I had the privilege of being invited to the Castrol Magnatec Exclusive Event by Soup on Sunday. Soup is a Word of Mouth Marketing company that I have been a member of for a couple of years. I’ve been able to review and share products with friends and family because of Soup. So when I got an email asking if I would like to take my family to an exclusive, free, family event with the opportunity to meet Mark Wintterbottom and Russell Ingle, my husband was keen for me to reply with a prompt yes!
The event was held at The Holden Driving Centre at Norwell and the weather was the perfect backdrop to an amazing event. The moment we drove into the Centre we were directed on where to park and I was excited to see a queue of people signing in to the event with the gorgeous Castrol Girls flanking the entry gate. Esther was handed a Castrol Cylinder tube of red jelly beans on arrival and we got a photo taken with the Castrol Girls. 
We arrived around 15 minutes early which meant we got to have a sneak tour of behind the scenes where they make parts exclusively for the Holden racing cars. There was a display of parts that had been manufactured over the years which had been used for racing or were just for display. One part had recently been put in the display cabinet because it had been found while tidying up an area and it was a part that was installed on a racing car but had to be taken off for racing because it had been deemed as possible cheating. Can you tell how naïve I am when it comes to explaining car parts??
After this mini tour, more people arrived and we had cupcakes and any cold drinks we wanted for morning tea. Some of the famous V8 Racing cars were out on display and I got to sit in Craig Lowndes car from last year. There was a fabulous kids zone area with two Jumping Castles (one was a Lightning McQueen one), face painting, a photo booth and sculpture painting craft for the kids. Esther had a brilliant time on the Jumping Castles and got a gorgeous butterfly painted on her cheek which put her in a great mood for the rest of the event.
The official event started at 11am where we were all divided into four groups so that we could visit four stations.
The first workshop we walked to was viewing the inner workings of a car engine and getting an explanation from Mechanic Simon Chapman (who has worked at Holden for 16 years) about why it’s important for oil to be in your car and why it should be changed regularly. He explained the difference between Castrol Magnatec and other oils on the market.
For a car buff like me (not), I found this workshop interesting because Simon explained 75% of wear and tear on your car is made when you turn it on and it is important for the oil to be on the necessary parts of your engine to prevent this wear and tear.
And this is what makes Castrol Magnatec different to other oils. It has molecules that stick to the surfaces of each part when the car is turned off, whereas other oils slide off due to gravity.
The next workshop was about driving safely on roads. I learned more about how and why accidents occur. Did you know that the highest number of driving accident fatalities happen in the 17 to 24 age group and that a driver in this age group doubles their chance of a car accident if they have a car load of people? And did you also know that the most likely times a person will have a car accident is when they are a)driving someone else’s car or b)driving close to home because people pay less attention when driving in known areas and busy their mind on what things they need to do at home.
The next bit of advice which is something that I have always done when I have driven a car is look ahead and not put all your focus on the car or bit of road in front of you. I have missed many an accident by doing just this.
Our third workshop was watching a theatre clip about the history of Castrol. Castrol was first introduced to Australia in 1899. We also got to feel the difference between a part used with Castrol Magnatec and one that hadn’t. (the one that hadn’t had a more rough/ridged surface)
After this we had a sausage sizzle lunch and Mark Wintterbottom sat in the table next to me while I fed Magdalene. V8 racing die hard fans were quick to sit at his empty table so he wouldn’t eat alone.
Once lunch was over, the last workshop was an exclusive mingle with Mark and Russell. I missed most of this part of the workshop because Esther was keen to paint a car at the sculpture painting zone and I thought it would be nice for Jacob to enjoy it without a cranky three year old.
We got to have our photo taken afterwards with Mark and Russell and then the afternoon was finished off by getting a bottle of Castrol Magnatec oil suited to our car and two Castrol Umbrellas which will be put to good use.
This is not a sponsored post but I found the event so informative and wanted to share with you what I learned. The event organisers, the Castrol Girls and even Mark and Russell were genuinely friendly and happy to talk to us and assist us in any way.
Our car is due for a service soon and I will be asking what type of oil is used on our car. It’s also something that I will be monitoring when we purchase our new family car in the near future to ensure we get longevity out of it.
