Motoring May 29, 2020
M
azda’s new virtual racing car, the Mazda RX-Vision GT3 Concept, will be available for download in Gran Turismo Sport this week. Jointly developed with Polyphony Digital Inc., the RX-Vision GT3 Concept is Mazda’s newest virtual race car in Sony Interactive Entertainment’s PlayStation®4 driving simulation title, Gran Turismo Sport. Based on the Mazda RX-Vision Concept car that was unveiled at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, the GT3 Concept is modified in accordance with FIA GT3 race car regulations, and also complies with Gran Turismo Sport’s own regulations in its Gr.3 category. While the original cabin and doors are maintained in accordance with GT3 regulations, the front and rear track width has been expanded and wheel arch width increased. A large bonnet air outlet improves both aerodynamics and engine bay cooling,
and front and rear spoilers and a rear diffuser increase downforce. In addition, both ride height and overall vehicle height have been reduced to optimise aerodynamic performance. The removal of heavy materials and superfluous interior parts has resulted in weight reduction and a lower centre of gravity, and, equipped with a front midships-mounted, next-generation Skyactiv-R, 4-rotor 570 PS rotary engine, the car boasts an ideal 48:52 front-rear weight distribution. As with all Mazda vehicles, painstaking attention to cockpit ergonomics place an emphasis on ease of operation during a race; in particular, the steering wheel is specifically designed for improved operability under race conditions. The most successful Gran Turismo Sport players who use Mazda vehicles such as the RX-Vision GT3 Concept will have the opportunity to participate in the FIA certified Gran Turismo Championship, to be held in various locations around the world in the 2020 season.
www.guardianonline.co.nz
Friday, May 29, 2020
21
Of courts and Caddies
S
ometimes one story leads to another. And that’s great. Sometimes one story will lead to more than one other story, and that’s even better! Our story published a fortnight ago has done just that. Two stories have emerged. Just to recap, our previous story arose because Pete and Valmai Whinham kindly passed in a Guardian clipping from January 1996, in which Chris Mole penned a story about Clem McLachlan and his New Pick car. Just by chance, this writer then met Chris Mole on the railway overbridge. Chris remembered the story, and reference to our meeting on the overbridge brought back a memory for Gavin Wainscott. Here, in his words, is Gavin’s memory. The story about the New Pick car, and meeting Chris Mole on the overhead railway bridge brought back to mind a humorous tale from my old uncle Joe, now long since deceased. In the late 1920s, Uncle Joe was serving as a JP in Hamilton, which in those days was a small town similar in size to what Ashburton is today. It was usual for the local Magistrate to take the weekend off and be replaced by two JPs, who attended to minor misdemeanours. Anything more serious was remanded for the attention of the Magistrate. On this particular Saturday an Irish seaman had been caught by the local constabulary quite drunk, getting into his car, and was up before Uncle Joe and his fellow JP. After hearing the evidence Uncle Joe
The McLaughlin Cadillac was the 1922 model.
Bernard Egan MOTORING
and his mate conferred, and whilst looking at the seaman’s record discovered that he had a previous conviction for the same offence. Now the usual fine for such a dastardly crime was five pounds, a bit more than a week’s wages in those days. So the good JPs, after further discussion, informed the guilty one that he was to be fined 10 pounds. There was a moment’s silence while the prisoner absorbed the severity of the fine, after which he raised his eyes to the ceiling of the courthouse, let out a loud whistle, and said in an equally loud voice: “Well kiss my big fat Irish word beginning with A meaning posterior”. He was quickly removed from court by an attending policeman while all in attendance tried to refrain from laughing. Then came the part about the railway bridge. After court session was finished, Uncle Joe was walking home crossing the railway bridge, when he met a cobber coming in the opposite direction with a big smile on his face. His first words were: “Well, did you do it?” Meaning, of course, did Uncle Joe follow the criminal’s instruction. Uncle Joe’s response has been left to the imagination.
It just shows how quick word goes round in a small town. The good old grapevine eh! And we think we’re the ones who invented instant communication! In his article Chris Mole mentioned others planning to go on the same rally as the late Clem McLachlan. They were all stalwarts of vintage motoring, some who sadly are no longer with us. Their vehicles, including a 1922 Cadillac, were also mentioned. Many years ago that car was owned by the late Colin and the late Joan McLaughlin, who farmed at Riverbank near Barrhill. Members of their family, including Margaret Haskett, Allan Harrison and Marion Oakden, remember the car well. It was a large touring car, with plenty of room for the entire family, and others as well. And it’s a story about a family expedition, on which they were joined by another passenger called Teddy, which has become enshrined in family folklore. Teddy was a Shetland pony of about eleven hands. Joan McLaughlin’s late sister Lillian Rouse, her late husband John and their family lived at Glenfalloch Station, and later at Lake Heron Station. Teddy had been bought by the Rouse family, and the McLaughlins said they would bring him to his new home in the high country. So Teddy hoped up into the space between the front and back seats of the Cadillac. There were extra
fold-down seats in the space occupied by Teddy, but he was quite happy to just stand there, head out the window on one side and tail out the window on the other. Teddy enjoyed the trip, which involved traversing a lengthy shingle road along which there were no less than 22 gates to pass through. McLaughlin family members remember many trips in the big Cadillac, but the one on which Teddy was a passenger was certainly one of if not the most memorable. Teddy went on to enjoy living out his days in the high country. There is another interesting connection within this story. The late Colin McLaughlin will be remembered by many as a notable trainer whose horses included the legendary Maneroo, Allan Harrison has been a very skilled reinsman and Gavin Wainscott has also trained horses – all known to one another. But little did they think they would be linked in a story involving a newspaper clipping, a railway overbridge and a pony in a Cadillac. It’s great when one story leads to other tales.
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