The Aussie-made Mazda2 Extreme that premiered earlier this year at the 2008 Melbourne Auto Show (click here for details and photos) will make its long-awaited rally debut in Canberra, Australia this weekend at the penultimate round of the New South Wales rally championship. Using the latest generation Mazda2 as a base, Mazda of Australia has been constantly working on the rally-prepped supermini. Since its official introduction in Melbourne, further refinements have been made to the car's suspension package while Mazda also added new high-performance brakes. -Continued

Mazda Motorsport boss Allan Horsley said the weekend's event is a chance to celebrate the second generation Mazda2's sales success as it has managed to notch up more than 16,500 sales in the land Down-Under since its launch in September 2007.

"The Mazda2 is incredibly popular with Australians attracted to its style and economical yet exciting driving ways. Our goal with the Mazda2 Extreme is to showcase these characteristics that make the Mazda2 a small-car standout in the heat of battle," Horsley commented.