Sylva
DNF Nathan Brown

Practice Two Results
1 Brett Emerton
2 Charley Boorman
3 Robbie McEwen
4 Sam Mac
5 Rob Mills
6 Nathan Brown
7 Tim Robards
8 Torah Bright
9 Lydia Lassila
10 Adam D'Sylva
11 Catriona Rowntree
12 Clint Stanaway
13 Dave Thornton
14 Scherri-Lee Biggs
15 Rachael Finch
16 Tommy Little
17 Maz Compton
18 Lauren Phillips
19 Megan Washington

Practice One Results
1 Robbie McEwen
2 Brett Emerton
3 Rob Mills
4 Torah Bright
5 Tim Robards
6 Nathan Brown
7 Tommy Little
8 Sam Mac
9 Catriona Rowntree
10 Scherri-Lee Biggs
11 Adam D'Sylva
12 Clint Stanaway
13 Lydia Lassila
14 Lauren Phillips
15 Dave Thornton
16 Maz Compton
17 Charley Boorman
18 Rachael Finch
19 Megan Washington

The Mazda3 Celebrity Challenge Grid

Car# Name
#01 Alex 'Chumpy' Pullin - Snowboarding World Champion
#02 Rachael Finch - TV presenter and model
#03 Charley Boorman - TV presenter, travel writer and actor
#04 Lydia Lassila - Olympic gold medallist
#05 Tim Robards - The Bachelor 2013
#06 Rob Mills - Singer, entertainer and TV presenter
#07 Nathan Brown - Ex AFL player and media personality
#08 Adam D'Sylva - Celebrity chef
#09 Clint Stanaway - Nine News presenter
#10 Sam Mac - Ten TV presenter
#11 Lauren Phillips - TV host and Mazda ambassador
#12 Megan Washington - Musician
#13 Dave Thornton - Comedian, radio and TV presenter
#14 Maz Compton - Radio and TV presenter
#15 Robbie McEwen - Australian cycling legend
#16 Catriona Rowntree - Travel presenter and author
#17 Brett Emerton - Former Socceroo
#18 Scherri-Lee Biggs - Model and former Miss Universe Australia
#19 Torah Bright - Olympic gold medallist
#20 Tommy Little - Comedian, radio and TV presenter

Mazda6 Celebrity Challenge Details:

Circuit: Albert Park Street Circuit
Location: Melbourne, Vic
Circuit Length: 5.303km

Format:
Thursday: 1 x 20min practice
Friday: 1 x 15min practice & 1 x 15min qualifying
Saturday: 1 x 5 Lap race
Sunday: 1 x 5 Lap race

WEEKEND SCHEDULE
The times below are in Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time

Thursday, March 13:
Practice 1: 12.30pm - 12.50pm
Practice 2: 2.40pm - 3pm

Friday, March 14:
Qualifying: 3.30pm - 3.45pm

Saturday, March 15:
Race 1: 11.55am - 12.10pm (5 laps)

Sunday, March 16:
Race 2: 12.35pm - 12.50pm (5 laps)
Followed by podium presentation

TELEVISION SCHEDULE
Melbourne/Sydney ADST, please check local guides for other capital city broadcast times:

CHANNEL 10/ ONE HD
Friday, March 14:
12.00pm - 7pm (ONE HD)
Saturday, March 15:
11.00am - 6.30pm (TEN / ONE HD)
Sunday, March 16
12.00pm - 7.30pm (TEN / ONE HD)

About the Mazda3 Celebrity Challenge

Following on from the success of the Mazda6 Celebrity Challenge in 2013, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation along with Mazda Australia have joined forces to bring the Mazda3 Celebrity Challenge to the 2014 Formula 1® Rolex Australian Grand Prix. The Mazda3 Celebrity Challenge will bring together 20 celebrities from a wide variety of backgrounds and disciplines to compete at Melbourne's spectacular Albert Park street circuit.

About All-New Mazda3 with a 2.5L SKYACTIV-G petrol engine

Re-designed from the ground up, All-New Mazda3 adopts the stylish 'KODO - Soul of Motion' design language and the full suite of efficient SKYACTIV Technologies. Drivers will be better connected than ever before thanks to a new car connectivity system that allows easier access to phone, email and SMS, as well as Stitcher™, Aha™ and Pandora®. Including an Active Driving Display, All-New Mazda3 with SKYACTIV-G 2.5L petrol engine has 138kW of power, 250Nm of torque and sips as little as 6.0L/100km - an improvement of 30 per cent over the outgoing model. With over four million global sales, All-New Mazda3 went on sale in February and is available in either sedan or hatch, and with a 2.0 litre or 2.5 litre petrol engine.