(17 Apr 07)

For a major manufacturer, Mazda builds an unusually wide range of sporting models, aimed at drivers with very different requirements. They include the Mazda3 MPS hot hatch, the 6 MPS performance saloon, the lovely MX-5 and the innovative RX-8.

John Stevens had a successful motorsport career in which, among other achievements, he set a Formula Ford lap record at Thruxton which stood for an incredible six years. Since then he has developed a formidable reputation as a race coach (see www.racecoaching.com for more details), with clients in Formula 1, World Rally, Indycars and Touring Cars among may other categories.

David Finlay is a co-founder of this magazine and has been its editor since December 2004. He tests around 80 cars each year, and is famously critical - he has been described as "the Simon Cowell of motoring journalists". An experienced racer himself, he started winning championships shortly after his first meeting with John Stevens. Funny, that.

Castle Combe, near Chippenham in Wiltshire, is one of Britain's less famous race circuits, but also one of its fastest and finest. Two chicanes, installed for safety reasons in 1999, mean it is less flowing than it used to be, though the 1.85-mile layout remains exhilarating and continues to reward accuracy and determination.

Read on to find out what happened when the world's top racing coach and the UK's pickiest motoring writer took Mazda's sports cars to their limit at a superb venue.

Next: Mazda3 MPS

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