Mazda teaches celebrities

Ah the celebrity race at the Australian Grand Prix. How we love it.

But when you think about it, it’s actually a recipe for disaster. And hilarity.

Find a bunch of inexperienced celebs, stick them in cars, on a high-speed track, and then tell them to ‘race’.

It’s not going to end well.

So you can’t blame Mazda for wanting to put this year’s celebrities through an intensive training regime.

After all, no one likes a bent Mazda 6.

Day one of this year’s training schedule is done and dusted, with the highlights in the above video.

Five-time V8 Supercars champion Mark Skaife was on hand to put the celebrities through their paces.

Mazda will field 20 of its new diesel Mazda 6s at this year’s event, which includes Olympic gold medal cyclist Anna Meares and Australia’s most successful Paralympian, 11-time gold medallist Matthew Cowdrey.

The cars will be powered by Mazda’s new SkyActiv 2.2-litre turbo four, which produces 129kW and 420Nm.

Claimed fuel usage is 4.8L/100km, making it more fuel efficient than some hybrids on the Australian market.

The celebrity race is a support category at this year’s Australian Grand Prix, returning for the first time since 2011.

This year’s Australian GP runs from March 14-17.