When I cornered Kazunori...

When I cornered Kazunori Yamauchi, the creator of the Gran Turismo video game, into co-driving with me in his first-ever "real world" race - a one-hour Mazda MX-5 endurance event - he ummed and aahed for a day or so before giving me a definite "Yeah, why not?!" I guess no one had really asked him before, because he is, in reality, a very good driver. But if I thought that my propositioning was anything special, it pales into insignificance when compared to what Yamauchi has been through.

Year-to-date drop-top...

Year-to-date drop-top sales reveal the MINI Convertible sits at the top of the pile - it sold 7,396 units between January and August. A spokeswoman for the company said: "The cabrio is popular because it"s got all the good aspects of the standard MINI, and you can take the roof off. It has a very quick and easy-to-use mechanism."