Caterham Academy 2004

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Academy 2004 DVD!

For those of you that are interested and haven't already seen the information about it, Chris Rome has spent many hours pulling together the footage (both in car and trackside) from the Academy 2004 Group 1. Having seen a few sneak previews I can assure you that it's going to be excellent! All profits are going to charity.

For more info, or to order one, visit Chris' DVD site.

You knew it wouldn't end there...

The season might be over but that's not the end of my racing :-). You can follow the 2005 Roadsport B season at my new site: www.roadsports2005.org.

Enjoy!

Non-championship race - Pembrey

Some time ago, Kim had offered us the chance of a non-championship race at the end of the season. At the time I was a bit uncertain but knew that I would want more racing after Brands once it came to it - and so it proved. It was a long drive across to South Wales for a double header at Pembrey. Judging from the laugh I got in the bar on the Friday night I wasn't the only one who burnt their clutch out whilst trying to reverse the tow car and trailer up the steep hill in the hotel car park! A total of 16 people from group 1 and 2 had made it, many (all but 4?) had been testing on the Friday. For myself, Chris Rome, Simon Fielding and Hugo Jones qualifying would be the first sight on the circuit. Daunting.

I don't think anyone would think it unfair to say that Pembrey isn't the most glamorous circuit we visited all season. It's unlikely to be on the RSB calender next year and I won't miss it :-). The circuit itself is fairly interesting with a number of sweeping bends that mean you can build up a good rythym that just feels 'right' when you are going quickly. On the downside it's totally flat being an ex-military base. I think I'd put it slightly above Snetterton but below Mallory, Brands and Oulton.

RACE 1 - Saturday

On the Saturday morning we arrive at the circuit and it's been raining all night and the paddock is full of puddles. There's a few qualifying sessions ahead of us though (including trucks!) and so it's hopeful that the circuit will have dried out. As we sit in the assembly area just before 11:00 it is drying nicely - until it starts to rain again! So my first experience of Pembrey is in the wet, and qualifying is just 15 minutes. I take it carefully and the timing sheets show an improvement on every lap - I manage 12 of them - with a best on lap 12 of 1:22.390. Adrian Argyros sets an astonishing pace of 1:17.140, over 0.8 second ahead of Keith Chanter (1:17.965) with Chris Fryar in third on 1:18.470. Chris Rome has a great set of laps, setting his best time of 1:20.930 on only his ninth ever lap round the circuit and it's enough to put him in 8th. I'm 14th, just two from the back and next to John Bickell in 13th. Full qualifying results are here from MST as is the grid.

By the time of the race at 16:15, the circuit is completely dry. Another new experience. We form up on the grid and the first thing I notice is how spread out we are - on the larger circuits the grids are often three abreast with little forwards/backwards spacing across rows but here we are two abreast with over a car length between each position on the grid. My gameplan is to try and get through the middle of John and Steve Grainger (12th) off the start and take the inside line into Hatchets Hairpin (aka the 'Roger Ford' manoeuvre).

Lights go out and we're off - I get a reasonable start with only a little too much wheelspin and aim down the middle. I start to make progress on Steve but John has also got a good start and is holding his position. Unfortunately he's decided to move over to the centre of the track and I rapidly find myself getting closer and closer to Steve's rear wing. I'm confident that the gap will be wide enough or that John will back off or move across at the last minute but he doesn't (and there's no reason for him to!) and I realise just too late that there isn't enough room, pushing Steve's offside rear wing [sorry Steve! post race inspection shows no real lasting damage and just a few broken fixings which Caterham rapidly repair]. Backing off means I drop back momentarily, but I go round the back of John Bickell and onto the inside and get the run on him down the straight. As we approach the hairpin everyone lines up on the outside and I hold the inside line. The other thing I haven't mentioned about Pembrey is how featureless it is and how difficult it is to find braking/turning points, especially when you've only done a few laps. On this occasion I brake too late and don't shed quite enough speed for the corner. As I run wide, I get in the way of Nick Brooks (9th) as he turns in on the racing line. We touch relatively gently but my nearside rear wing hits his front offside wing; my rear wing comes off, jamming between his wing and wheel and his wingstay has an argument with the back of my car. This eventually leads to Nick being black and orange flagged and having to come in twice - once to have it removed, which is done in a matter of seconds, and once because he should have come into the pit lane and not the paddock entrance. A real blow to Nick and apologies to him - I was going too fast for the line I was taking, my mistake. However, after corner 1 I'm up to 8th and behind Chris Rome.....I know that some serious racing is going to ensue! At the end of lap 1 Keith is in the lead after a great start, Adrian has dropped to second with Chris Fryar holding third.

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During lap 2, Patrick Scharfegger (Group 1 champion) move from 4th to second, behind Adrian. On lap 3, Chris Rome manages to get ahead of Charles Bateman at the hairpin and moves up to 6th which means Charles is now ahead of me. On lap 4, Chris attacks and moves past Robin Russell at Honda Curves and is up to 5th. And the end of lap 5 Andy Blight in 8th is very close and we cross the line almost together. At the front, Patrick holds the lead with Adrian having moved up to second and Keith Chanter dropping to third. Into lap 6 and I think I've got Charles Bateman down the Park Straight but as Chris approaches Hatchets Hairpin he puts a wheel on the grass as he tries to avoid the back of Chris Fryar's car as Chris (F) brakes hard. Chris (R) spins but doesn't collect anyone - this distracts Charles which means that I definitely get past him! Up to 6th. Chris (F) manages to get past Keith Chanter and into third.

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On lap 7, as I come into Brooklands Hairpin I come across Nick Brooks cruising as he has to come into the pits [my own fault - still due to the incident on lap 1]. I'm very slow out of the corner and Andy Blight flies past me. Patrick loses the lead to Adrian. Into lap 8 and Robin Russell spins at Brooklands Hairpin so I'm back up to 6th. In the meantime Chris Rome has moved back up to 7th and is behind me, chasing hard. Patrick retakes the lead.

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All through laps 9 and 10 I 'm close to Andy. As we cross the line at the end of lap 11 I go for the overtake but am concentrating so much on the slipstream I forget to change gear :-(. I stay behind although we get very close at the hairpin! Up front Patrick is still in the lead with Adrian and Chris Fryar close behind.

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On Lap 12, Chris shoots up the inside and gets past me at the hairpin. I stick very close to him and we have a few scary moments round the lap until I manage to get back past him into Honda Curve. I stay in front through most of lap 13, until Chris gets his own back at the Honda Curve. However, I'm extremely close to him down the straight and I pull to the outside in the run up to the hairpin. Chris has the better line though and goes into the corner first. I'm desperate to keep close to him but misjudge it slightly and we touch. Only later do I discover that I'd neatly extracted his fog light! I have a big moment doing about 80 around Dibeni bend [I remember thinking at the time that it would look good on the video!] which loses me time. The positions stay as they are and I cross the line in 7th.

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Patrick takes a win (his first of the season!), with Adrian holding second and Chris Fryar third. MST results can be found here.

And some pictures from the aftermath!

RACE 2 - Sunday

Race 2 was on the Sunday. Although it had been raining on and off all morning it was definitely wet as we lined up in the assembly area waiting in the positions that we finished Race 1. MST have the grid here. Unfortunately for Chris Rome, he'd realised just 30 minutes before that he'd left his immobiliser plipper and ignition key in the hotel and had rushed back to get it. Just a few minutes before we went out onto the circuit to line up, he made it back!

As we lined up for the green flag lap I wanted to get some feel for how much grip there was off the line. The basic answer was none at all as the car was spinning its wheels with the slightest hint of throttle. We line up for the real start and the lights go out. I edge away and gradually floor the throttle - too early as the wheels just spin. I grab second and floor it; big mistake - no grip! Chris gets an absolute flyer and charges through the field. Charles Bateman comes past me on the outside round the hairpin and I'm already down to 8th after the first corner. By the third corner he's past Andy Blight as well. At the end of lap 1, Adrian is holding the lead from Keith Chanter and Patrick Scharfegger. Chris Rome is up to 4th from his 6th on the grid and I'm down to 8th.

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My good intentions didn't last very long under race conditions. I slipstream past Andy Blight down the straight as we head into lap 2 but get my braking all wrong, almost put it on the grass and eventually slither into a gap (luckily) sideways and out the other side. I would have only lost a few places but the car stalls as I go to pull away which loses me more time. Down to 13 but as we come round the Esses, Simon Young spins so I cross the line at the end of lap 2 in 12th.

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As we go into lap 3, I go past Steve Grainger into the hairpin and come across John Bickell and Robin Russell battling hard. He eventually gets past John turning into the start/finish straight. Adrian is still in the lead with Keith in second and Patrick third. Up to the harpin in lap 4 and I squeeze (or more accurately, slide) past John and into 10th place. Steve Grainger also gets past John as you can just about see him all over the back of my car in my mirrors.

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Onto lap 7. Steve scares the life out of me locking up on the inside into the hairpin! Down to 11th.

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The top three are still unchanged as Lap 8 begins. Steve gets it wrong going into the haripin and I get up on the inside at the exit. I remember thinking that in the dry, he might try to get past me on the outside but there's no way he'll try in the wet. Wrong! Het gets straight back past me.

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We follow each other for the rest of the lap but I'm determined to get past at the hairpin on lap 9. I do get past but it's very close for the next few corners until Steve manages to stay in front.

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Apologies for the jerkiness of the footage, not sure what happened there.

Into the hairpin at lap 11 I lock the rear wheels up, get the diff in a bit of a state, overcook it (no surprise there!) and spin. Back down to 12th

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After the second spin, I realise that I'm too far behind John Bickell [9 seconds] to catch up with him. I decide that I've used my luck for the day and I cruise round gently thinking that I'm in last position. As we come round on lap 11 I see Nick Brooks in my mirrors and speed up a little. Eventually, I cross the line in 12th.

The lead has stayed the same from the end of lap 1 - Adrian takes the win, Keith in second and Patrick in third.

The full MST booklet from the event with grids, results and lap by lap times can be found here.

Well that's it for 2004. Sort of. I'm entering the 'Plum Pudding' race at Mallory Park on Boxing day in what will definitely be the last race of the year. But I've signed up for Roadsport B in 2005 with (at the time of writing) over 30 other people. The numbers will have to come down as these numbers are large for the grids but I'm sure a few people will drop out.

Look out for a 2005 Roadsports site soon!

CORRECTIONS AS USUAL PLEASE!

Academy Event 8 - Race, Brands Hatch

[NO VIDEOS TO COMPLY WITH MOTORSPORTVISION RULES - Please email me if you would like to see them]

So, it all comes to an end so quickly. The final race of the season (although not, for me at least, the final race of the year - I'll be at Pembrey for a double header next weekend and at Mallory for the 'Plum Pudding' race on Boxing Day). Before I write the report I'd like to make clear just how great the Academy season is. Racing is great fun - those in Graduates, Roadsports and the countless other Caterham and non-Caterham race series will no doubt experience that. But being thrown together with 26 (or over 50 if you put both groups together) other people who are all in the same boat as you is truly outstanding. You can only do it once - don't miss the chance.

For the first time in the season, I didn't test/go to a trackday soon before the race at the weekend. Partly this was down to pressures at work, and partly because I wasn't going to win the championship and the fun is in the racing. A number of people did test on the Friday including the unfortunate Andy Blight who, having recently had two cracked pistons replaced, crashed bending his DeDion around the diff. Thankfully the car was repaired (as much as it needed to be) in time for the race.

Signing on was at a ridiculous 07:30! I live about 45 minutes from Brands Hatch but this just led to contempt about getting there on time. I just made it for sign on and went straight into the scrutineering queue.

Qualifying was at 09:30 and they called us early. As we sat in the assembly area the rain started to fall - this was going to be interesting. We set out and started to build up the pace as the rain stopped and the track started to dry. One thing that you quickly learn in racing (especially in Caterhams with windscreens) is that slipstreaming is all important. You will simply not set a class leading time unless you are slipstreaming a car for the lap and in this session you can clearly see cars waiting for people that are slightly faster than them and people swapping places to give each other the tow. I do the same, variously following Patrick Scharfegger and Paul Jepson. Unfortunately my best laps come early in the session when the track is still slightly wet.

At the end of the session we collect the timing sheets. Pat Gormley is oustanding with a 56.724 (pole again), Luke Dimsdale is up in second with 57.333 and Chris Sedgwick in third with a very close 57.371. I'm in 13th with a 58.590. Jonathan Alpine, Darren Faraway, James Sykes and Andrew Blight who are challengers to my championship position are in 4th (great result Jonathan), 17th, 21st and 22nd respectively. So the scene is set and it's looking hopeful. Championship leaders Patrick Scharfegger and second place Paul Jepson qualify in 8th and 7th respectively. Simon Fielding qualifies in an impressive 12th.

As usual, see the full qualifying times here courtesy of MST and grid here.

So, for the last (competitive) time this season we roll round for the start. There's no danger of me messing up the time warnings/red lights this time round but I'm far enough back down the grid to be on a slope so it is brakes on until the lights change. Slightly too much wheelspin off the start but I manage to hold my place and go past Simon Fielding. Jamie has a good start and gets ahead of Chris Rome who I tuck in behind as we go into Paddock Hill Bend for the first time. All the front runners get through safely and I adopt the 'Roger Ford' approach into the first tight corner (Druids), taking the inside line as the pack line up on the left to take the racing line. It works and I shoot past Jamie Bashall under braking and take Chris as we go round the corner despite having to cadence brake a few times to try and prevent the big rear wheel lock up that I have under braking! I worry about T-boning someone for a few moments but manage to shed enough speed to get round the corner and run down to Graham Hill Bend following Henry Fletcher. Although I'm quicker out of the bend, Henry has the inside line into Surtees and I have to back off. I get the tow coming out of Clark Curve however and get past Henry on the straight, as does Chris Rome. Up to 9th - great! As we come up to Druids for lap 2 I brake a bit early (and not hard enough) and Chris Rome shoots up the inside, retaking 9th place and dropping me to 10th. We continue round lap 2 until Adrian Argyros gets it wrong big time going round Surtees/McLaren and spins off to the inside of the track. Paul Jepson is also affected, spinning on the McLaren/Clark Curves and causing me a bit of a brown trouser moment! As I try to avoid Paul, Darren shoots past on the inside. Up to 9th at the end of lap 2.

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Onto lap 3 and Chris gets past Adrian 'Wag' Wagstaff on the run up to Druids. The front three remain unchanged with Pat, Luke and Chris holding the podium places. By the end of lap 4 Luke has squeezed past Pat to take 1st. Going into lap 5, Darren overcooks it going into Druids and I squeeze past on the inside, up to 8th. James Sykes loses it at the same corner, going into the gravel and ending his race. I'm losing ground on Chris Rome (particularly at Graham Hill Bend) and am in desperate need of someone to slipstream. Paul Jepson has lost a front wing on the Brabham Straight but I (and everyone else) manages to avoid it.

As we go into lap 6, Henry and Darren shoot past me on the inside into Paddock Hill bend. I never really got the corner right all race after forgetting where my braking point was. I outbrake them both, and almost myself, in the run up to Druids but am much faster than Henry on the exit. However, he has the inside line and retains the lead through Graham Hill bend. Henry again has the inside line into Surtees and I follow him around Clark curve but I have the speed down the Brabham Straight to take him and get back into 9th, although I only narrowly miss Paul's wing.

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The front three positions remain unchanged. Into lap 8 and Henry comes past me into Druids. Again I have the run on him down to Graham Hill bend but he is holding the inside line and I'm forced to back off but get very close in the process! This time I have the inside line into Surtees but I cannot retake my place until I get tow down the main straight.

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Still the front three are Luke, Pat and Chris Sedgwick.

At the end of lap 11, Wag makes it into 3rd after a tremendous charge. I go into the final lap (12) under pressure again and am too busy looking in my mirrors to keep an eye on Paul's wing which I hit head on! [Post race examination reveals a smashed number plate and some cosmetic damage to the front wishbone and side skin]. You can also just about see them black flagging Jamie Bashall who was Black/Orange flagged a few laps earlier for a loose door.

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We finally cross the line with me holding 9th. Luke takes a great win, with Pat in second and Wag in third. Patrick crosses the line in 5th to take the overall championship title. Paul Jepson finishes 10th which is enough to take second overall after a countback from Luke who takes third. Full results from MST here.

I have beaten James Sykes and Andy Blight, but Darren Faraway and Jonathan Alpine are too quick for me today meaning that I move up to 13th overall in the championship.

Updated results with final positions here.

Congratulations to all for a great season, but particularly Patrick Scharfegger who takes the Group 1 championship, Paul Jepson who was 2nd and Luke Dimsdale in third.