Re: Caterham adds more drift days
Monday 18th September 2006
Sideways CaterhamCaterham has added two additional drift experience dates to its calendar: Saturday 30 September and Sunday 1 October, both at Silverstone. Places are going fast, reckons Caterham.
Caterham adds more drift days
Ever wanted to learn how to drive sideways?
Sideways Caterham
Caterham Motorsport Club drifting
New for this year, you can experience the awesome feeling of drifting a car sideways. The light weight, high power and great handling, the Seven is an ideal car in which to hone your drifting abilities. Spend the day looking out the side of the car as you gracefully slide the car around our specially designed drift courses.
An orientation and demonstration from our instructors will familiarise you with the cars and you will be taught to steer the car using the throttle. Initially you may find yourself spinning the car as you deliberately provoke power oversteer. You will then learn how to kick the tail out and hold the slide by balancing smooth steering and throttle inputs. There are few feelings more satisfying than controlling a drift and the ‘grin factor’ is simply off the scale.
The instructors will teach you both in groups and individually and Caterham guarantees that you will have drifted a car before the day is out. When your confidence has grown you change to a more challenging track layout designed to allow you longer drifts. There will be four courses, with the last giving you the opportunity to show off your new drifting abilities at a higher speed and through multiple corners.
The three best drifters of the day win prizes, but everyone leaves with a smile and improved driving skills.
Discussion
I did this a few weeks back at Silverstone and its well worth it I thought. Really good fun, good atmosphere and a lot more time in the car (whilst on your own) compared to most other "Driving experience" days.
Learnt a lot and was a lot of fun, and coming 1st place at the end of the day always helps
Learnt a lot and was a lot of fun, and coming 1st place at the end of the day always helps
Can't say exactly but i was out on the course probably about 8-10 times, and you get a couple of laps for each time you go out. I've done a lot of trackdays and if you think its going to be like a trackday then you'll obviously end up disappointed. It's a driving experience/training day so your not in the car all the time, however compared to a "Ferrari Exerience" type event were you get to do about 3 laps of an airfield this Caterham day provides much more time in the car. And if your a virgin drifter like I was you learn a lot from the day.
mikey_p said:
Can't say exactly but i was out on the course probably about 8-10 times, and you get a couple of laps for each time you go out.
So probably 20 laps of Silverstone tops?
And I suppose you're not going THAT quickly, so what's that, 2 - 2.5mins/lap?
Just trying to work out if it's as good value as a track-day or not?
I have done one of these, and I was disapointed at how easy the cars are to lose the back end. In reality they bear very little resemblance to drifting a real car, (yes I can).
If you drive very slowly you get on OK, but anyone who can already do drifting I would suggest you think again.
If you drive very slowly you get on OK, but anyone who can already do drifting I would suggest you think again.
havoc said:
mikey_p said:
Can't say exactly but i was out on the course probably about 8-10 times, and you get a couple of laps for each time you go out.
So probably 20 laps of Silverstone tops?
And I suppose you're not going THAT quickly, so what's that, 2 - 2.5mins/lap?
Just trying to work out if it's as good value as a track-day or not?
It's not done on the circuit. If it were everyone would have to be pulled out of the gravel traps every 2 mins. It's just done in a large carpark with cones so there's little chance you can do any damage. And I really wouldn't try and compare it to a track day. They teach you how to control a drift, and yes at fairly low speeds. Personally i'd find it selfish and irresponsible for someone to try and learn to drift on a track day. So if you can't drift but would like to learn how then this is very good, but if you want loads of time in the car then do a trackday, however I wouldnt use a trackday to learn how to drift, you could end up doing a lot of damage to your car.
Caterhams CMC drfit days run on a coned circuit on an open tarmac area at Silverstone (and elsewhere), rather than on the Silverstone circuit itself.
The courses get progressively harder and faster over the course of the day and in total there are 4 different courses.
On each course you will get 6 laps in 3 x 2 lap sessions.
Therefore over the day you will get around 24 extremely intense laps of sideways drifting.
Most people are exhausted at the end of the day, but depending on attendance you may get even more laps!
You are free to drive the cars very hard, and abuse the rear tyres, in a manner which would not be permitted on most circuit track days. Tyre-smoking donuts will be frequent while you are mastering your technique! The cars are driven without an instructor beside you with tuition being given by an observer at the start/finish line instead. This makes for a fun day where you are free to explore your driving abilities unhindered.
In 2006 the average feedback from the several hundred attendees on these days has been 4.5 out of 5, with less than 1% saying they would not return for another day! We think this speaks for itself.
To answer the comment that the 'back end breaks away easily': this is very true....the cars are deliberately set-up to oversteer easily with little rear-end grip. This means that the car will drift at much lower speeds with small throttle inputs. We feel this is the best solution to teach drifting to a broad range of ability levels and it makes for great fun. However, the precise throttle control and steering inputs required to master drifting a 7 means that even 'advanced' drivers will learn some new skills.
Best Regards
The Caterham Cars Team
The courses get progressively harder and faster over the course of the day and in total there are 4 different courses.
On each course you will get 6 laps in 3 x 2 lap sessions.
Therefore over the day you will get around 24 extremely intense laps of sideways drifting.
Most people are exhausted at the end of the day, but depending on attendance you may get even more laps!
You are free to drive the cars very hard, and abuse the rear tyres, in a manner which would not be permitted on most circuit track days. Tyre-smoking donuts will be frequent while you are mastering your technique! The cars are driven without an instructor beside you with tuition being given by an observer at the start/finish line instead. This makes for a fun day where you are free to explore your driving abilities unhindered.
In 2006 the average feedback from the several hundred attendees on these days has been 4.5 out of 5, with less than 1% saying they would not return for another day! We think this speaks for itself.
To answer the comment that the 'back end breaks away easily': this is very true....the cars are deliberately set-up to oversteer easily with little rear-end grip. This means that the car will drift at much lower speeds with small throttle inputs. We feel this is the best solution to teach drifting to a broad range of ability levels and it makes for great fun. However, the precise throttle control and steering inputs required to master drifting a 7 means that even 'advanced' drivers will learn some new skills.
Best Regards
The Caterham Cars Team
Did this event at Silverstone.
It was a Really Great day! Not as easy as it looks but v enjoyable.
HOWEVER. The event that I went on was not a fully booked up group - maybe only 60%, if I remember rightly. We had PLENTY of goes! BUT I
doubt that a full group 30(?) would be any where near as good.
Also, if you are tall - I am six foot two - you CANNOT get comfy behind the wheel of the Caterham, even the sv, and are hindered from controlling the car as you would like.
Like I said, though, it was a Great Day.....just take note of the above.........
It was a Really Great day! Not as easy as it looks but v enjoyable.
HOWEVER. The event that I went on was not a fully booked up group - maybe only 60%, if I remember rightly. We had PLENTY of goes! BUT I
doubt that a full group 30(?) would be any where near as good.
Also, if you are tall - I am six foot two - you CANNOT get comfy behind the wheel of the Caterham, even the sv, and are hindered from controlling the car as you would like.
Like I said, though, it was a Great Day.....just take note of the above.........
Hi,
All CMC days have both Series 3 (standard) and SV (wide-body) chassis cars running.
The SV cars are 6 inches longer and 4 inches wider to accomodate drivers upto 6'4"
The cars are a heavily modified 1600 Roadsport Spec with uprated brakes/suspension/cooling/exhausts (plus some extra safety equipment) to deal with the abuse they get. Soft grippy front tyres and hard rears are fitted to promote oversteer. A common reaction is "what they only have 120bhp!?". Believe me you will not feel that they are too slow on the day....the power to weight ratio is roughly that of a BMW M3 (240bhp/ton).
Regards
The Caterham Cars Team
All CMC days have both Series 3 (standard) and SV (wide-body) chassis cars running.
The SV cars are 6 inches longer and 4 inches wider to accomodate drivers upto 6'4"
The cars are a heavily modified 1600 Roadsport Spec with uprated brakes/suspension/cooling/exhausts (plus some extra safety equipment) to deal with the abuse they get. Soft grippy front tyres and hard rears are fitted to promote oversteer. A common reaction is "what they only have 120bhp!?". Believe me you will not feel that they are too slow on the day....the power to weight ratio is roughly that of a BMW M3 (240bhp/ton).
Regards
The Caterham Cars Team
"To accomodate drivers up to 6ft 4"........
Mmmmmmmmmmm.......
As I said....I had a Great Day....
I dont want to come across as a Hoary Pedant BUT...I couldnt get comfy in the sv. The specific problem was the total lack of space between the top of my legs and the steering wheel.
To control the slide or drift properly you need to have freedom of use of the wheel in order to apply the correct technique. It couldnt be done. AND I remember others on the day saying the same thing.(Honest)
Maybe there are alternative seats that are now available for use - I dont know.
Yes, I would recommend the Day, I had a scream! I would like to go back and do the advanced event one day (if they still run it, BUT I wont, because of the limitations of the cockpit.
(Correction: I said six foot two...add half an inch to that(!))
Mmmmmmmmmmm.......
As I said....I had a Great Day....
I dont want to come across as a Hoary Pedant BUT...I couldnt get comfy in the sv. The specific problem was the total lack of space between the top of my legs and the steering wheel.
To control the slide or drift properly you need to have freedom of use of the wheel in order to apply the correct technique. It couldnt be done. AND I remember others on the day saying the same thing.(Honest)
Maybe there are alternative seats that are now available for use - I dont know.
Yes, I would recommend the Day, I had a scream! I would like to go back and do the advanced event one day (if they still run it, BUT I wont, because of the limitations of the cockpit.
(Correction: I said six foot two...add half an inch to that(!))
Edited by theCreeper on Tuesday 19th September 18:44
darth_pies said:
A common reaction is "what they only have 120bhp!?". Believe me you will not feel that they are too slow on the day....the power to weight ratio is roughly that of a BMW M3 (240bhp/ton).
Not likely to be an issue...have driven a Roadsport 1600 (133bhp spec?) on a trackday, and it was far from a disappointment!
Will have a think, might be in touch later this week...
I went to one of these about 3 months ago and although it was enjoyable I would not go again. The groups were pretty much full when I went and this does mean a LOT of standing around waiting. To put it into perspective you are looking at an 8 hour day and the maximum time you will be in the driving seat is 30 mins, and no more than 2-3 mins at a time. It's not quite as bad as it sounds as you can watch the others while you are waiting for your go so there is entertainment to a degree.
I agree with the comments above that the changes to the setup of the car make them 'unaturally' oversteery. The cars are EXTREMELY tricky on the limit, even the instructors spin them sometimes. This does mean that whilst some of the techniques are the same, it bears little resemblence to a properly set up car so I wouldn't rely on you being able to drift your own car after going on this course.
I also didn't realise it was just on a piece of carpark beofore I went and whilst I realise that the track itself would be quite unworkable I think Caterham should make this clearer on the booking page. Also, they state that a helmet is NOT required but when you get there you will find that they insist on you wearing one - annoying if you have your own helmet at home which you could have brought to save you the hassle of scrambling around all the time trying to find one of theirs that 1) fits and 2) Isn't totally soaked in someone elses sweat!
Overall it is quite entertaining and the staff are excellent but you just neeed to be aware of all the above before parting with your hard earned cash.
I agree with the comments above that the changes to the setup of the car make them 'unaturally' oversteery. The cars are EXTREMELY tricky on the limit, even the instructors spin them sometimes. This does mean that whilst some of the techniques are the same, it bears little resemblence to a properly set up car so I wouldn't rely on you being able to drift your own car after going on this course.
I also didn't realise it was just on a piece of carpark beofore I went and whilst I realise that the track itself would be quite unworkable I think Caterham should make this clearer on the booking page. Also, they state that a helmet is NOT required but when you get there you will find that they insist on you wearing one - annoying if you have your own helmet at home which you could have brought to save you the hassle of scrambling around all the time trying to find one of theirs that 1) fits and 2) Isn't totally soaked in someone elses sweat!
Overall it is quite entertaining and the staff are excellent but you just neeed to be aware of all the above before parting with your hard earned cash.
Edited by spunkym on Wednesday 20th September 17:19
spunkym said:
I went to one of these about 3 months ago and although it was enjoyable I would not go again. The groups were pretty much full when I went and this does mean a LOT of standing around waiting. To put it into perspective you are looking at an 8 hour day and the maximum time you will be in the driving seat is 30 mins, and no more than 2-3 mins at a time. It's not quite as bad as it sounds as you can watch the others while you are waiting for your go so there is entertainment to a degree.
I agree with the comments above that the changes to the setup of the car make them 'unaturally' oversteery. The cars are EXTREMELY tricky on the limit, even the instructors spin them sometimes. This does mean that whilst some of the techniques are the same, it bears little resemblence to a properly set up car so I wouldn't rely on you being able to drift your own car after going on this course.
I agree with the comments above that the changes to the setup of the car make them 'unaturally' oversteery. The cars are EXTREMELY tricky on the limit, even the instructors spin them sometimes. This does mean that whilst some of the techniques are the same, it bears little resemblence to a properly set up car so I wouldn't rely on you being able to drift your own car after going on this course.
Perhaps not what I'm looking for then. I am very interested in learning how to provoke oversteer and then control it smoothly, but this sounds more like an 'experience' than something which will teach you new, transferable, skills.
Shame...lot of respect for Caterhams.
Maybe you should take a look at Drift Academy.
www.driftacademy.co.uk
More time in the car than the Caterham days and they use MX-5s and Nissan 200SXs.
A much more intensive learning course and pretty good value considering what you get out of it.
www.driftacademy.co.uk
More time in the car than the Caterham days and they use MX-5s and Nissan 200SXs.
A much more intensive learning course and pretty good value considering what you get out of it.
Edited by fastfreddy on Thursday 21st September 14:04
ronin. said:
went to the Last Brands hatch one, only 9 people 
turned up. Had as much time in the car as out of it.
Unlike others days ive attended where they molly coddle the car, you were reprimanded for not smoking the tyres and dumping the clutch!
turned up. Had as much time in the car as out of it. Unlike others days ive attended where they molly coddle the car, you were reprimanded for not smoking the tyres and dumping the clutch!
We do run our days differently to the Caterham days. I would say there's a place for both types of experience, but our days are designed to offer more intensive training specifically for people who want to learn drifting techniques (which is much, much more than just doughnuts and power oversteer).
We have always felt that you can only learn these techniques in a RWD, front engined sports/saloon as the balance, weight, available steering lock and power delivery all have an effect on understanding and applying the principals of drifting.
Our group sizes are kept small on purpose so everyone has a lot of seat time (5 guests to each car/instructor in our level 1 course and 3 guests/car for our advanced course) and it is true that our instructors will encourage you to push the car to its limits - if you don't spin, you're not trying!
Like I say, room for both types of day but if you really want to learn how to drift I would have to recommend coming along to Drift Academy, wouldn't I?
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