Caterham Academy 2017 Season Review

Posted on by Matt

As the 2018 Roadsport season is fast approaching I thought it was about time to put into words my first year of motor racing in 2017.

Congratulations to all the drivers that took part it was at lot of fun racing you. Everyone that went home with silverware well done. But don’t get too used to it the rest of us will be after some in Roadsport!

Caterham Academy 2017 - Leading at Silverstone

I started my racing life in the Green Group which i’m sure was full of the competitive people which meant the competition was fierce. (I’m sure every group says that). It did seem to be less crashy than the White Group so I do take that as a blessing!

For a first year in motorsport I did pretty well. Over the year I was always part of the front pack fighting for podiums and finished 5th out of 27 in the championship. Along the way I started on the front row 3 times including a pole. Broke a lap record at Silverstone and set the fastest lap in the race a few times, lead races, etc. Unfortunately I made a few mistakes or at least more than my fellow racers and only walked away with a single podium 3rd place at Donington. I can think of plenty of ‘racing driver excuses’ as to where I went wrong which I’ll not bore you with. Bottom line is I made some costly mistakes (in time not damage) and will try to make less of them in Roadsport. Still not a bad start in my first year of motorsport.

Caterham Academy 2017 - In the pack at Silvestone

I have to say thanks to a few people this year. My parents for following me around to all the circuits. Family and friends that came alone to watch. My race coach Callum Macleod who really helped me get more out of myself and the car. Caterham Motorsport team for putting on such a great championship and fixing our cars when we accidentally bend bits at race weekends. DPR Motorsport for working on the car between racing when I couldn’t. Jon @ Snappy Racers for some awesome photography. Wow that is a longer list than I thought.

Oh not to forget (as if I ever could) my fellow racers. You guys have been the best and I can’t wait for Roadsport to start when we can all go wheel to wheel again.

Roadsport Upgrades

Posted on by Matt

The move up from Academy to Roadsport includes a few upgrades which make the car into a far nicer package to race.

Tyres

The biggest difference by far are the tyres. The Academy runs Avon CR322 which were given several affectionate names like ‘ditch finders’ or ‘van tyres’. The replacements are Avon ZZS which have a thinner sidewall and far softer compound. Having better tyres makes such a difference to the handling of the car. When the back starts to slide on the CR322 it could be very snappy and once you went past a certain point that was it. With the ZZS it’s far easier to control the slide and steer the car on the throttle 🙂

Difference in tread between Avon ZZS and CR322
Difference in sidewall between Avon ZZS and CR322

Suspension

The academy car was a bit ‘wallowy’ in the corners especially the rear end this was due to not having a rear anti roll bar. Which happens to be one of the upgrades for Roadsport. Along with the option to fit a thicker front roll bar. The rear one is adjustable so depending on the track conditions you can change it. Along with the 3 options I now have for the front there is more scope to adapt the car. Having had a play around with it during winter testing it definitely makes a difference when the track is wet.

Roadsport upgrade to green anti roll bar.

Brakes

Finally we have some decent ones! In the Academy the master cylinder is known for not being great and leaks air into the system. After a couple of days on track the pedal travel gets longer and longer. The only solution to this is to bleed the system. It became a bit of a race weekend ritual of every Friday lunchtime during testing to bleed the brakes instead of having lunch. The AP Racing master cylinder puts an end to all of this. The brake pedal is rock solid all the time. Since it was fitted I’ve done five track days and four races including two endurance events and it’s still as good as the day it was fitted.

The other brake related upgrade is a brake bias valve. This little device allows you to move the strength of the braking force between the front or rear depending on the track conditions.

Brake bias valve upgrade
Roadsport uprated AP Racing master cylinder

Collectively all these changes have transformed the car and I can’t wait for the racing to start up again. In the meantime I’ll just have to keep doing track days to keep myself entertained.

 

 

2018 Caterham Roadsport Calendar

Posted on by Matt

I have to admit I’m finding a little strange that my first year of racing has been over for a couple of months now. I got used to every month spending 4 day weekends basically messing around in cars with my mates. Steve McQueen was spot on when he said “Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting.”

With that in mind I only had one option which was to sign up for the 2018 Caterham Roadsport season. The Roadsport category is the next step up in the Caterham Motorsport ladder. The car I originally built for the Academy season gets better tyres along with tweaks to brakes and suspension (more on that in another post). Having done the Birkett 6hr & Race of Remembrance in the new car it’s a big improvement to drive.

Caterham Motorsport have announced this years calendar and it’s looking an interesting mix of tracks. Most of them are relatively close to London which makes life a little easier. Anyone interested it coming along put the dates in the diary!

  • Snetterton, 14-15 Apr (Norfolk)
  • Knockhill, 12-13 May (Edinburgh)
  • Brands Hatch, 2-3 Jun (Kent)
  • Zandvoort, 30 Jun / 1 Jul (Amsterdam)
  • Castle Combe, 11-12 Aug (Wiltshire)
  • Thruxton, 1-2 Sep (Hampshire)
  • Silverstone, 22-23 Sep (Northants)

In Roadsport we will get on track for longer:
– Saturday 20 minute qualifying followed by 20 minute race.
– Sunday 20 minute race

With 14 races and 42 trophies with a bit of luck I might end up with some silverware. However the two Academy groups are merging so it’s likely to be a very close fight between at least the top 10 in each race if not more!

There will be plenty of other close racing over the weekends. A few of the weekends it looks like we will be sharing with the new TCR UK racing category which looks like it could be an interesting new class to watch. If it becomes as big as BTCC remains to be seen.

 

BRSCC Winter race @ Anglesey

Posted on by Matt

The RoR was so much fun last weekend I decided to go back and have one last race weekend of the season. 

This one was a bit different as anything with four wheels could enter. Which resulted in a very mixed grid with everything from Caterhams to Radicals taking part.
Quite a few of the Academy drivers came along which was the main reason I bothered to go all the way to Anglesey. Racing with mates is what makes it so much fun!

IMG_0105
Got a little too close to Ryan!

When I signed up for the race I didn’t know the circuit configuration was different to the one I did at the RoR so the first lap of quali was a bit of a leap into the unknown… In the case of the corkscrew when you go over the edge for the first time it really is the unknown!
The 15mins felt so short after doing 80mins stints for the endurance race. Somehow I managed to blag a 5th on the grid which I was really happy with given everything in front of me had more power.

In the first race I managed to excel my bad start run by trying to pull away in 3rd gear. Spent the few laps getting past all the people that overtook me and ended up in 7th.

In the second race I started in 6th and ended up 7th again because everything ahead of me was a lot faster. But had a flying start. My first of the year so hopefully I have gotten past my bad start streak! Had a lucky escape on the first lap when I misjudged Ryan’s speed and ran in the back of him. Minor damage to both cars and totally my fault.

Can’t believe that is the last race of the year. Being a racing driver is just so much fun both on and off the track.

Counting down the days to the first race of next season.