Zandvoort Race Videos

Zandvoort Roadsport 2013 Race 1 - 7th Place to 3rd Place:

Zandvoort Roadsport 2013 Race 2 - 3rd Place to 2nd Place:

Zandvoort Test and Race

Zandvoort Test and Race – Friday 07^th – Sunday 09^th June:

Testing:

Before booking my testing at Zandvoort I had a dilemma. Thursday the 06^th June is my little girl Jemima’s birthday. I could either travel over on Thursday the 06^th and be sure of a full days testing on the Friday, but miss part of her birthday and incur the wrath of my family. Or I could enjoy her birthday and get the overnight ferry from Harwich to the Hook of Holland on Thursday night, but risk missing some of Friday testing. I chose the latter and am very glad I did…her 3^rd birthday party was fantastic.

Having watched 20 children destroy my house and garden, I loaded the car up onto the trailer and set of for Harwich. I arrived at 8.30pm ready of for an overnight sailing. As we set off I sat in the bar watching on-board laps of Zandvoort on YouTube hoping it would help make up for the fact that I was likely to miss the first session of testing in the morning. I was then discovered by Andrew Jenkins, one of my fellow Roardsport competitors, who promptly encouraged me to have a few more beers with him thus ruining my carefully planned preparation but ensuring a very sociable evening.

After a restless 5 hours sleep, we docked at the Hook of Holland and I got straight into my race suit and prepared the car (to the extent that the keys were in the ignition) whilst waiting to get off the ferry. At this point I was still hopeful of being able to make part of the first test session. These hopes were rapidly dashed by a delayed disembarkation, slow progress through passport control, and then even slower progress through the early morning Dutch traffic. It took almost 2 hours to complete what Google believes is a 1 hour journey and at various times I started to worry about whether I would even make the second test session, which would be a disaster given there were only 4 sessions available. As it transpired I arrived just in time to ask the boys already at the circuit if they wouldn’t mind unloading my car whilst I ran to race control to sign on.

I was rushing and in a bit of a flap, but once strapped into the car ready for the second session of the day it was time to concentrate on learning a circuit that I had never seen before, but that all of the guys that had been there since Thursday had been raving about. I hooked onto the back of Tristan and followed him around, trying to keep up without putting the car off the track and fell in love with the track immediately. I surprised myself by learning it quickly and feeling comfortable in no time at all, which was just as well, because I got perhaps six laps in that first session due to two red flag stoppages.

The third session was scheduled after lunch, just as the day was getting really hot. During this session I had plenty of track time and worked my times down into the 2min 05s bracket, which was possibly a second off the fastest guys at that time. The session was actually so long that I came off track before it finished as I felt I was cooking the car, the tyres and myself without actually going any quicker (I have found that knowing when to stop and give yourself a breather is an important part of testing).

For the fourth and final session of the day I focused on refining my lines through some of the quicker corners, where I knew there was more time to come. I was now down into the low 2min 04s bracket and very pleased with the progress I had made, so once again pulled off before the end of the session to give the car and myself a break.

Back in the paddock and changed out of my race suit I spent a couple of hours checking the car over and giving it a good clean (it is a sort of ritual for me now). I also changed my wheels and tyres as the days testing had finally killed my old set and I would need some slightly fresher rubber for qualifying and the races. After that Tristan, Scott, Gavin, Tom, Paul, Zoli, Andrew and I all settled in around the BBQ outside Tristan’s camper van and talked rubbish over a few beers and a few kilos of meat. It was the perfect way to end a great day. After which I headed over the road to the hotel for a bath and a good night’s sleep.

Saturday Qualifying and Race 1:

Race day dawned as bright and sunny as the day before. Having signed-on and been scruitineered the previous day and with qualifying scheduled for 11.25am it was a leisurely start with plenty of time for a decent breakfast. Needless to say most of us still arrived at the circuit pretty early and spent the next couple of hours fretting over our cars and what we were going to do in qualifying (the strategy around qualifying being actually really quite important).

In the end Peter Fortune jumped into his car and raced off to the holding area 50 minutes before qualifying was due to start, and like a line of dominos we all followed. As we stood waiting to be called out on track we all laughed at each other and our own competitiveness, which was such that we actually arrived at the holding area before many of those going out in the qualifying session before us. We all wanted to get out onto the track early and into some clear air for a few good runs and hopefully some good times.

I ran with a group of 5 or 6 guys at the front for the majority of the qualifying session and was pleased with the way I was driving. My times seemed to be in the low 2min 04s bracket again and I felt that I was quicker than the day before, so it was a bit disappointing to come off track and find I had qualified in 7^thplace. Max Robinson had qualified on pole with a time of 2min 03.6s, using two very good tows during his best lap. Stephen Nuttall was in second place with a 2min 04.0s lap and I was in 7^th with a 2min 04.2s lap. It was all very, very close and very dependent on who had managed to get a good tow or not. Regardless of my position I knew that there was going to be plenty of racing to be had, so didn’t feel too worried about the prospect of the race that afternoon.

Once back in the pits it was time to check the car over again, have lunch in the Caterham hospitality area and enjoy the sunshine and racing. Zandvoort really is a great place to be on a sunny summer’s afternoon.

Come the race the nerves returned and I lined up on the start trying to think through my tactics on the run down to turn one. In the end I made a good start a passed Nick Portlock almost immediately, before going around the outside of Michael Coulten into Turn 1 (Tarzanbocht). I was in 5^th place and circulating in the middle of the leading 8 cars. Half way through the second lap I passed Simon Bennett going up the inside into Renaultboch. I was 4^th and stayed there until lap 5 when I drafted past Max Robinson on the pit straight. By this time our group of 4 cars was a second or two clear from the chasing pack, but not really pulling away as we were squabbling amongst ourselves and slowing each other down slightly.

On lap 7 I went around the outside of Stephen Nuttall into turn 1 for 2^nd place and was starting to feel pretty confident. I chased Pete Fortune hard, but made a few small mistakes and never quite got the opportunity I needed. I was also busy trying to deal with a very determined Max, who drafted past me on the straight on lap 9, demoting me to 3^rd place. With Max, Stephen and I squabbling over 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th Pete pulled out a very slight win and won his first ever race. Max finished 2^nd and I right behind in 3^rd.  It had been a brilliant race and lovely to see Pete finally win a race…since the Academy he has consistently been one of the fastest, if not the fastest driver out there and this result was really well deserved. You could tell by his podium celebration that it really meant something to him!

After the race and the usual trip through scruitineering it was back to the paddock to tell tales of the race and go over the car to make sure it was ready for the following day. A few of us had decided to meet for dinner, so after a trip back to the hotel and a well-earned shower we all met up for something to eat and drink on the seafront. A few drinks turned into a few more, then a few more, before finally finishing in the hotel bar at 3am. Thankfully my attempts to get everyone to go to Amsterdam for the night were scuppered by a lack of available designated drivers! It had been a brilliant day, with a real holiday atmosphere that everyone was clearly enjoying.

Sunday Race 2:

Sunday dawned cloudy and overcast after the beautiful sunshine of Saturday. Thankfully we weren’t racing until mid-afternoon, so I was able to get up late, have a big breakfast and take my time. I got to the paddock around lunchtime and still had plenty of time to go over the car and get myself prepared. With a 3^rd place starting position on the grid I felt confident for the coming race, having now gained an even better understanding of the track. I felt that I had over driven the car the previous day and that I needed to be smoother and more controlled to extract that little extra speed that might have seen me catch Pete the day before. I didn’t want to make the same mistake again.

As the lights fell at the start I couldn’t have predicted the excitement that was to unfold. I made another good start and went straight past Max before turn 1, slotting in behind Pete and following him closely for the first lap. I wanted to be smooth and controlled and not try to race to hard right from the start, but as we came onto the pit straight for lap 2 Stephen and Max both drafted past me. I braked late into turn 1 and went back around the outside of Max, so went from 2^nd, to 4^th, to 3^rd again in a few hundred meters….the scrapping had already started. So much for my plan!

On the 4^th lap Max and Michael Coulten both drafted past me on the pit straight pushing me down into 5^th place and allowing Tony Mingoia to climb all over the back of me. On the start finish straight the next lap he came past me, pushing me down to 6^th and making me feel as though I were getting mugged. I was going backwards, so clearly my plan wasn’t working!

I braked very late for turn 1 and drove around the outside of Tony, allowing me to hold onto 6^th place and then a couple of corners later Michael Coulten kindly went off-roading at Hugenholtsbocht promoting me to 4^th place again. At the start of lap 8 I was in 4^th place, but getting a good tow and braking as late as I dared into turn 1 I went around the outside of Pete and Max (and very nearly Stephen as well). Stephen held me off until the beginning of lap 9 when I got in his tow and went past him into the lead…this was more like it.

However it was still unbelievably close and surely enough a lap later both Stephen and Pete drafted past me on the start finish straight pushing me back into 3^rd place again...the racing was getting more and more intense as the laps to the finish counted down. Later that lap at Renaultbocht Pete made a mistake and ran wide and Stephen kindly followed him, allowing me to drive up the inside and regain the lead. This would be a lead I would hold for a whole 4 corners, before Steve once again passed me on the pit straight, demoting me once again to 2^nd place. Steve however had run slightly wide allowing me to nip back up the inside at turn 1. We then proceeded to run into turn 2 (Gerlachbocht) side by side. There really isn’t room for 2 cars here and it was getting very tight, so I backed out first and let Stephen have the corner. What I hadn’t realised at the time was that Max was actually on the other side of Stephen, half on the grass, and we were trying to go three into a corner that really only has room for 1 car at a time.

I emerged 2^nd and followed Stephen closely, trying to plan where to make my move. We were now on the last lap and I wanted to be first out onto the pit straight as I didn’t think I could draft by him for a win. I chose my moment coming into turn 10 (The Audi S) and came alongside, but Stephen came across and drove for the apex, leaving me nowhere to go. I had to brake as hard as I could, but just tapped his rear wing with my front wheel. He went straight on into the gravel, but re-emerged at a rather jaunty angle as we were exiting the corner, pushing me out wide. All of this had allowed Max and Pete to close right in and Pete nipped past as I was trying to recover the car. Two corners from the end and I was in 3^rd again…this wasn’t going to plan, but as we drove out of the final corner (Arie Luyendijkbocht) I got into Pete’s tow. Pete was in Stephens tow and Max was in mine. At the last second we all dived out of the tow and as we crossed the line, 4 cars together, we were separated 1^st to 4^th place by 0.1 seconds.

Stephen had held onto the lead by 0.035 seconds, from me in 2^nd and Pete in 3^rd 0.01 of a second behind me. It had been an unbelievable race and so close that as Stephen, Pete and I pulled into the pit lane none of us knew who had got what position. Despite coming 2^nd when I felt I could have won, I was extatic….it had been the most exciting race I have ever taken part in and my heart still races at the thought of it.

It had been a phenomenal way to end a brilliant weekend. The holiday atmosphere had been fantastic and the racing sensational (Jenny came up to us at the end of our second race and showed us her notebook, which now had teeth marks in after the final few laps of our race). So it was with a heavy heart that I packed my things away and headed back to the UK for work. An overnight ferry with a group of the Roadsport boys helped to delay the feeling of the inevitable, but all too soon I was back to work and thinking about the next race….roll on Donington in July!

Anglesey Preparation, Test and Race

Anglesey Preparation, Test and Race – Saturday 11^th – Sunday 12^th May:

Preparation:

After Snetterton I felt as though the car would benefit from a good going over. I had given it a good spanner check at the start of the season, but hadn’t changed the pads or any of the fluids, which I knew would really benefit from a refresh. I took the car over to Chris Wheeler at The 7 Workshop and asked him to give it a good service for me as I didn’t have the time. If I am honest the real reason for this, other than good practice, is that I felt the car was a little slow compared to some others on the straights at Snetterton and wanted to see if there was any friction in the drive train that could be removed with a good service. If nothing else the car would benefit from it.

Chris gave it another spanner check (everything was still fine after my earlier efforts) and changed the pads, flushed the brake system, changed the gearbox and engine oils. Chris found the vibration that I had mentioned to him I thought was coming from the gearbox when selecting 5^th gear at 100mph +, but said it wasn’t bad enough to warrant pulling the gearbox and having it re-built. I am almost certain it will need it at the end of the year as most of my fellow competitors have already had one re-build, but for now I can live with it. Everything else was just fine….so it seems as though I just need to drive the thing faster!

Testing:

I know this is going to sound as though I am stating the bleeding obvious, but from Hertfordshire Anglesey is a very long way. The reason for highlighting this is to get the first of my racing driver excuses out of the way – lack of practice. Anglesey is 300 miles from home, so there was no way I was realistically going to have time to do anything more than the Friday test day prior to the race.

I arrived late on Thursday night, after a 5 hour drive, to a cold and wind swept Anglesey paddock. Staying with Tristan Judge in his motorhome, with fellow competitor Zoltan Csabai was fantastic fun, but probably not the most restful, especially as fellow competitors Scott Lawrence, Tom Woodcock and Gavin Crawford were parked next door. It is a very social group and we turned in after midnight having put the world to rights over several bottles of Old Speckled Hen.

The following morning the track was soaking wet for our first session, so I slipped and slided my way around for 20 minutes trying to remember which way the circuit went and pick up any useful reference points that I could. It is a lovely circuit with plenty of gradient and some challenging fast turns, but it was the slow corners I was really struggling with. Still, I kept the car on the track, which was more than could be said for poor Scott, who managed to put a wheel on the curb at the Bus Stop and got spat into the pit wall. It was a nasty crash that left him concussed (thankfully nothing worse) and his car a real mess. It was a horrible way to start the weekend.

By the time we made it back out for the second session the track had thankfully dried and I was able to start pushing on. I felt more comfortable with the track, but was still far from mastering it. A quickest time of 1.44.7 seconds was great, but Stephen Nuttall and Pete Fortune were in the high 1.43 second bracket and believed that a low 1.43 second lap was on the cards if everything could be linked together. I still had plenty of work to do.

By the time the third session came around I was starting to suffer from a migraine and was driving around in a world of my own trying not to throw up in my helmet. With hindsight I should have given the session a miss and gone to sleep for a couple of hours as it was a complete waste of time going out. I did that once back in and whilst I felt much better for a nap in the tow car I was actually late for the fourth and final session. I was planning to use that session to scrub in some new tyres in case the race was wet the following day, so wasn’t “on-it” and only got 5 laps in anyway.

It had been a useful day, but far from as productive as I wanted or needed, with less than 25 laps completed. I was glad I had made progress in the 2^nd session, but quite honestly the afternoon had been a write-off. I was going to have a challenge on my hands come Saturday.

A pleasant evening out with the boys at a local Thai restaurant, a few beers and an earlyish night (before midnight) was a much better way to round out the day.

Saturday Qualifying and Race 1:

Come Saturday the weather had once again turned for the worse and we were greeted by a wet track for our 9.30am qualifying. I decided to ignore all advice (including my own) and change all of my cars settings. I put on the softest front roll bar and softened the back roll bar right off. This I reasoned would give me more traction and more front end grip. All it proved was that I am no race engineer in waiting…it didn’t work.

Once again I slid around the circuit trying to find any grip I could off-line, but towards the end was conscious of holding Tristan up, so backed off and let him past on what turned out to be the last lap of qualifying, just as the track was drying out. As a result I probably compromised my quickest lap somewhat and ended up qualifying a disappointing 9^th. I hadn’t been well prepared, I had made too many changes to the car and in all honesty I drove like a bit of a spanner, so couldn’t really have expected much more.

Back in the paddock I put all of the settings back to fully stiff (green front ARB and maximum rear roll-stiffness) and vowed to just get in and drive around any problems I found that afternoon. At least the car would be familiar to me and I wouldn’t be trying to learn it and the track at the same time.

Come the first race I made a great start from 9^th on the grid and got around the outside of Nick Portlock into Turn 1. I then slotted in behind Tony Mingoia and Zoli on the run up to Rocket. As they both went for the inside line I braked as late as I dared and drove around the outside of both. I then latched on to Andres Sinclair who drove off the track 2 corners later at Seaman’s. Coming into The Hairpin Tristan made an error allowing me to get a run on him and dive past into The Bus Stop. At the end of lap 1 I was in 4^th place. I spent the next couple of laps closing Michael Coulten down, before getting past him at Rocket as he made a mistake and ran wide. At this point I was desperate to try and chase Pete Fortune and Stephen Nuttall down, but instead spent the next 8 laps battling away with Tristan and Michael for 3^rd place, with all of us taking turns at the from. With 5 minutes to go I was in 3^rd and just starting to eke out a small gap, when Michael made a lunge up the inside of Tristan and I at Rocket. As I was turning into the apex he came flying past me. I had to turn out of the corner to avoid contact and in this one move I went from 3^rd to 5^th as Tristan took advantage of both of us being off-line. Three corners later as I was planning my come back the red flag came out.

In Parc Ferme Tristan, Michael and I were trying to work out what the final positions would be, but on the count back to the start of the lap before the accident (almost 2 laps prior) it was Tristan that was given the nod for 3^rd. This seemed like the fairest answer, especially given that he had actually been in 3^rd place when the flags came out, and I was given 4^th. It wasn’t my best result, but it had been a brilliant scrap for position and I had enjoyed the race with both guys immensely. It was brilliant to see Tristan get his first podium since the Aintree Sprint and know it won’t be long before Michael gets his first either.

All of this was put into sharp perspective however when we saw Rob Addison’s car, or what was left of it, which had caused the red flag. Rob had clipped the rear of a spinning car going into Turn 1 and had been launched into a barrel roll, turning over 5 times before coming to a rest. Mercifully he was un-hurt, if concussed, and managed to be discharged from hospital on Sunday morning after a night of observation. Two wrecked cars and two very lucky drivers. It was a sobering reminder of the danger of what we do.

Another pleasant evening eating and drinking in the paddock with friends helped us to forget the less pleasant events of the last 2 days and focus us on what really matters…having fun!

Sunday Race 2:

Sunday dawned heavily overcast and we all spent the morning busily trying to predict what the weather would do for our race, which was the first of the day. As we lined up on the grid it started to drizzle lightly, making the first lap a somewhat slippery affair and it got progressively worse from there on to the finish…it was really the first wet race I have had.

I made another good start from 4^th place on the grid and was up to 3^rd by The BookaTrack Banking. I slotted in behind Pete Fortune into Church and passed him up the inside into Rocket later in the lap. He took the place back 2 turns later at Seaman’s and I once again slotted in right behind him trying to get the slipstream up to The Hairpin. I moved out and came alongside, but at the apex Pete spun out all on his own and was thankfully missed by the 30 or so cars following, promoting me to 2^nd place. I spent the next few laps of the race trying to nibble away at Stephen Nuttalls lead (which was hovering at 1 – 2 seconds) and ensure I didn’t make a mistake and slip back into the grasps of Tristan and Michael who were a couple of seconds further back. At about half distance I made a conscious decision not to push too hard and to just drive for position. In the wet conditions it would have been very easy to make a silly mistake and throw a 2^nd place away, so I drove the rest of the race with my head, keeping a careful eye on my mirrors and managing the gap. In all it was one of the less exciting races, being quite processional, but it was certainly challenging to drive a circuit I still didn’t know that well in such challenging wet conditions.

After the race, podium presentations and scruitineering we all packed up and thanked our lucky stars that we were the first race of the day. It was a 5 hour drive back to Hertfordshire and during the journey I had plenty of time to reflect on the weekend. I was disappointed with my preparation and qualifying performance, but pleased by the way that I had raced. I loved the track, but was conscious that my driving style hadn’t worked as well there as at other circuits. I have plenty of refinements to make if I am to remain at the pointy end of the grid, as the rest of the field continues to get quicker and quicker, whilst Pete and Stephen certainly aren’t getting any slower! Most of all I reflected on very two lucky drivers and the responsibility we all have to take care of ourselves and each other whilst racing hard and competing fiercely.

Zandvoort in 4 weeks’ time will be a similar challenge to Anglesey, but I can’t wait for it. Motor racing really is very addictive indeed.

Anglesey Race Videos

Anglesey Race Videos – Saturday 11^th – Sunday 12^th May:

Videos from the 2nd round of the 2013 Caterham Roadsport season at Anglesey.

 

Race 1:

 

After a poor days testing leading to a less than ideal qualifying I lined up 9th for the start of race 1. A good first couple of laps had me up to 2nd and a race long battle with Tristan Judge and Michael Coulten. After a nasty accident the race was red flagged and on the count back I was given 4th place. Not a bad result given qualifying, but not quite as good as I was hoping for.

Race 2:

 

Race 2 was a tricky affair as the track went from greasy to soaking wet during our 20 minute race. Starting 4th I made another good start and managed to get 2nd place at the end of lap 1 as Pete Fortune spun off in front of me. I tried hard to close Stephen Nuttall down for the win, but without doing anything silly I couldn't quite get to him and made a conscious decision to drive for a safe 2nd, rather than a possible win or a possible off.

Snetterton Test and Race

Snetterton Roadsport Testing and Races – Friday 19^th – Sunday 21^st April:

I last visited Snetterton in September 2012 (for the Caterham Academy round run on the 200 circuit), so given I hadn’t driven the track for a while and that I hadn’t driven the car in Roadsport spec on track at all, I thought I better get some practice in.

I started off by doing an MSVT track-day on Monday 25^th March, sharing a days tuition with Paul Hagen (an ex-Academy comrade also making the move up to Roadsport with me), using Ben Elliott who was offering a free day for those that bought v-boxes through him (something I had done over the winter). The snow had only just cleared from the ground, but conditions were surprisingly good, if bitterly cold. After a day of analysing data and doing plenty of track laps, with and without Ben, I got my times down from 2mins 22seconds to a reasonable 2min 18seconds (a good time, but some 2 seconds of the lap record). I was pleased with the progress I had made, but knew there was further time to come as I got used to the circuit and the cars new handling characteristics.

Because I didn’t feel properly prepared and because I had missed the official Caterham test day at Donington earlier in the month, I booked myself on the test day at Snetterton the day prior to the race weekend. This was the first test day I had done, so I was a little nervous that I would be swamped by experienced racers in fire breathing single seaters, but to my great relief the test was sessioned and I was on track with other Caterham Roadsport and Tracksport drivers. With no coaching, but more practice and better conditions I gradually worked my time down to 2min 16seconds (very close to the lap record) feeling that if I could repeat it in qualifying it would put me at the pointy end of the grid.

One of the great advantages of these test days, apart from the extra practice it gives you, is that at least half of the grid is typically there, meaning there are plenty of opportunities for banter and a beer to compare times over afterwards. Having made good progress I spent the evening preparing my car for the following day before setting off to the pub for a well-earned pie and pint with 12 of the other guys, before settling down to a good night’s sleep in a local B&B.

Come race day I was well prepared and in a good frame of mind for the task of qualifying. I made it to the holding area early and was 5^th out onto circuit allowing me to get my head down and get some clear laps in. With 38 cars on the grid this was a real advantage. We are now allowed to run our v-boxes during qualifying and the races, so I was able to get a good sense of my pace as I went along. I spent most of the session trying to chase Stephen Nuttall (ex-Academy Group 2 champion) down, but never making more than a few meters up on him, before making a mistake and losing a small amount of ground again. As I went past the pits and into my final lap one of the Tracksport drivers indicated that I was in 2^ndplace, which I was happy with, but a great final lap and a 2min 16.05second run put me on pole by 2/10ths from Stephen Nuttall. I was delighted, especially being a second clear of Michael Coulten in 3^rd place.

After scruitineering it was back to the paddock to look at my data and go over the car again before the race later in the afternoon. I always seem to find things to do to keep me occupied, but at the same time I find it hard to supress my nerves while thinking of the prospect of leading 37 other Caterhams away from the start line.

Our race was the last of the day and one I won’t forget for a while. I made a good get away from pole and led into the first few corners, closely followed by Stephen Nuttall and Pete Fortune, who had made a fantastic start from 4^th place. Over the next 7 laps we got our heads down and started gapping the rest of the field, swapping places regularly, but not holding each other up. As we came into the latter part of the race we were all set for a great battle, with Stephen leading Pete, and me tucked up in 3^rdplace. But with 7 minutes to go the red flag came out for a car and driver stuck out on circuit.

After a nerve wracking 20 minute wait we were re-started with Pete leading Stephen and I through turn 1 and into turn 2. At this point I made a slightly silly dive up the inside of both and was lucky that Pete saw me in time, delaying his turn in and giving me the space I needed. I got myself crossed-up and fell back to 3^rd place as we exited the corner, but two corners later I dived up the inside of Pete and made the move stick. Stephen and I then spent the next 3 ½ laps swapping places regularly, with me leading into the final lap. Down the Bentley straight at the back of the circuit and with only 3 corners to go Stephen dragged past me to re-gain the lead. I stuck to the back of his car like glue and as we exited the last corner onto the pit straight slipstreamed past him to win by 0.03 seconds (less than a nose cone). To say I was delighted is an understatement. It had been one of the toughest races I had ever had, but by far the most enjoyable, being close but very clean and fair.

That evening I drove home to collect the family and return with them on the Sunday for race 2, which was scheduled for late afternoon. Once again the nerves started to set in around 2 hours before the race itself, but the atmosphere in the paddock on a beautiful sunny day in Norfolk was a brilliant distraction.

Starting again from pole because of my result the previous day I made a reasonable start, but Pete Fortune made a belting start from row 2 and out dragged me into turn 1. I then made a mistake trying to tuck in behind him giving Stephen Nuttall and Michael Coulten the opportunity to come around the outside. By turn 3 I was in 4^th place and had a lot of work to do. I then spent the next 20 minutes having a huge battle with Michael as Stephen and Peter made a break for it, with Michael and I swapping places 18 times over those 20 minutes. It sounds like a typical racing drivers excuse, but Michaels car is very healthy and I found he had a couple of mph advantage over me on the straights, no matter what I did, but this was compounded by my inability to get out of the corners quickly due to tyres that went off mid race.

Come the final lap I was just behind Michael in 4^th place, before driving around the outside of him at turn 1. Michael stuck to me like glue and took 3^rd place back two corners later. As we went into the final corner I was once again stuck to the rear of his car and managed to repeat the finish of the previous race, just out dragging Michael to 3^rd place by 0.027 seconds. It was a hectic and very exciting race. It was the first time I had raced closely with Michael and whilst I was disappointed to have made the mistake at the start of the race that put myself out of contention for the win, I had another brilliant close and clean race, once again proving that the battle is more enjoyable than the result.

It had been a long 5 month wait to get back on to the track to do battle with the friends I had made in the Academy, but the wait had been well worth it. It was a great weekend with all the best ingredients in abundance; cars, close racing, beer, banter and laughter. It was a brilliant way to start the Roadsport championship and the prospects for the rest of the year have me really excited.

Race 1 (Part 1) - 3rd as Race was Red Flagged:

Race 1 (Part 2) - 1st Place:

Race 2 - 3rd Place:

Roadsport Upgrade

Upgrading:

After the Caterham Autumn Trophy double header at Donington in October I strapped the car to the trailer, drove it home, put it in the garage and left it for a couple of months. It was time to forget racing and spend evenings and weekends with my family. I had burnt plenty of brownie points over the course of the year and wanted to earn them back by having good quality time with my wife and children. Apart from the Caterham Awards Dinner in November, I didn’t think about Caterhams or racing for weeks at a time.

Just before Christmas I dragged the car out of the garage and took it down to Caterham Dartford for its Roadsport upgrade. This consisted of a set of Avon CR500 tyres (replacing the rock hard Avon CR322’s that we ran in the Academy) and a valve spring upgrade for the engine (necessitated by the lower profile, grippier, tyres and done to protect the engine from over revving). I gave the brake bias valve a miss as I didn’t think the cost worth it, but did buy a rear anti-roll bar kit to stiffen up the rear of the car. The grand total for this work came to a not inconsiderable £1,300.

The work was completed in a day, so the following morning I popped back to Dartford with the trailer and loaded the car straight on, ready for a trip around the M25 to DPR. Here the car spent a few hours having the suspension set-up adjusted to account for the new tyres (which have a much lower profile, so the ride height needs to be adjusted) and the rear anti-roll bar fitted. This little lot relieved me of a further £240.

The cost of the upgrades is not insignificant, but then I have learnt over time that nothing to do with cars, and particularly racing them, is. As you will see below, the upgrades fundamentally change the way the car drives, so I consider the cost a relatively small price to pay for another years racing.

Driving:

Since the end of last season and having the upgrades made my time in the car was limited to; a brief run out on New Year ’s Day to the local VSCC meet, and an hours blast out through rural Hertfordshire on the one warm day of the year so far. It was therefore too early to tell what the car would feel like on the track, but on the road it felt noticeably different.

With the thicker Green front anti-roll bar fitted and the rear roll bar set to its stiffest setting the car feels really planted on the road. Much of this will be down to the new tyres, which offer vastly more grip than the old Avon CR322’s. The offset is that it rides harder and tramlines more, but these are compromises worth making, even on the road, let alone the track. The reduced rolling radius of the tyres also changes the gearing slightly, so the car is now much more keen to rev (it is just about possible to red-line it in top now), so it accelerates more keenly too.

Overall it feels like an altogether more alert and responsive car, but the chassis is now better than the engine. It will be great fun on track, but a part of me is now longing for slightly more power (can you ever have too much?) to really give the chassis a proper workout.

Tinkering:

At Rockingham the Caterham guys had told me that the radius arm bolts were lose, so I started my winter preparation with a complete nut and bolt check across the car. This took a good half a day, but thankfully revealed that all was still well and nothing was going to fall off any time soon.

I also used this time to replace the front wing stays for lowered versions. With the new lower profile tyres the wings on the old front stays were sat a good couple of inches above them and whilst this isn’t a problem it did look slightly odd. The change was relatively quick and painless, with the only fiddle being the need to disconnect the front brake hoses and therefore bleed the brakes again. With new lowered wing stays and fresh front wings fitted (the old stays and wings will be used as spares) the car looked great again.

Final preparation a few weeks later involved a good clean of the car, which was starting to look like it would benefit from a few hours with a polishing rag and some aluminium polish. Removing the old race stickers and replacing them with new ones took a whole day, but after a good clean the car looked like new again. Other than that all is well. I know a number of the guys have had their gearboxes re-built, but with limited track mileage completed last year mine still feels fine and I will see how I get on with it before making that investment.

I just can’t wait to get the old girl back out on circuit again.

Awards Dinner:

The awards dinner in November was a fantastic event, with several hundred people from the world of Caterham racing present and the 2013 Academy crew well represented. Caterham had made a big effort and brought along not only examples of the 7 range, but also an SP300 and a 2012 F1 car. My rather drunken request to sit in it was met with laughter and a rather cheeky response that I wouldn’t fit.

The videos, speeches and presentations made the atmosphere of the evening fantastic and got us all excited to get back out on circuit for the following season. I am sure this was a big contributing factor to the record number of Academy drivers signing up for the Roadsport championship, with some 40 plus drivers making the move up, including Group 2 champion Stephen Nuttall. It is going to be a brilliant year!

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!