Category: Caterham Roadsport 2018

Blue sky greeted us at Anglesey for the BRSCC Winter Race Day for an end of season day of mixed class racing. Like last year it was a mix of Radicals, Caterhams and tin tops.

Race 1 video

Race 2 video in 4k 360

Also in car video: https://youtu.be/jkq_aTIAyys

Quali – P5

As it was a mixed class quali the best I could hope for was 4th. Given Dan French and I were likely to be the fastest Caterham on track it became a battle between the two of us for the coveted Caterham class pole. Our plan was to go out together and take it in turns to lead the other around to give each of us a fair tow. I totally messed that plan up by leaving the pits thinking Dan was behind me only to find out a few other cars got in between us (sorry Dan!). I decided to push on and clear the traffic to get into some clean air followed by some fast laps to see what I could do with no tow. At which point Dan should have cleared the slower cars and I would back off to wait for Dan to catch me then we could spend the second half of the quali working together. I could see Dan progress and had literally just slowed down to wait for him and the red flags had come out and stopped the session.

The red flag meant we had to return to the pits and wait for quali to be restarted. The good news is Dan was now behind me. The bad news was there were several slower cars we found ourselves behind in the pit queue. So much for best laid plans! First rule of racing is plan for everything but don’t expect any of it to actually happen the way you wanted.

After the quali restarted Dan and I made quick work of the slower cars and we had a few laps to help each other in the tow. This worked pretty well for Dan as he managed to use my tow to set a faster time. I on the other hand despite following Dan didn’t improve on my earlier time set in clear air because I misjudged the gap. Still was happy with my pace as I knew it was going to be a fun scrap in the races.

Race 1 finished 4th (1st in class)

At the start JJ got an amazing start and blasted past me while my start was pretty tardy. Annoyingly I had finally worked out my race starts but a gearbox rebuild and a new clutch has meant that the biting point has changed slightly. That’s my racing drive excuse anyway! For the first lap I followed JJ around but knew I had to get past him. Before Dan had an opportunity to make a gap too big for me to close. After getting passed JJ I set about trying to chase Dan down.

The tow effect in a 270R is less than in the Roadsport due to the removal of the windscreen. Which means that it take a lot more work to catch up with people. I was faster in some parts of the track while Dan was faster in others. Eventually I caught him up and managed to overtake after a bit of a battle the safety car was deployed to dig poor Al out of the mud. I knew that once the safety car went in Dan would go back on the attack and I just needed to hold him off for a few more laps to take the effective Caterham 1st place kudos.

On the restart we both ran wide on the first corner and I just about stayed on the track. Dan behind me was less fortunate and had a ‘moment’ which gifted me a couple of seconds lead. At this point I knew I could win the battle as long as I didn’t do anything stupid. Typical at this point some back markers started to play their part and it was a case of being forceful and getting past without losing too much time to Dan.

I might have ‘only’ finished 4th on the road behind 3 fast quicker cars but to be first in the Caterham class felt like the victory I had failed to get all year. Also got the fastest Caterham lap as a bonus.

Race 2 finished 3rd (2nd in class)

One of the faster cars didn’t take part in the second race which promoted me to 3rd on the grid along side Dan French in 4th. It was pretty cool lining up behind two radicals.

Despite getting a better start than race one, JJ still managed to rocket past me. Not wanting Dan to get away I got past JJ on the first lap and decided to sit behind Dan for a couple of laps so we could get in some fast laps and build a gap from the rest of the pack. Once Dan and I had gapped the rest of the Caterhams it was time to play. The rest of the race was an epic battle where we traded places multiple times a lap and it was one of the most fun races this year.

Dan ultimately beat me after I overcooked an overtake on the last lap and locked up. Slightly annoying to mess up but that is motor racing. It turned out one of the Radicals has been disqualified which promoted Dan into 2nd and I got 3rd. Picking up a trophy was an added bonus. I did lose out on the fastest laps kudos to Dan by 0.001 seconds. Which really showed how close it was!

Summary

1. I can do decent starts now and actually are making places up instead of losing them off the line.
2. When others try to crowd you off the track instead backing out or moving closer to the grass. Just let the other driver hit you… They soon move back over the other way.

Results

• Quali – 12th place. Don’t drive a dry setup on a wet track.
• Race 1 – 7th place. Very wet race, Great start up from 12th to 7th, spun off back to 13th. Then fought back to 7th.
• Race 2 – 6th place. Almighty battle between 10 people over 2nd to 11th. Had a moment off the track on exactly the same corner as last year!

• Race 1 = James Murphy (P1), Dan French (P2) & Toby Clowes (P3)
• Race 2 = Dan French (P1), Oli Pratt (P2) & Neil Fraser (P3)

Championship outcome.

Race 1 video in 4K 360

In car https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulEIT0T5ji0

Race 2 video in car

4K 360 (Annoying blur): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2tH2eRBqQY

Quali 13th

Race 1 – 7th Place

Race 2 – 6th Place

Thruxton is the fastest track in the UK where we would average 94mph over the 2.3 mile circuit. In a Caterham we only have to brake twice the rest of the time we are trying to slipstream each other to get the all important slingshot effect. All leading to a exciting scrap every lap into the last chicane where ‘3 places forward 2 places back’ was a common outcome.

Summary

After the accident at Castle Combe I wasn’t sure if I would have a car to race. Caterham Crawley did an outstanding job to rebuilt the car and I was just happy to be racing. As an added bonus Totally Dynamics in Redhill managed to fit in a last minute car wrap so it was almost like I never had an accident.. apart from the hole in my wallet!

• Quali – 8th place. Had some bad luck with traffic and failed to get a clean fast lap.
• Race 1 – 4th place. Great race and led for a while. Lost out in the last chicane.
• Race 2 – 4th place. Another great race and managed to hold onto 4th.

Congratulations to the podiums in both races.
Race 1 = James McCall (P1), Graham Macdonald (P2), James Murphy (P3).
Race 2 = James McCall (P1), James Murphy (P2), Dan French (P3)

It was great to see James McCall do the double and pick up two wins.

Race 1 video in 4K 360

In car https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm1Ll-cIvmk

Race 2 video in 4K 360

In car https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO625T6b4cs

Testing

I will admit my testing plan went out of the window after the crash at Castle Combe. It was only because of an awesome job by Caterham Cars who rebuild my car just in time for me to collect on the way to Thruxton I was able to race at all. Luckily Thruxton is a very simple track to learn and having done a track day there in April I was reasonably sure I would be somewhere near the front as usual.

Build complete

Vinyl wrapping

Half a car

As my car was getting rebuilt and I have a better idea of car dynamics I decided to take a gamble and have my car setup differently than before. To be honest I prefer the way it was and it took me a while to get close to the speed I was before with the old setup.

Quali

It was always going to be a mixed up quali at Thruxton due to the massive tow effect and lack of braking zones. 2nd and 10th would end up split by 0.5 seconds.
Like the last couple of rounds I failed to put a lap together when I needed too or met slower cars at the wrong points of the track which caused me to abort my faster laps.

In the end I lined by 8th which is one of my worse quali results but I knew that where I started would be academic to the race later that day.

Race 1 – 4th Place

Had a ok start and moved up into 6th place by the first chicane and narrowly missed the carnage at the start of the following lap. Where Oli, Dan H and Tom A tried to all occupy the same spot on the track. As Oli speared across the track towards me ‘please not another chassis’ was the my first thought before narrowly avoiding him. By the time the inevitably red flags were out and the race was stopped I found myself in 3rd.

After all that effort I was slightly disappointed with the 1st lap restart rule which meant they put everyone back to their original starting points.

On the restart the front of the field had a few cars missing. I didn’t get a great start and lost a few places. Nothing to worry about since at Thruxton the slip streaming effect is massive. Pretty much all the overtaking happens once per lap into the final chicane where it was easy to gain or lose several places.

Found myself in 6th for the first few laps happy following the lead pack waiting for my tyres to balance out. As the half way point passed I started to work my way forward and soon found myself battling for the lead few places.
With one lap to go I made a critical mistake… I took the lead a lap early. Right position to be on just not on the correct lap!

I knew I would be mugged into the last chicane. My best hope would be to try and pull a small lead and sit on the inside on the run up to the chicane. The spectators must have gotten a good show as the eight of us arrived as one into the last chicane. The inside line proved to be a good choice as managed to hold onto 4th. Still annoying to have lost the lead on the last chicane but that’s motor racing.

Race 2 – 4th Place

I went into the second race with high hopes of a better finish but knew it would be just a close as the first race. After a good start I slotted into 4th place and waited for the inevitable towfest into the final chicane. Again there was a bit of carnage, this time it was Neil who had a nasty airborne moment but got out unhurt unlike the car.

The next lap around there were waved yellows at the same point. Several drivers didn’t notice them and overtook me and several others around me. At the time it was annoying but by the end of the race all of the guilty party ended up behind me so I cared less about it. Now back in 11th place with 15 minutes to go I knew I had some work to do.
The rest of the race was a cat and mouse game to try and come out on top of the chicane games every lap. It really was a case of make up 3 space go back one. Every lap.

Mark Tredwin was the surprise driver in the mix who drove his heart out and it was awesome to have a proper tussle with the purple car. Such a shame he a moment on the last corner. As he deserved a top 5 finish.

Like the first race it came down to a manic last lap where I was in 5th by the time we got to final straight and in the run up to the chicane the race could have been anyone in the front 5. After a 3 into one moment at the chicane I managed to just out run Dan H to the line and walk away with 4th.

The final round at Silverstone is only a week away. I’ve gone well there in the past so looking forward to another fun race.
As ever photo credits go to Jon @ Snappy Racers.

Summary

• Quali – 5th place. Had some bad luck with traffic and failed to get a clean fast lap.
• Race 1 – DNF. Monsoon wet track. Great start and into 3rd off the line. Lap 2 got into 2nd place. Then hit a puddle and ‘floated’ into a tyre wall.
• Race 2 – Did not start.

Race 1 crash video in 4k 360

Race 1 video in 4k 360 (well just under 5 mins or 3 laps)

Testing

Quali – 5th Place

Race – DNF

Aftermath

One of my fellow racers summed up Zandvoort pretty well as ‘If Carlsberg did race weekends’. Caterham Motorsport put on a perfect weekend of sun, sand and slipstreaming. I’m pretty sure regardless of the results all the drivers went home happy having had a fantastic few days on track. Being next to an amazing beach and perfect weather helped!

The circuit was a stones throw from the beach bars and a gem of a place with lots of fast sweeping corner which demanded a lot of commitment to get the best lap time. With a couple of long fast sections the tow was going to be all important again.

Summary

I went into the race weekend with high hopes of getting back on the podium. Which is a lot easier dreamt about than actually delivering. The battle between the first 7 in every race is really close and now at least 3 more people are joining that fight. So it’s only going to get tougher. Looking back at the videos it’s now easy to see how decisions you make at the start on which side to be on or how much space to give other people can make or break your race.
Still such an amazing buzz to race with such a great group of friends.

• Quali – 9th place. Worse result so far. Took a tactical decision on tyres to sacrifice quali and have a better set for races.
• Race 1 – 5th place. Fun race. Could have been better if I hadn’t come off early on.
• Race 2 – 6th place. Poor start and struggled with tyres. Had some great scraps.

Congratulations to the podiums in both races.

• Race 1 = Dan French (P1), James Murphy (P2), Tom Allen (P3). Dan Halstead was really unlucky with a penalty dropping him from P2 -> P6
• Race 2 = Dan Halstead (P1), James Murphy (P2), Dan French (P3)

Race 1 video in 4k 360

Also in car video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc49tmaACTQ

Race 2 video in 4k 360

Also in car video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuJwnuqWY24

Quali P9

The saying goes ‘all good things must come to an end’ springs to mind with quali. After being one of the fastest two people for six quali’s in a row that streak always had to end at some point. Like all the best racing drivers I have a ‘racing driver excuse’ or two in fact… Traffic and tyres. They are just excuses as 8 people ahead of me did a better job!

Normally the fastest group of drivers are the ones that start the quali queue but some drivers were super keen and started queuing early. In hindsight we should have joined them but instead the fast crew decided to stay in the shade and go out last. The plan was leave enough of a gap and trying to do some fast laps early on. Then pick off some slower drivers before getting clear air and working together to do some more faster laps. The plan failed. After 1 flying lap the traffic started and continued till almost the end of the session. You know it’s not gone to plan when you look back at the video and notice that there was more overtaking in the quali than the race!

I won’t go into the (not) exciting world of tyre rules and what effect tyre depth has on lap times. Short version is I made a tactical decision to save my better ‘dry’ tyres for the two races and qualify on the ‘wets’. We call them wets, drys but they are the same tyre with different amounts of tread left. It can be worth 1-2 seconds a lap. I knew this would lead to a tough quali.  Where only a good tow was going to get me near the front as my best time on the ‘wets’ in testing had been a 2:03. While the ‘drys’ were good for a 2:01.

I would eventually end up 9th by far my worse quali result so far. Not an ideal spot to start but the highest I expected to be was 7th and after a lot of scrappy laps I wasn’t expecting any better if I’m honest. On returning to the paddock I couldn’t get those ‘race’ tyres on quick enough.

Race 1 finished 5th

The first race was really just about moving forward so I would be in a better position for race 2. I knew with the worn tyres on my race pace would be far better than it was in quali and was looking forward to some good battles. It all started well as I got past three people in the first couple of laps. Pushing my luck I ran wide off the track out of the last corner giving up two of 2 places I had made up!

A few laps passed before I managed to get the double tow and overtake Simon & Oli down the inside of turn one. One lap later I got Neil around the outside of turn one. I was then surprised to find GMac in front of me, who had started on pole but looked like his car was struggling. After the race it turns out his tyre strategy was the reverse of mine. While I was going forward on ‘drys’ he was going backwards on ‘wets’. So I’m really happy I made the choice I did on that dilemma.

With 6 minute to go the lead 9 were nose to tail and it was shaping up to be anyones race. Tom overcooked it into the chicane and bounced back in front of GMac and my path narrowly missing Dan F in the process. All of this lead to one of the most ‘exciting’ moments in the race where we piled 4 wide into the hairpin at the end of the main straight. It’s the times like that I love where you put all your faith in the drivers around you that no one will screw up and everyone came out the other side. Annoyingly I was the guy on the outside and lost a place.

A couple of corners later GMac ran wide after hitting the kerb and I was up to 6th. I would remain in 6th for the rest of the race and be gifted 5th by Dan H who had an unlucky post race penalty for track limits.

Given I had started in 9th I was happy to get 5th. I obviously would have preferred higher but after coming off it was a good save on points.

Race 2 finished 6th

Sloth like is how I would describe my reactions when the lights went out and it’s something I really need to work on! The first couple of corners I got squeezed and fell back a couple of places. This put me on the defensive trying to ensure that the gaggle of cars behind me stayed there.

Having suffered with my tyres overheating in race one I dropped the pressures a little to much and it took several laps for the grip to return. 8 minutes in and the car started working and I was able to start attacking the guys in front. Within a couple of corners I had got past Neil and followed GMac past Simon into the fast 4th gear corner later in the lap.

At this point I had to chuckle as GMac and I were on track together again. Which has been the case pretty much every race since we started the Academy. Having learnt from our past mistakes we set about working together try and bridge the gap to the lead 4. Alas the gap proved too large to bridge. I missed the last lap board and just failed to nab 5th place over the line.

Next round will be at Castle Combe on the 11/12th of August. Combe is a bit of fiddly track and really not sure how it’s going to go. At this point I’m assuming the usual suspects are likely to be near the front and hopefully I can pick up a podium.

Photos as always from the excellent Jon @ Snappy Racers.com. Except for the blurry one. That was someone else 😉