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When I was an air traffic controller I had to have a medical check every year, to make sure I didn’t drop dead when it got busy. I always hated it; even though I felt fine I worried that the stern faced medics would find something terrible. They didn’t of course, but I got that feeling again yesterday when the MX5 had its annual service; would everything really be ok?

Well of course it was, its a Mazda!

How garages have changed; attractive and efficient lady receptionists, well appointed waiting area with coffee, magazines and TV. The much loved motor is whisked away and returns two hours later, cleaned and purring, with a fully detailed report of the work carried out. All this is done at a very reasonable fixed rate and they even tell you how much it will cost next time!  Whilst I waited I wandered over to the show room for a cup of tea and a chat with Adam, my personal salesman and we took a look at the new Kendo, very nice indeed.

Main dealers often get a rough ride when it comes to servicing but the work is generally beyond most home mechanics these days and  putting your pride and joy in the hands of the experts seems the right thing to do for me! So well done Jennings of Middlesbrough, see you next year.

Click on the photo to visit Jennings Mazda

March 31st, 2011
Categories: MX5 . Author: Fast Car . Comments: No Comments

This weekend saw the inaugural race for the 275bhp Mazda MX5 GT in the Britcar MSA BritishEndurance Championship at Silverstone. The Mazda MX5 GT qualified well for the three hour endurance race despite only having run for the first time on the 15th March. The Mazda MX5 GT was running second in class until contact with another car damaged the differential, which necessitated a change.  Although the Jota Sport technicians completed the differential change in just 15 minutes, it was enough to drop the car to sixth in class where it finished.

“This was very much a development race for us,” commented Sam Hignett, Managing Director of  Jota Sport. “The car was only completed on the 15th March and first ran at a circuit the Monday before the race. We were very pleased at how the Mazda MX5 GT ran and we see that there is enormous potential in the car.”

March 28th, 2011
Categories: MX5 Racing . Author: Fast Car . Comments: No Comments

March 26th, 2011
Categories: Cartoons . Author: Fast Car . Comments: 1 Comment

I fought off buying a video camera for years after a bad experience trying to film my sons with a borrowed one, which resulted in a jerky movie of a heavy breathing troll chasing small boys! However, I decided to take the plunge and see if I could do better with the help of the latest handycam technology.

I looked long and hard at the bewildering array of impossibly small HD cameras on offer and decided on the mid-range Sony HDR XR 155e, a full 1920×1080 model with a huge 120gb hard disk built in. This  means you don’t have to mess about with SD cards and you can record away as much as you like. It is compact, crammed full of useful features and, above all, remarkably easy to achieve great results with. This is really important because making movies is a load more demanding than still photography, just take a look on YouTube! To get good results, plan a story board, keep pan and zoom to a minimum, use a tripod and shoot twice as much film as you think you need; skillful editing is the way to success!

The heart of the Sony is a touch screen which controls all the camera settings. This works very well but means you can end up with a finger marked display. The screen can be difficult to see in bright light, although you can adjust the back light; ideally I would like a viewfinder. The camera is a heavier than others because of the hard drive housing but this is offset by the excellent storage it offers.

Notwithstanding these reservations the XR155 is a superb piece of kit, it takes beautifully clear pictures, has a 25x zoom, a steadyshot system, a choice of fully automatic and manual modes and outstanding low-light capability. All the reviewers on Amazon gave it five stars! There are many other handycams in the Sony range and you very much get what you pay for, this video gives you an idea of the features:

The technology is advancing at terrifying speed, already a newer model, the Sony HDR XR 160EB, is due out in April. Would I buy this camera again? Absolutely. Take a look on the Sony site to see the options available. My advice is to spend as much as you can afford, you will be more than repaid by the quality of results!

March 25th, 2011
Categories: Gadgets . Author: Fast Car . Comments: No Comments

Mazda is set to challenge Aston Martin, Porsche, Lotus, and BMW on the race track with its lightweight Mazda MX5 GT entry in the Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship 2011. The competition takes place over nine races from March to November, including a race at the Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. The first event is a three hour endurance race at Silverstone next weekend, Saturday 26 March 2011, starting at 3.00pm.

Weighing in at just 850kg, the Mazda MX5 GT race car will accelerate from 0-to-60mph in just three seconds and hit a top speed of 160mph. The car features a modified Mazda engine to produce 275 bhp, a six speed sequential paddle shift gearbox, carbon doors and Polycarbonate windows. On the exterior, the Mazda MX5 GT boasts a Spirited Green metallic body colour – a first on the MX5 for Mazda UK – complimented by Jota Sport corporate coloured liveries in orange and grey.

Jota Sport, the race engineering team that will run the cars in the 2011 series, took 400 hours to build the shell to a specification that ensured it was 17 times stronger than required by the FIA. During the development they faced a number of engineering challenges such as suspension adjustments, integrating the six speed sequential gearbox, and lowering the engine. Weight saving strategies such as, the removal of interior components, reducing component weight and dipping the shell in acid lost 15kg from the MX5 race car.

“The MX-5 production race car’s modest power output, bullet proof reliability and nimble handling demonstrated last year how the MX5 can be competitive against some of the purpose-built Lotus, VW and BMW race cars. With a higher power output combined with the durability, reliability and handling attributes that the MX5 is renowned for; the MX5 GT race car will be strong contender against the more powerful race cars in its class,” comments Graeme Fudge, PR Director, Mazda UK.

This is the fourth time that Mazda has entered Britcar and this year the Mazda MX5 GT car will be driven by Mazda works drivers including experienced Mazda racing driver Mark Ticehurst, 39 from Hassocks, West Sussex and Auto Express journalist and racing driver Owen Mildenhall. You can read all about the race series by clicking on the logo:

March 23rd, 2011
Categories: MX5 Racing . Author: Fast Car . Comments: No Comments