Infractfree

YouTube - Mazda 3 MPS on Nurburgring (public day) open to the public

YouTube - Mazda 3 MPS on Nurburgring (closed circuit) closed to the public

Looks pretty handy for something your Granny would drive.

Edit to correct links - Chris

Clarebabes

I can't view the vids at work, but you'd be surprised at the cars that over take "super cars" at the Ring. An important factor in lap times is knowledge of the track. Powerful cars are great for the straights, but alot of other cars can catch up in the corners!

Chris L

Very true Clare - although a non-too shabby lap. I think he did an 8:39 on the closed run? Pretty impressive in anyone's books.

StickyMicky

mazda 3 is about 250/260bhp iirc>?

Clarebabes

Is it a sporty one?

Chris L

Something like that - 256bhp is the official quote I think. 150mph+ car and 0-60 in about 6 seconds, so it is not slow.

Clare - yes that is the Mazda 3 MPS - 2.3 litre turbo - if he did that time in a standard one he would be some kind of driving god!

fivetide

iTrader: (1)

My brother in law went over in his 200sx and blew it up on the autbahn before he even got there.

Helpfully his breakdown cover provided a Nissan almera Tino which did quite few laps of the ring. Great wheel lifting pics of it sliding away. No faster car than a hire car

5t.

Daft Lad

Are you sure that wasn't the new Impreza?

monotokpoint

yup because there was no one being sick at the side of the track

Andy M3

It's hard on the tyres - sounds like a wailing banshee!

It isn't AWD though unlike the Mazda 6 MPS - I found this info though:

From £18k

Such performance is delivered and enhanced through an unprecedented range of driving technology for any car in this class. A Limited Slip Differential (LSD) automatically optimises torque split between the front wheels helping to maintain grip and traction during acceleration and fast cornering. An advanced Traction Control System (TCS) combines with Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) to help prevent oversteer and understeer, while the responsive Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD) and Emergency Brake Assist (EBA) provides the stopping power required to match the car’s commanding performance.

Bakerman

Fast laps on any track (maybe Santa Pod excluded!) are all about corner speed which requires driver skill (overlay any racers data to a laymans and at the slow bits there is very little in it whereas at the fast bits there is a massive gap). Thats why somebody in a lesser car can easily out do a supercar. To be honest I am more impressed by the biker in the white as the car driver can obviously drive yet he wasn't much slower mid corner ............ cars are much easier to go fast in (i.e. your average joe can push a car more than an average rider can push a bike). Still a good solid lap mind.

Daft Lad

Good point well made

Clarebabes

Well, that's what I thought!

CooperS

My boss has one of the MPS', run in now at 2000 miles

****** aint taken it over 4K RPM yet

I've told him he's a lunatic

chocolate_o_brian

iTrader: (22)

i remember recently when i had a mazda 3 as a hire car (after the turbo on the passat i was originally given as replacement for my scoob being repaired blew up lol). that wasnt really quick, until i figured out the vvti engine needs revving like ****. 2.0 sport thing was about 147bhp. good in the corners, but needed revving like mad. the redline starts at 6.5k and finishes at 8k, but in 1st and 2nd i got it well into the 7s without any kick back. mental revving car. couldnt help but wheel spin it everywhere, not used to fwd cars.

Gutmann pug

I would suggest a BTG of around 8 mins 32 seconds. Considering the hold ups he could have managed around 8mins 10 seconds. That is very quick considering the car.

Anyone know who was driving? He is quick, although a little close to the other users at times.

Olivera

Bridge to Gantry on the 2nd lap was approx 8:12, very fast indeed. I was there that day and Mazda had around 5 completely standard MPSs there with ex racing drivers at the wheel. For reference that is 12 seconds faster than Sport Auto did in an 04 WRX STI. Most of the hot hatches are now clocking around STI times easily. Regulars there will know that 4WD cars just arent worth it on the ring, too much weight to drag around for no benefit.

Gutmann pug

I would imagine you will find the sport auto time is for a full lap including the Dottinger straight too

slim_boy_fat

I would agree, he got a bit to fixated at beating the biker, (which he never managed) and at one point came very close to knocking another rider off and also hiting another car.

Looked like pretty irresponsable driving to me. If i was the biker who was nearly collected then there would have been words in the car park after. Might even have to polish out the teeth marks from my helmet.

The guy certainly knows the ring as did the two bikers.

Infractme!

The bikers do baulk him a bit in the corners but I don't think that excuses his getting so close.
Anyone who goes there will know that bikers can be a bit of a problem holding you up in the corners and then rocketing off down the straights. I just let them get on with it unless they are pathetically slow.

Gutmann pug

I think the bikers warranted a chat about use of mirrors after the lap at least

misty

I think it was down to the camera! He was no where near the bloody two wheelers.
Dave

slim_boy_fat

From what i could see the bikes were slow in the corners where there was other traffic ie other bikes and cars.

When the trake was clear the bikes pissed off.

End of the day a superbikes will do sub 8 sec full laps no problem without traffic.

End of the day its not a race track its a public road.

And he was very close to the bikes on a number of occasions and nearly took another biker out late on in the lap when another car goes off the track and the bikes are backing off so they dont get killed.

Takes waaaay more skill and bottle to lap the ring in sub 9mins ina bike that a car.

Car drivers need to grow some ***** or stop complaning about bikes holding them up.

Not that i would go on the ring with my bike as i dont have the *****!!!

Infractme!

There aren't many riders I've seen there who can manage sub 8 minutes bridge to gantry. Then again there's usually loads of traffic and if they were to go round that quick I wouldn't know about it as I'd be way behind them. Obviously there are a few but they are the exception rather than the rule. IMO the most dangerous are often some of the non-Germans out there as a right of passage bimbling along all over the track, many with GB plates I might add.

I also agree that it takes more bottle to even take a tourist lap round the ring on a bike than in a car. It's not something I'd do.

However as I'm sure you know if you go there you get a lot of numpties on bikes at the 'ring who think they are Valentino Rossi and present a danger to themselves and a rolling road block to even modestly speedy drivers. I've lost count of the times I've been overtaken on the wrong side by people like that (despite me having seen them coming and moved off the line for them) only to catch them in the corners and have them move wildly off line to block me not wanting to suffer the indignity of being overtaken by a car. Pretty sure it's deliberate as well as I can see them using their mirrors. As you rightly say it's not a race but when some dick ruins your lap corner after corner it does get pretty frustrating. It wasn't so bad when I had a jahreskart but now I pay per play I get a bit wound up when they baulk me.
I've had words with a few people and mostly they were pretty receptive- particularly if I offered them a pax lap and showed them just how much they were holding me up in the corners and braking zones.