2nd at Aintree - First Sprint

On Saturday 24th April the Caterham 2010 Academy started. We visited the Aintree Sprint in Liverpool where this years drivers competed for the Championship.

We had two practice sessions before being timed on the course. One my second run was done in 54.61seconds only to be beaten by 0.02 of a second during the day. I therefore picked up the first Losers place (2nd) where its clear that this year is going to be very close.

My pit crew for the weekend included my wife, son and daughter so it was a family affair through and through. I guess their view is if we cant stop him, we may as well join him!

I have attached the video for my fastest run but unfortunately I knocked the camera as I got into the car so unfortunately it points off to the left a bit.

Castle Combe

On 14th April the first official Caterham Academy 2010 test day took place. The venue was Castle Combe.

It was the first chance to see how quick all 48 Academy would be in the year ahead. Whilst timing was forbidden, a few (including yours truly) timed their laps to see how well they were doing during the day.

The day confirmed that this year is going to be very close and is likely to go down to the wire.

Silverstone Slalom Challenge

The Silverstone Slalom Challenge on 27th March was the first time all Group 1 Drivers competed in a Friendly pre-season event. The day was organised by Caterham where the purpose was to get drivers to push their cars through short, tight, twisty courses during the day to get to know how they perform.

The day also included the opportunity to practice standing starts against the clock and to discuss the tales so far with other drivers.

The final task of the day was to compete against all competitor's and the clock to win the Caterham Slalom Challenge. I am pleased to confirm that I won it with a winning time of 25.54 seconds. Hopefully this will be first victory of many this year but the competition will be strong. The Slalom Challenge was something that I was not comfortable with all day but I managed to change my driving style to generate a fast enough time on a damp course.

Car Registered

I went to the DVLA in Chelmsford today and registered the car. This means I now carry a '10' Plate confirming that it is a new vehicle

I can now drive the car on the road and therefore get used to the characteristics of it over different surfaces and weather conditions. I am also now able to drive to future events, meetings and test sessions. I really do feel that we have achieved everything now that we set out to do.

BRING ON THE RACING! Next Stop - Caterham Midlands Saturday 6th March

Brands Test a Success - Eventually

Having no sleep the night before due to the excitement of achieving a childhood dream of driving the Brands Hatch Circuit in a car, we arrived in plenty of time to get a Garage in the pits.

After signing on and driving my sighting lap in a group of 5 behind an instructor, I set about driving the car in the dry for the first time.

It took until mid way through the second session before I found my braking points. In the third session I pushed the car hard and was not totally convinced with the brakes. I set about bleeding them with Josh Bell (my co-pilot for the day) where things did not improve throughout the morning. I was then joined by a number of friends in the afternoon, Mac Engledew, Aaron Dalrymple and a valued client, Rod Germany who all helped in trying to sort things out. We also used 21 PSI in the tyres where later I learned that last years competitors would have used between 26-30 PSI for the cold conditions. This would have only helped to gain grip earlier in the session, but would not have cured the Brake problems.

My long standing sponsor, Richard Grimes of Sidelines Automotive, turned up with the brains and quizzed me all afternoon after each session before I realised that I had made a significant change since our last outing at Bedford Autodrome.

I moved the brake pedal to enable me to practice 'heel and toe' which seemed to change the dynamics of the brake feel. After moving it back to the original setting, the last two sessions went really well, the only problem this time was that it was now snowing.

The car performed well during the day, the engine felt strong and I learned a lot about the track, even though I could only drive really hard in the afternoon.

Thank you once again to everyone who attended the day, assisted with the mechanical elements and took the 'mickey'. Special thanks go to Richard Grimes again and Rod Germany who attended but worked harder than I am sure they were expecting.

ARDS Test PASSED

On 17th February I obtained my race license. This means that I have passed the MSA ARDS test where I proved that I am capable of understanding the rules/flags, and course etiquette during this year.

The day involved a relatively basic written exam, skid pan training, fast speed track assessment and medical. All the other Caterham competitors were also there on the day where we got to share tales and stories about the journey so far. The course was at the Castle Comb circuit in Wiltshire, which is one of the fastest and most technical circuits in the country.

Next stop Brands this weekend for a Track Day!

IVA Passed

We passed the VOSA IVA test yesterday morning. This means that we have now 'officially' finished the car build and the car is classified as road worthy. I will be registering it from next month, meaning that I can drive it on the road to put some miles on it before the racing starts.

Thank you once again for John MacDonald helping me to build the car, coming to the IVA tests and joining in with the roller coaster of emotions when dealing with the "WONDERFUL" VOSA.