Caterham acadamy 2007
Discussion
simon138 said:
safetystop said:
I'm in Essex and hope to be at Castle Combe on BH Monday to sample the atmosphere.
if combe is a bit of a treck from essex we're at brands 21st/22nd october for the FF/Caterham festival.
Yaeh Castle combe might be a bit of a trek - but Brands is only 40mins away - so hope to see you guys in October - Do you know where to get tickets?
mechsympathy said:
lord summerisle said:
Good luck, Something i've been considering for a couple of years - tho i'm not sure weither i'll go through the academy or head straight into the (super)grads/Roadsports
I'm looking for a supergrads car for next season. I considered the Academy but I'm not bothered about sprints and a friend is in the supergrads already. Can't wait
I'm in the same boat - now I've sold the Lotus, I'm looking for a Super Grad car too. I guess they'll start to come up as the season draws to a close.
I'm doing it this year and really enjoying it. I'm in Hemel Hempstead if any prospective Academics want to chat or need any help with kit or assembly. I built mine in October last year. To be honest it's easier than I thought it would be, probably because it's all new bits and doesn't involve removing rusted up stuff from a 20 year old Ford Escort. Took me around ten days of actual build time I suppose. The handbook is detailed and fairly easy to follow and my kit had no missing bits although it sometimes takes a while to locate/identify a part as there are so many boxes and packets - but they are generally clearly labelled. It's worth checking out one of the internet build diaries such as Charles Elliot's as it contains some useful tips.
Caterham Midlands (which runs the race support)is very helpful and there really is a very good atmosphere in the paddock with a real range of experience and expertise. No one seems to take themselves too seriously and the emphasis is very much on enjoying events and helping each other out. When we had a few issues with overheating cars at Harewood people were dismantling their own unaffected cars to try out fixes on the problem cars. In fact in the first sprint of the season someone even shared their car when another had a terminal electrical fault.
We'll have to see whether all this bonhomie survives the first corner at Castle Combe at the end of this month given that that is the first time we'll actually be racing but it's been a great introduction to the sport in any event.
Caterham Midlands (which runs the race support)is very helpful and there really is a very good atmosphere in the paddock with a real range of experience and expertise. No one seems to take themselves too seriously and the emphasis is very much on enjoying events and helping each other out. When we had a few issues with overheating cars at Harewood people were dismantling their own unaffected cars to try out fixes on the problem cars. In fact in the first sprint of the season someone even shared their car when another had a terminal electrical fault.
We'll have to see whether all this bonhomie survives the first corner at Castle Combe at the end of this month given that that is the first time we'll actually be racing but it's been a great introduction to the sport in any event.
incorrigible said:
I'm considering flogging mine and getting an older one
54 plate about £13k
PM me if you're interested
54 plate about £13k
PM me if you're interested
Hi Ben,
What's prompting the move for something older? Are you heading towards the Graduates instead? There seem to be a few guys thinking of going that way on the Roadsports forums at the moment.
Nothing sinister, just cash
I'd stay in Supers but I can probably trade down to an older car and save about a grand
ie pay for 5/6 races next year
I've realised that without testing and more time in the car I'm not going to get much further up the grid, so I could blow the extra on test days. Dunno
I've saved up loads of spares so I'm not bothered about the odd thing breaking/ getting something less reliable. Having your own workshop to fix it in doesn't hurt either
I'd stay in Supers but I can probably trade down to an older car and save about a grand
ie pay for 5/6 races next year
I've realised that without testing and more time in the car I'm not going to get much further up the grid, so I could blow the extra on test days. Dunno
I've saved up loads of spares so I'm not bothered about the odd thing breaking/ getting something less reliable. Having your own workshop to fix it in doesn't hurt either
incorrigible said:
mechsympathy said:
He's just making sure he's got an excuse for when I turn out to be better
Would Sir care for a little side bet ?? I'll keep an eye on you two from a little further back probably.
Ben, I'll bear yours in mind - have sort of got something lined up but it may not work out yet.
[quote=tortoise]I'm doing it this year and really enjoying it. I'm in Hemel Hempstead if any prospective Academics want to chat...
Have you got any links to the build sites - I would like to have a look through a couple if poss. Also, are the dates for Combe and Mallory as the schedule on Caterham's site? I had the impression some had moved.
Cheers,
Lewy.
Have you got any links to the build sites - I would like to have a look through a couple if poss. Also, are the dates for Combe and Mallory as the schedule on Caterham's site? I had the impression some had moved.
Cheers,
Lewy.
combe was last weekend. mallory in a couple of weeks (sunday 17th sep) then silverstine on 7th/8th oct and finally caterham festival at brands on oct 21st and 22nd. roadsports will be at silverstone and brands as well as the academy.
if you look on the academy website you'll find links to several build diaries - academy website can be found at roadsports.co.uk
si.
if you look on the academy website you'll find links to several build diaries - academy website can be found at roadsports.co.uk
si.
tortoise said:
fair does to Tim, spotting an opening in the market on caterham builds i remember reading his build diary when it was free on his forum early last year... quiet detailed in places. dunno if hes filled in the bits he never seemed to get round to posting.
Also doesnt he have an artical in that auto journal website about his BMW i think it is.
Edited by lord summerisle on Friday 8th September 15:47
Hi guys. I've been looking into doing either the Academy or the Super Grads/Roadsport straight off. Went to Caterham Midlands last week and had a word with the guys there and took a car out which was great fun. I'm still torn between the two routes though. I'm not hugely bothered about building the car or not as I should be fine repairing things anyway as I've done a fair bit of assembly/dissasembly of race cars/karts before, although building it would be kind of nice. Money however is a fairly big deal for me though, and the price of the Academy is just a little out of reach tbh. I'm slightly leaning towards SuperGrads or Roadsports now as I can enter as many/few rounds as I want, and also get a car and spend a while learning it's handling before making a full racing assault. With a fair bit of experience in karts to (without a license I hasten to add :P) I'm far more interested in the pure racing side of things than the hillclimb/sprints.
A couple of things though that appealed to me about the Academy were the fact that everyone is a newbie (although also not so great depending on how you look at it :P), and also the fact your directed everywhere without having to worry about it yourself. If anyone knows therefore how many newbies you get in the SuperGrads/Roadsports, then that would be great. As I said, I'm not new to competitive driving so would hope that I wouldn't be knocking around at the very bottom of the grid, but I obviously am concerned a bit as the last thing I want to happen is to turn up to my first race and write my car off! Karting is all very well, but racing a car can be very different indeed.
Any info really would be helpful, especially how much entry fees are
Thanks
A couple of things though that appealed to me about the Academy were the fact that everyone is a newbie (although also not so great depending on how you look at it :P), and also the fact your directed everywhere without having to worry about it yourself. If anyone knows therefore how many newbies you get in the SuperGrads/Roadsports, then that would be great. As I said, I'm not new to competitive driving so would hope that I wouldn't be knocking around at the very bottom of the grid, but I obviously am concerned a bit as the last thing I want to happen is to turn up to my first race and write my car off! Karting is all very well, but racing a car can be very different indeed.
Any info really would be helpful, especially how much entry fees are
Thanks
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