Season Summary

Academy Season Summary:

It is just over 2 years since I took my family down to Caterham South to place a deposit on the 2012 Caterham Academy. Making the decision to enter was not the work of a moment for me, in fact I delayed my decision once and almost pulled out before finally taking the plunge. I knew I wanted a 7, but I was originally toying with a second-hand R3/4/500 for track-days and Sunday blats, however like all of the best laid plans one thing lead to another. In the end a desire to build my car and knowing that I couldn’t afford anything more than a new Roadsport, along with a dose of man logic that an saw an Academy car as essentially a Roadsport with a years racing thrown in for free, helped make the decision for me.

Eleven months later my kit arrived at my parents’ house ready for me to start assembly. I hadn’t coped particularly with the intervening period and only managed to keep myself sane by re-joining the club, going to the odd meet, reading and re-reading the build manual and watching endless YouTube clips of Caterham racing. When my kit arrived it was like Christmas, birthdays and a promotion at work all rolled into one. My first brand new car and I had 2 weeks to enjoy the process of seeing it come together in front of my eyes.

Build:

With rose tinted spectacles firmly on I would say the build was a wholly fantastic experience, but if I force myself to look back at it more realistically then I would describe it as a thoroughly rewarding but at times maddening experience. I have never felt such satisfaction (starting the car for the first time), but also such frustration (having to take the diff out for the 3^rd time) in anything that I have done before.

Would I do it again? Yes, without a shadow of doubt, but I would do it differently. I put myself under huge pressure to build my car in 2 weeks. I have a young family and don’t have a garage at home, so tried to pack the build into a short period of holiday from work to keep everyone happy. Next time (and I do hope there will be a next time) I would take my time and make sure I had a space at home that allowed me to pop out and tinker for an hour or two each evening, rather than slog away for 10 – 14 hour days on my own in my parents garage, away from my family.

I said at the time, with ever increasingly stringent legislation who knows how long it will be before building your own car is outlawed. I hope I never see the day, but knowing I have done it gives me a huge sense of pride and a much better understanding of the machine I am racing. To work hard and buy the car of your dreams, then to work hard and build it for yourself is a pretty unique experience and one I feel proud to say I have done.

Preparation:

With the excitement of the build gone the wait for the first competitive event seemed as though it would last forever, but Caterham very cleverly used the winter period to keep us engaged via a number of dedicated events; Introductory Seminar, Factory Visit and Set-up Day, Handling Day, ARDS Day and finally the Test Day. On top of this I added a trip to the AutoSport Show to get hold of my race gear and spent plenty of time preparing the car for racing. Far from being a quiet time, I was struggling to fit everything in. Others were using the time to do plenty of testing/training (quite how much became apparent at the early sprints).

My favorite event, by quite some way, was the test day at a sodden Castle Combe in early April. This was my first venture out onto track and was a truly eye opening experience. In conditions that would have stopped an F1 race we slithered, slipped and spun our way around the track together for the first time. I think on that day many of us managed to scare ourselves into finally realising that we weren’t an F1 driver waiting to be discovered. We were amateurs trying very hard to balance our own fear/excitement ratio. It was a baptism of fire for all of us, but I loved it.

Sprints:

Looking back at the sprints it would be easy to dismiss them as frustrating and a lot of effort for minimal reward, but I think that would be an unfair assessment. The sprints were a great introduction to motorsport. They offer the thrill of speed and competition, but with far less risk of damage to either car or driver. It is very easy to see why Caterham get Academy drivers to take part in them before going wheel to wheel racing later in the year.

Our first event at Aintree was fantastic. I still remember the feeling of excitement arriving at a race course knowing that I was going to compete, in my car, for the very first time in my life. Aintree is a long way to go (for most) for less than 10 minutes driving and the course itself is not particularly interesting, with only three main corners, but that paled into insignificance because we were finally about to do what we had waited so long to do. A 4^th placed result was a reasonable start, but I was close to a podium and the competitive spirit within me wanted to stand on it at least once during the year.

Curborough a few weeks later was better still. The small clubby atmosphere and fantastic weather helped make it a thoroughly enjoyable event. That it was my first win also helped slightly. The track is tight, twisty and narrow. It is a place that you could spend years trying to master (as many of the club speed championship members do) and still derive great pleasure from. I loved it and was really starting to get a taste for the competition.

By the time we got to Snetterton I think we were all starting to feel ready for the circuit races. The day was enjoyable and the competition fierce, but many of us were looking forward to doing more driving and less standing around, for you really do a lot of waiting at sprints. Another win was a nice reward for the final sprint, but the question for me was could I convert sprint pace into race results.

The sprints required us to try and put our best qualifying lap together on each and every run and at venues that we hadn’t seen before. No amount of YouTube videos can quite prepare you for the un-known and that was both the thrill and frustration. For those that got it right there was a feeling of great satisfaction. For those that got it wrong there was the sense of un-finished business. I can see why people go back time and again to try and master a course. I had enjoyed my sprinting experience, but was ready to move on.

Races:

The races are where the excitement really started to ramp up. After all, this is what we had all been working towards and waiting for since we placed our deposits, in my case 18 months previously. I will never forget the mixture of nerves and excitement of that first race at Donington. They subsided slightly at the later events, but not by much. No track day has come close to giving me the same buzz since.

The thought of Donington kept me awake most of the previous week. I couldn’t sleep for the thought of getting out onto track and racing against 25 other cars. I may have been quick at a sprint, but would I know how to overtake? Would I crash into someone else trying to get past in a silly move? or would someone do it to me? Would I remember all I needed to from the Blue Book? In the end it was a short race, with a mid-field crash putting us behind the safety car for several laps. In the short number of racing laps that we had I experienced a high unlike anything else and a lucky win was the outcome.

Brands Hatch a few weeks later was another great weekend. A fantastic circuit on a nice day and a very clean race. I lost out at the start to Scott Lawrence, but passed him on lap 2 and had a slightly lonely drive to the finish. This time the main enjoyment was in driving a great circuit as smoothly and cleanly as possible, without doing anything silly and throwing away the lead. I didn’t and was starting to think about the championship.

Snetterton was our first weekend long event and despite only having 15 minutes of qualifying and a 15 minute race it was a packed weekend. Both Saturday and Sunday mornings were spent marshaling on the circuit for extra points in the championship. It was a very worthwhile experience to get an insight into the dedication of the marshals that support us. The race itself was a relatively straight forward affair as I led from lights to flag, but no less enjoyable for that. Snetterton really is a lovely circuit to drive and the weekend had been fantastic fun with a brilliant atmosphere in the paddock all weekend. We were all becoming good friends by this time, rather than a group of people thrown together around a common passion. A win and the championship was the icing on the cake.

With the championship in the bag I approached Rockingham a little differently to the other events. From the trackday I had done there a couple of weeks before I knew I didn’t like the track as much as the others and with my brain not fully in gear had my worst qualifying of the year for 3^rd. At the start I got swamped and was down to 5^th place at the end of the first lap, however the fight back to briefly take the lead on the last lap and eventually finish second proved it to be the best race of the season so far. It proved to me that the race, not the result was the most important thing.

A few weeks after Rockingham 35 Academy drivers, from both Group 1 and 2, returned to Donington for the post season Caterham Autumn Trophy. Two 20 minute races thrown on by Caterham for those that hadn’t quite had enough racing for the year. The anticipation was high as it would be the first time that Group 1 and Group 2 had competed together and we would finally get to see who was the quicker. After a fog delayed start both races were shortened to 13 minutes, but this did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm. With no time for qualifying we were placed on the grid in championship finishing order, so I was fortuitously gifted a pole. Stephen Nuttall (Group 2 champion) wasn’t there, so I had Pete Fortune (Group 2 runner up) sat next to me. After a year of Group 2 telling Group 1 they were quicker (and quite frankly me believing it) I expected Peter to romp off into the distance with Danny Killeen (4^th on the grid). In the end Peter, Danny, Matt Dyer and I spent the next 13 minutes racing nose to tail, with all of us taking the lead at various points and places swapping at least twice a lap. It was an epic battle and one I was lucky enough to come out on top of.

The grid for the second race was decided on the result of the first, so I was once again gifted a pole (I was starting to feel like a very lucky boy indeed). Starting in almost total darkness I held the lead for most of the first lap before being overtaken by Danny and Peter. After Peter and Danny had a slight coming together on lap 4 I was gifted the lead once again, which I held to the finish despite the best efforts of Matt Dyer and Nigel Board who both came past me at some point during the race, only for me to regain my position up front. I finished my final race of the year with another win and the perfect finish to a dream year.

The races were a dream come true and the improvements we all made throughout the year were incredible. By the end I trusted the guys around me implicitly, whereas at the start I wasn’t quite sure. We were driving faster, making fewer mistakes and enjoying ourselves even more. We had become proper racing drivers.

Costs:

The Academy is billed as one of the cheapest and easiest ways to get into motorsport and of that I have little doubt, but it remains bloody expensive. Now this is all relative. Motorsport in general is hideously expensive, but when I sat down and ran through the cost to me at the end of the year (below) I was surprised by just how much I had spent. I deliberately tried not to think about it during the year as I wanted to focus on just enjoying myself and I highlight this only so that others who are thinking about it will go in with eyes completely open.

Purchase	Basic Car	Caterham	£18,894
	Seats	Caterham	£725.11
	Quick Release Wheel	Caterham	£275.75
	Harnesses	Caterham	£132.77
	Weather Gear	Caterham	£464.68
	Lowered Floor	Caterham	£326.81
	Starter Button	Caterham	£45.96
Build	Delivery	Caterham	£194.04
	Tools	Halfords	£300
	Fluids	Sam Centre	£200
	Post Build Inspection & Fix	Caterham	£662
	IVA Presentation	Caterham	£354
	IVA	VOSA	£450
	Registration	DVLA	£55
	Road Tax	DVLA	£215
	Caterham Bag Seat	Caterham	£100
	Caterham Set-up	Caterham	£250
	Service	7 Workshop	£180
	DPR Set-up & Adjustments	DPR	£379.80
	HANS Modification	Arch Motors	£240
Repairs	New cycle wing	Caterham	£54
Race Gear	Helmet	Demon Tweeks	£450
	HANS Device	Demon Tweeks	£450
	Race Suit	Demon Tweeks	£550
	Nomex	Demon Tweeks	£100
	Boots	Demon Tweeks	£50
	Gloves	Demon Tweeks	£100
	Miscellaneous	Caterham/Demon Tweaks	£100
Trailer	Trailer Purchase	Private Purchase	£1,000
	Trailer Service	GT Towing	£518.46
Insurance	Road	REIS	£553
	Track	REIS	£1,600
Trackdays	Snetterton 300	Javelin	£179
	Donington	BaT	£295
	Brands Hatch	MSV	£295
	Snetterton 200 (evening)	Javelin	£89
	Rockingham	BaT	£240
Tuition	Snetterton 300 (Solo)	Ben Elliott	£345
	Donington (Shared)	Ben Elliott	£149
	Brands Hatch (Shared)	Ben Elliott	£149
	Snetterton 200 (evening) (Shared)	Ben Elliott	£60
	Rockingham (Shared)	Ben Elliott	£149
Extra Non-Championship Race	Donnington Autumn Cup	BRSC	£375
	Caterham Support	Caterham	£30
Fuel	Race Car Approximately 700 litres	Various	£950
	Tow Car Approximately 800	Various	£1,080
Accomodation	Aintree Sprint	Premier Inn	£80
	Sneterton Race	B&B	£80
Photography	Photos throughout the year	Rachel Horgan	£125
	Year Book	Rachel Horgan	£110
Total			34515.11

I ran the season as cheaply as I felt able to and in reality could have shaved £5,000 off the total cost had I not bought a trailer, not taken coaching, not got a HANS device, stayed in a tent rather than hotels etc. But had I done that I am not sure I would have enjoyed the experience as much. If I had my time again I would do it in exactly the same way. The only additional item I might consider buying would be a V-Box to help with analysis on track days, but that really would be it.

Many others spent an awful lot more than I did. Some were doing lots of track and test days. Some had 3 or even 4 sets of tyres (I ran with one set of tyres all year and they are still good for another couple of races), some spent a lot with race teams. This may well have helped a little, but it really isn’t necessary. Caterham tell you this at the beginning of the year and it really is true.

Golden Nuggets:

If I can provide any advice to those thinking of taking the plunge, these are the things I would focus on. There are a myriad of other recommendations and suggestions, but these are my golden nuggets:

-          Build your car – No matter how mechanically inept you think you are you can build a 7. It is not as difficult as you might think and the reward from doing so is fantastic. It is frustrating at times, but it will give you a much better appreciation of how the car works and how to work on it when things go wrong.

-          Set-up – Put 500 miles on the car as quickly as you can to let the suspension settle and then get it properly set-up. The out of the box factory set-up on my car was not great, but after I had driven it for a few months and taken it back to Caterham for the flat floor it was fantastic. Don’t get too hung up on who does it (Caterham, DPR, SPY, etc.) they will all do a very good job and make it much better to drive. I won 2 sprints with a Caterham set-up and 5 races with a DPR set-up.

-          Track time – Get out on track and spend time really pushing the car to the limits. However don’t feel as though you have to do dozens of track days. One day at the start of the year to get your eye in, then one day at each of the tracks you will be racing at so you know which way it goes come qualifying will be just fine. Don’t get psyched out by those that do a very great deal more, they won’t necessarily be quicker as the law of diminishing returns very much applies. 4 ½ track days was what I did and I didn’t feel as though I needed to do any more.

-          Tuition – Get some tuition as soon as possible, but as above don’t go mad. A day at the beginning of the year and then a day at each track before you go there (this can be shared with others to help keep costs down) will be plenty and will make the biggest difference to your driving throughout the year. I used Ben Elliot, who was fantastic and probably found more time from me that I would have found from a set of CR500’s and a Supersport upgrade.

-          Time – Make sure you allow at least twice as long for each job as you think it will take. I couldn’t believe how much time everything took. From loading the car onto the trailer (probably the best part of an hour the first time you do it) to putting on all of the racing decals (probably 3 hours). Everything takes time. Accept it, account for it and get super organized so you aren’t in a flap the night before an event. Also, warn your family so they know what to expect!

-          Enjoy it - You won’t get talent spotted, so don’t get hung up on where you finish. Those that put pressure on themselves to win inevitably enjoyed the experience less than those who were battling their way around in the mid-field, or at the back. In fact I think the best racing was mid-field and I certainly enjoyed the scrapping more than I did the winning.

Conclusion:

The Caterham Academy has been one of the best experiences of my life. A great car. On great circuits. Competing with great friends (and they really do become friends). Supported by a great team. It exceeded my expectations and I really couldn’t have asked for anything more.

Before I started I was worried that the series would become expensive bumper cars and cost me more than I could really afford. I spent too much time watching YouTube videos of Caterham Academy crashes worrying that I was going to be surrounded by people with more money than mechanical sympathy or driving talent. My experience couldn’t have been further from that concern. Each of us is competitive by nature, but we also love our cars and respect each other too much to do anything malicious or truly silly. Where accidents happened, they were as a result of genuine mistakes and were sorted out with an apology and a handshake afterwards.

Caterham have designed a series that works. They hand hold you through every step of the process (and give you the occasional telling off along the way when it is warranted) and are a fantastic team as passionate about the cars and the racing as the drivers. Win or come last it is an experience that just can’t be topped. It is also what the 7 was truly designed to do. Whilst I still use mine on the road as much as I can, it is on the track with 25 other Caterhams that it truly comes alive and that is why I will be heading to Roadsports next year…I can’t think of any other legalised activity that might provide the same high.

I hope you have enjoyed reading my experiences over the last year and that they haven’t been too self-indulgent. I would like to leave by saying that if any of you are considering the Academy and want more information, further thoughts or ideas, then please do contact me…as you can probably tell, I can’t recommend it enough and could talk about it endlessly!

Sprint / Race Videos

Sprint / Race Videos:

Below are links to the videos from each of the sprints and races (with the exception of the first race at Donington and the last race at Donington during the Autumn Cup, where the camera ran out of battery before the start):

Donington Autumn Cup Race 2 - 21st October:

Result - 1st Place

No Video :-(

Donington Autumn Cup Race 1 - 21st October:

Result - 1st Place

Rockingham - 07th October:

Result - 2nd Place

Snetterton - 02nd September:

Result - 1st Place

Brands Hatch - 04th August:

Result - 1st Place

Donington - 14th July:

Result - 1st Place

No Video :-(

Snetterton Sprint - 02nd June:

Result - 1st Place

Run 3 (105.12 seconds):

Run 2 (No time - 4 wheels off track):

Run 1 (105.56 Seconds):

Curborough Sprint - 12th May:

Result - 1st Place

Run 2 (No time - Spun):

Run 1 (64.86 seconds):

Aintree Sprint - 28th April:

Result - 4th Place

Run 3 (54.42 seconds):

Run 2 (54.78 seconds):

Run 1 (54.53seconds):

Donington Autumn Trophy

Autumn Trophy – Sunday 21^st October:

Despite the Academy season being concluded at Rockingham a few weeks previously I, and a number of the other Academy drivers, couldn’t resist one last race. Caterham have made a bit of a tradition of throwing on an extra races (or two) at the end of the year for those that haven’t had quite enough excitement and want to pick up an extra signature to enable them to upgrade from a National B to a National A race license (this also allows you to lose your novice cross).

This year Caterham organised the Autumn Trophy, via the BRSCC, at Donington on the 21^st of August. Over 35 of the Academy guys signed up (both Group 1 and 2) for the 20 minute qualifying and two 20 minute races. It would be the first chance we would have to see how Group 1 and 2 compared against each other and as a result there was even more banter and bravado than usual. In all honesty I was a little nervous as the Group 2 guys had been very, very quick this year (in all honesty quicker than Group 1 at some events) and I thought things could get slightly out of hand with such a large grid of people who hadn’t raced with everyone else there. I needn’t have worried.

I made my customary early start from home to get to Donington in time for scruitineering at 8.30am. I left in the pitch black, drove through a sea of fog and arrived at a very dark and murky Donington just before 7am. I busied myself getting the car ready and trying not to wake those sleeping in camper vans who had come up for the Friday test day….I didn’t do a very good job and managed to make lots of noise, but at least it meant I could scrounge a cup of tea from one of my fellow competitors. …thanks Tristan.

After sign-on and scruitineering we all went back to the paddock to wait to be called for qualifying. There was lots of standing around getting cold and very frustrated by the incessant buzzing of 2 stroke karts being warmed up (after a while they sound like that rather annoying crazy frog advert from a few years back). Three hours and a few pints of tea later the fog still hadn’t lifted and as a result no one had made it out onto track. At this point we seriously doubted whether we would get onto the track at all, but just as we were about to give up hope and head home the weather gradually started to improve. A hastily revised schedule had us missing qualifying altogether (grid positions were decided by championship finishing positions) and our races would be shortened from 20 minutes to 13 minutes. It was far from ideal, but at least we would get to race.

Given my finishing position in Group1 and the fact Stephen Nuttall (the Group 2 winner) was not there, I was very generously gifted pole position, with the very fast Peter Fortune next to me and Danny Kileen behind. In all honesty I thought both of the guys would leave me behind, but as the lights went out Pete dashed into the lead, only for me to dive up the inside of him and back into the lead at the first corner. From there until the flag Pete, Danny and I swapped the lead on at least 6 separate occasions, being joined by Matt Dyer who kept us all very honest right to the flag. It was a fantastic race. Very close, but very clean. Pete was quicker through Old Hall, but both Danny, Matt and I seemed to be able to hold him through McLean’s and Coppice and as a result we were slipstreaming each other like crazy down the back straight and into the Esses, where most of our overtaking was happening. At the end of the race I found myself about ½ a second clear of Matt, who was about ½ a second clear of Pete, who was about ½ a second clear of Danny. On the cool down lap I was buzzing from a brilliant fight, with guys I hadn’t previously competed against at a circuit I love driving. I really wasn’t complaining that our race was 7 minutes shorter than it should have been….it had been brilliant!

Grid positions for our second race, the last of the day, were set by our finishing positions from the first, so I found myself very fortunately on pole again. We started the race in the dark (at least it was well past sunset if not pitch black), which gave us the experience of having a virtual night race. This time I made a better fist of my start and led for the majority of the first lap, only to be passed by Pete and Danny into the Esses at the end of lap 1. I spent the next couple of laps chasing them down, only to see them collect each other at Riches on the start of the 4^th lap. It was an unfortunate incident, but thankfully not too serious, with Danny continuing and Pete retiring with minor car damage. I just managed to miss the accident, but was slowed and immediately under pressure from Matt, who passed me at the end of the lap coming into the Esses. Matt was driving very defensive lines, so on the following lap I decided I would have to do the same to him, but around the outside. Matt made this move much easier for me by going into the Esses to hot and spinning in front of me. Again I narrowly missed him and was immediately pounced upon by Nigel Board, who took me going into Riches. I followed him closely down through the Craner Curves and through Old Hall, before regaining the lead at McLean’s. From there to the finish 2 laps later I tried to gap the chasing pack and keep out of trouble, but in the dark with lights glaring at you through your rear view mirror it makes the cars behind seem much closer and more menacing than in daylight, putting even more pressure on. At the end of the race I crossed the line about 2 seconds clear of the chasing pack for another very satisfying win.

After a brief interview from the circuit commentator it was back to Parc Ferme to find out that Matt had recovered well from his spin to score another 2^nd place and Nigel had brought his car home in 3^rd place for his second podium of the year. It was a fantastic way to end the season and I now felt satisfied that I could hold my own against the quickest guys in Group 2, which I hadn’t been sure of beforehand. It isn’t really that important, but it was nice to know and makes me realise that we are going to have a hell of a battle in Roadsports next year….I can’t wait.

After a very long and cold day I was keen to pack up and get home as soon as possible, but not before saying goodbye to a great bunch of friends, many of whom I hope to race with next year and those who I don’t I hope to stay in touch with. Thank you chaps, I couldn’t have hoped to meet a nicer bunch of people…you helped make an exciting year a truly memorable one. At the end of a year where I achieved a boyhood dream (I keep saying this, but it really is true) I drove home to put the Caterham away for the winter for a well-earned rest and to spend some decent time with my family, without whose support I couldn’t race.

The wait for 2013 and Roadsport starts here!

Rockingham Race (and preparation)

Rockingham Race – Saturday 06^th – Sunday 07^th October:

My first time at Rockingham was for a Book-a-Track day on the 16^th September where I would share Ben Elliott with Academy Group 2 leader Stephen Nuttall. Unlike Brands Hatch, Snetterton or Donington which you enter taking in the palpable history and, in the case of Brands and Donington, beauty of your surroundings, Rockingham is unremittingly grey and characterless.

I didn’t like the track to start with and didn’t feel any warmer towards it at the end of the day if I am honest. It is wide and has no real features or gradients. It doesn’t flow and has some real micky mouse corners, so all in all not a great circuit in my book. I am sure in a 500bhp single seater it would be a real challenge, but in our little Academy cars you spent half of the lap with your foot to the floor wishing there were another 125bhp under the bonnet.

My time with Ben was well spent however. I started out lapping well enough, but we found plenty of extra pace throughout the day, eventually putting in consistent low 1.46 second laps, having started off in the 1.50 second bracket. It was Stephen’s third time at the track and he managed a stonking 1.45.3 second lap early in the day as a benchmark, before consistently lapping in the high 1.45 second/low 1.46 second range. We spent quite a lot of time looking at each other’s data and whilst we were equal in the first sector and I ever so slightly quicker in the final sector, Stephen was the best part of a second quicker in the middle sector, which I just couldn’t master in the time available.

I left at the end of the day reasonably pleased with my progress, but also realising that I still had a bit to gain. The funny thing is that having secured the Group 1 championship at Snetterton I knew that come race day I could just turn up and enjoy myself, rather than worry about the result, which was a really nice feeling. That didn’t stop me from wanting to master the track however.

Like Snetterton Rockingham was a whole weekend affair, with qualifying on Saturday 6^th in the late afternoon and the race at the end of the day on Sunday. This allowed me a leisurely start and relaxed drive up to the circuit after breakfast with the family. However as I casually pulled in to the paddock I got a shock as I saw row upon row of very ready looking cars and drivers…most of my fellow competitors having been there since the Friday test session. My relaxed demeanour rapidly disappeared as I frantically ran around trying to get the car and myself ready for qualifying.

With all my pre-race checks complete I started to relax again and as a consequence wasn’t really prepared when the call for qualifying came. I was one of the last into the holding area and therefore one of the last out onto the track. I then spent the next 15 minutes wondering if I had oil on my rear tyres as I threw the car sideways at every corner and into gravel traps (twice I went in and twice I managed to escape under my own steam). It was a terrible qualifying session and was clear that not having my brain fully in gear was a major factor. I wasn’t in the right mind-set from the start and I drove badly as a result. In the end I managed to string 2 reasonable laps together and qualified 3^rd on the grid behind Matt Dyer and Scott Lawrence, which was really lucky.

Back in the paddock I took the car to the Caterham guys to have the diff cage changed. These have broken on a number of the Academy cars this year and whilst mine was fine they had wisely decided to change them all for a strengthened and redesigned version. Whilst the car was up on axle stands they checked the bolts on the A-frame and radius arms, which it transpires, had come loose and would have made the back of the car feel loose. That explained a lot, although I think it would be unfair to blame my driving solely on the car. With another lesson in preparation learnt I went away to join the party in the paddock knowing that my car should be much better to drive come race day.

As Rockingham was the last race of the season Caterham were very kindly throwing a party that evening to celebrate, with a bar, band and hog roast for all drivers and their families. Despite the very kind offer of a bed in Zoli’s motor home and the temptation to stay for “just one more drink” I stuck to the lemonade and made my way home after the meal and before the band started. My wife had not been particularly well and had been with the kids on her own all day Saturday, so given my race was not until mid-afternoon on Sunday I reluctantly decided to leave the party and go home. This meant I got to have breakfast with them all the following morning and bring them all up for the following days racing. Despite missing out on the end of a great evening I am glad I made that choice, as racing without my families support really just wouldn’t be feasible, so it is important to try and strike the right balance. It was at this point that I really was starting to see the benefits of buying and running a motorhome. The atmosphere in the paddock is fantastic and those with motorhomes who bring their partners and kids and seem to have a great time mucking in together…it is a cost I can’t afford at the moment, but something I will seriously look at next year if I carry on racing.

After breakfast with the family I was as relaxed as I had been on Saturday and as we arrived I started to panic thinking about everything I still had to do. No matter how much time you think you have, there always seems to be one last small job to do and my preparation really was last minute. In the end I finished in time to watch the Group 2 race, which was won in style by Danny Kileen, with Max Robinson a fine 2^nd (his first podium) and Stephen Nuttall 3^rd for the Group 2 championship win. It had been a really close battle between Stephen and Pete Fortune for the title and went right down to the wire, with Stephen taking the top spot courtesy of a spin from Pete at Tarzan mid race, putting him back several places and out of contention for the title. Both have driven brilliantly this year and are fearsome competitors…if I am honest I don’t much fancy my chances against them in Roadsports!

Come race time it was off to the holding area, where I was actually calmer than I had been at any of the previous races. I wouldn’t say I was relaxed, but I knew I could afford to just go out and enjoy this race without any real pressure to win. The only slight concern I had was how 26 Caterhams braking from 110mph for Deene and fighting for the same piece of tarmac would work out, but in the end I had nothing to worry about as we had the cleanest start to any of our races of the year. Maybe we were all getting better.

My start was really good and I made up the 2 car lengths to Scott and Matt on the front row in an instant. I tried to go between the two of them before realising that they were coming together and there really wouldn’t be enough room for a third Caterham. Close doesn’t even cover it, as I had my front wheels inside both of their rear wings. I got out of the throttle quickly which meant that as we approached Deene for the first time I was getting swamped by other cars; Brian Caudwell on the inside, Tor Mcilroy on the outside, Scott and Matt in front, Zoli behind. Luckily we all came out of Deene unscathed, but I had dropped from 3^rd to 5^th place in a matter of seconds. I tucked in behind Tor as we went down to Yentwood, just in time to see him attempted an optimistic lunge on Brian going into the corner, spinning himself round and pushing Brian onto the grass. In avoiding the contact and Tor’s spinning car I had got myself off line and in the wrong gear and Tony Mingola shot through the gap as Brian re-joined the race track, thankfully unscathed.

At the end of the first lap the order was Matt, Scott, Tony, Brian, myself and Zoli, all in a train. It had been a hectic first few corners, probably the most exciting of my short racing career, and we were only just getting started. As we crossed the finish line I was tucked into Brian’s slipstream and dragged past him along the start/finish straight. Brian then tucked back in behind me as we headed down to Deene for the second time. With hindsight I was slightly too kind too him, because despite braking very late I left him just enough room to sneak back up the inside and take me back at the apex. For the rest of the lap I was stuck to the back of Brian’s car as he crawled all over the back of Tony’s. Brian then made a great move up the inside of Tony going into Tarzan. Back onto the start/finish straight I got a good drive from the final corner and dragged past Tony, making sure I didn’t make the same mistake as the previous lap and leave him any room to come back at me going into Deene. After that I set off after Brian again, finally making the same move stick the following lap.

By this time Matt and Scott were over 6 seconds clear up front. I set off after them as hard as I could, focusing on being smooth, consistent and quick. I was closing the gap at a rate of 1.5 – 2 seconds a lap over the next 4 laps. During these laps I was significantly quicker than I had been in qualifying, finally catching them 2 laps from the end. They were having a fierce battle going into the first corner together. I stayed wide, managed to get a great line through Deene and carrying much more speed than both and slipped straight up the inside of Scott at Yentwood. As at Brands a couple of months ago I think Scott was being quite the gentleman and left the door wider open than he had any requirement to…I dint need inviting twice though. For the rest of the lap I sat behind Matt planning to once again slipstream down the start/finish straight and pass in the braking area going into Deene. Matt had other ideas however. The first part of the plan went well, but Matt held a defensive line and I had to go around the outside of him, which I managed, but as I had with Brian I left just that little too much room for him at the apex and he came back at me at the apex with a fantastic move. At this stage I wasn’t rattled and planned to have another go at him going into Tarzan, however in trying to get really close in the preceding corner, Gracelands, I went in a little too hot and had the mother and father of all slides, only just managing to hold the car on the track. With that mistake Matt was gone and I suddenly had to fend Scott off again.

In the end I crossed the line an exhilarated 2^nd for my worst race result of the year. It was however the most fun I have had all year and by quite a considerable way, just going to prove that the race is more important than the race. I was buzzing.

Back in the paddock it was time to congratulate Matt on a fantastic win and all of the others on a really close and clean race. I got dragged off by Motors TV for an interview and I fear the result is likely to be more meaningless babble, but in my defence I was still high as a kite after the race and I don’t have Sky so I don’t suppose I shall ever have to watch it. We were then ushered onto a makeshift podium in Parc Ferme for man hugs and champagne spraying, which is always brilliant fun.

Finally my car was scruitineered (again) and I was free to go…my final race of the season at my least favourite circuit and my worst result. I should have felt quite flat, but I was still buzzing and trying to work out if there is anything that can beat the feeling of great racing in a brilliant little car with a fantastic bunch of mates. I fear not and the draw to Roadsports remains as strong as ever. On the way home Mrs G and I continued our negotiations!

Rockingham Race Video

The link below is from my race yesterday at Rockingham, the last of the 2012 Academy. It wasnt my best result, but it was by far and away the best race I have had this year.

Full write up to follow shortly.