The Future's Bright - The Overalls are Orange

As part of the Academy, we're encouraged to do a day of Marshalling.  This gives us 5 points in the Championship.  An additional bonus is that we are able to get a signature on our licence which counts towards our upgrade to National A.  Marshalls are a group of volunteers who stand on the side of the circuit (and other locations) and are responsible for looking after any car and driver that runs into trouble during a race event.  They generally wear bright orange so they stand out.  They stand for a full day and may have nothing to do - but when they do, they will come on to the circuit even if cars are still racing and help clear the problem.  I've had the misfortune to meet some marshalls during a race and they were very helpful and good-humoured.

So on Saturday, 11th September, I'd arranged to do a day at the Qualifying day of the Le Mans series visit to Silverstone.  I'd arranged to do the same day as Wes Fox and we met Jon and Paul Mortimer at sign-in.

On arrival, we were given timetables and vouchers for lunch.  We then sat with the others who were doing a 'Trial Day' of Marshalling - an opportunity to have a go as a trainee with no obligation to do it permanently - for our briefing.  The morning was spent touring the facilities that control a race - incident teams on-track, the medical centre, the control room and a working marshalls post.  This was excellent - us drivers were desperate to watch the cars (particularly the Le Mans cars - including Peugeot, Audi and Aston Martins) and we had a view of the circuit un-impeded by the barriers.

After lunch we were assigned posts to spend the afternoon helping.  I was given 'Club out' which was on the outside of the circuit at the furthest point away from the pits.  It gave me a good view of the new pits complex being built between Club and Abbey.

I saw the Le Mans Series Qualifying, an historic car race, a Radical race and a round of the Speed Championship.  I was asked to stay off the circuit if a car needed assistance - only come on to the circuit if directed by Incident Officer, Dale Whiteman.  As it is, the only time I left the post was between sessions to sweep the circuit of any stones brought on to the surface by the cars.

Frankly, it was a bit boring.  The other chaps on the post were entertaining and I got to watch all the cars without looking through a barrier.  However, some of the races were dull and as all I could do was step out to sweep, it was up to 90 minutes between doing anything.  Some cars did retire nearby but I wasn't asked to get involved.

After the 'action', I had to take a trip back to the control centre to get a signature on my licence.

Job done.  I would like to do it again but I may consider a smaller venue as I'd hope to be more involved.

Thank you to Dale for looking after me - perhaps my future will be orange but for now, it remains in a white race-suit.

Lovely Mallory Park - A 'Gentleman's' Test Day

Mallory Park near Hinckley is a great little circuit.  You turn into the track facility through a little village having wound your way through a narrow road from just round the corner from Caterham Midlands.

It is short but quick - a lap here is done in under a minute.

On Wednesday, 8th September, and in preparation for our race on Sunday, 19th September, a few Caterham 'Academics' took up the chance to join Mallory's Open Test morning.  I knew this was available to any driver of a racing car but I was shocked at what else joined us on the day...

A Metro - spent most of its time on three wheels!
A Toyota MR2
A BMW 3-Series race car...

An Aston Martin DB(4 or5) racing car - it's difficult to be sure...
An Aston Martin DP214 - a replica...?  If my research is correct - there's only one left in the World...
A Ford GT40 - another replica?
A Ferrari - a historical racing car but don't know what it is
A Lola T70 - again, was it a replica?

Anyway - the sight and SOUND was amazing and I'd have happily spent the day looking at the cars and watching them go round the track.  Thankfully, I got the chance to see them on circuit from the driving seat of my car.

Three 30 minute sessions went well and I learnt a bit more about the circuit.  In the third session, I drove round with Wes Fox and took the video below (thanks again to Mike Linzey for lending me his camera - mine's on order).

Brands Hatch - Testing, Qualifying and Racing

Brands Hatch couldn't be more different to the Nordschleife in length but can match it for the type of challenge.  Undulating, changing cambers set Brands Hatch apart from some other UK circuits and the fact that you can see most of the circuit from any point around the outside make it a favourite with drivers and spectators alike.  At just under two kilometres long, for every lap of the Norschleife you can do ten of the Indy Circuit at Brands Hatch and it was this circuit that hosted a Caterham Festival of racing over the weekend of 21st and 22nd August.

On our way back home from Germany, we stopped off at the circuit for a Testing Day on Thursday, 19th.  With 30 minute sessions, the few Caterham Academy cars were grouped together with Roadsport B, Roadsport A, Supersport and R300s.  The difference in speeds between us and the R300s was immense.  Sharing a garage with Mike Linzey, we were neighbours to Supersport and R300 drivers.  They advised us to keep to our line - don't try and get out of their way - the closing speeds are such that they're choosing their route way before we've realised they're about to pass.  If we deviate, chances are we'll be turning into their line and could cause an accident.  In a nutshell, it was difficult to get much out of the day and despite trying a few things with tyres etc, I didn't end the day feeling comfortable.

Friday was a day off and myself and Claire spent the day driving round the Kent coast, eating fish-and-chips and taking in the sights of Canterbury.

Saturday saw us Qualify but the timetable put us at the end of the day - the very last group out finishing at about 6pm.  So, of course, we arrived before 11am!  But it was a worthwhile exercise.  The car was prepped and I could relax.  Having bled the brakes and swapped the tyres back to their original corners, I was as prepared as I could be.  The car felt good at first but I didn't think I was getting the most out of things.  Whether there was understeer of poor traction out of corners, I didn't think I was as fast as I could be.  Ultimately, I ended the session in an average 9th position.

Next day and there was less time to prepare.  Having watched the Group 2 chaps race (a first this year - they were scheduled before us) we were ready to race before lunch.  Starting from 9th place meant I had a bit of work to do if I was to progress up the order and off the start, I kept to the inside of Paddock Hill Bend to make up two positions.  At Druids, I headed round the outside of the cars keeping a tight line and found myself alongside Wes Fox - he'd started 3rd on the grid!  Then the car twitched and on the exit, I ran wide onto the grass.  I followed Blaize Rhodes (who'd also taken to the grass!) and a stone flew up from his car and smashed my windscreen.  Still, I'd made a few places and settled into the race.  A lap later, I'd lost one place but was still in a solid 7th place.

Soon, the cars started to fall out ahead - Merlin Edwards was hit by Mike Hart and was unfortunate to retire with bodywork rubbing his tyre while Jon Mortimer spun away at Druids.  Now in 5th, I had a quiet few laps but when the rain started, I panicked and slowed unnecessarily.  On the line, I was beaten into 6th by a recovering Jon by 0.002 seconds - we spent the cool-down lap waving to one-another as to who had got the better result.

Ultimately, poor Mike was excluded (despite crossing the line first) for his tangle with Merlin but this gave me a final result of 5th place.  Through hard work, and a bit of luck, I'd made a four place improvement on my starting position.

I hope this will be shown on the TV, soon.  Motors TV covered the event again and I was lucky enough to have the 'in-car' camera attached to me car.  I hope the start at least will make the highlights.

Once again, I was assisted through the weekend by my Mum, Dad and Wife - all of whom make my racing so much more enjoyable - it wouldn't be the same without them.  An added bonus was that my Brother John came along as well, with Billy, my Nephew.

Just one more race to go...  Mallory Park on September, 19th.  All pictures from Rick Wilson.

Nürburgring Nordschleife - The Green Hell? An amazing place...

Any Motorsport fan will have heard of the Nürburgring. It’s on the calendar for Formula One (amongst others) isn’t it? However, the REAL reason why Motorsport fans will know of the Nürburgring is because of the less-used ‘Nordschleife’ or ‘Northern Loop’. The circuit used by the current crop of highly-paid racers is a modern facility that ticks all the required safety and commercial boxes on the ‘I’d-like-to-host-an-F1-race-please’ application form. But the Nordschleife has history and drama. It also has nothing to stop you hitting the barriers, is narrow, has blind crests, 150-ish corners and is over 22km long. Not at all suitable for modern F1. I won’t go into the history of the place here but a quick look at this link should tell you everything you need to know.

Set in the Eifel Forest in Germany meant taking the car on a trailer through the UK, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany. We set off after work on Thursday evening and got to Dover in time for one of Sea France’s evening sailings. The car was starting to attract a lot of attention and soon after we were pulling up at an overnight stay in a Campanile just into France.

The next day, we headed off across Northern Europe to meet our good friends Tim and Agnes who live an hour away from the famous circuit. Agnes competed in Formula Woman a few years ago (in Caterhams) and Tim is a Motorbike obsessive. His Yamaha R1 came along for a trip out, too... I couldn’t wait.

Saturday, 14th August 2010 - we made our way to the single-most disorganised part of Germany. Famed for its efficiency, trying to get on the Nordschleife was refreshingly frustrating! The process is simple: you pay by the lap, in advance, at a booth (€22 per lap); they give you a credit-card with your pre-determined number of laps saved on it; you drive up to a barrier, wave your card at a machine and the barrier opens. That’s it...

The circuit should have opened at 11am and as the time approached, hundreds of cars made for the entrance. The access road is wholly inadequate to handle the volume of cars, bikes, buses, vans etc (they’re all allowed on the circuit at the same time!!) that want to be there so it just got jammed up. Sitting in the car, with my race-gear on it was getting very hot. Tim sat in the passenger seat (he acted as guide for the first couple of laps) and we chuckled at how poorly the staff were coping with the volume of cars around me. More attention for my car – it was a surprise to me but my home-built Caterham Academy car was being photographed as much (or more) as any Porsche or BMW.

Eventually, I was able to approach the barrier, Tim swiped my card and we fed through the cones onto the circuit – 20km of the greatest driving I’ve ever had followed. Tim shouted LEFT, RIGHT, SHARP or STRAIGHT for the first few kilometres without any reply from me. Concentration is absolute. A ‘moment’ at this place could result in several-thousands’ pounds worth of damage to the car and circuit – or worse... At about 7km, Tim shouted, ‘Can you hear me? You haven’t said anything!’ My reply was specific, ‘F*cking yes! Keep it up!’

At the end of the lap, we queued for another trip round. It is an amazing place – I can’t do it justice by trying to describe it here.

By the end of the day, I’d done 6 laps. Four were on my own (with Tim on his R1 close by) and I had the most amazing day of driving I’d ever had.

My car was looked at, photographed, talked about and sat in (!) during the day and made me really proud amongst the Audi R8s, Nissan GTRs, Astons, Lambos, Porsches etc. In fact, I helped a chap who had a problem with his very nice R8 (it wouldn’t select a gear after 2 laps...). His friend had a Nissan GTR (which wouldn’t go any further after just one lap). I suggested he’d have been better off with a Caterham which he took in good humour!

I earned a new sticker for the car today and would love to return for another go at the circuit. That will have to wait while I get the racing season finished...

Yet another thank you to Claire who waited around all day for me – thankfully the weather was excellent and there were plenty of cars and people to watch – but I couldn’t have had the chance without her.