Caterham Academy 2013: Rockingham

Caterham Academy winner Dan was keen to stay out of trouble this time round at Rockingham...

Rockingham was the destination for the penultimate round of the Caterham Academy; already this year seems like it is flying by. After doing some homework on the track by watching onboard videos, it looked like Rockingham was a technically challenging circuit with plenty of variety and a tricky last chicane.

A dry quali session helped Dan to fourth

The plan for the race weekend was to attend a test day on the Friday, then qualify and race on the Saturday. To my delight, it was dry when when I arrived at Rockingham on Friday and the forecast was dry and cloudy. I could therefore push immediately and learn the circuit as quickly as possible.

Once I had roughly learned the circuit, the afternoon was spent following some Academy guys with some Rockingham experience. I left the track happy with my pace

After the disappointment at Brands Hatch and the repair bill that went with it, I couldn't afford any more damage. This changed my mentality with overtaking as I felt more inclined pull out of a move to avoid an incident. But then there wasn't too much pressure to perform well. A top 10 finish was the aim.

Qualifying

Getting in the zone...

Qualifying had arrived and the excitement of competing again was brilliant. The session felt like it went well, even though it was hard to find some clear track space at first. The session seemed to fly by as I picked up the pace and before I knew it the chequered flag was out. I'd set a lap time of 1.45.582, four tenths slower than my fastest lap from the test day. But I'd qualified fourth! I was over the moon with as it was totally unexpected going into the weekend.

Race
Following the buzz of qualifying the break before the race was fun. I had time to talk to other Academy guys, have lunch and then prepare the car for the race. It was nice to feel so relaxed going into a race. It was such a contrast to Brands Hatch, where there was the pressure to perform on my favourite track in front of family and friends.

Last corner crucial to a good lap at Rockingham

We were directed on to the circuit to our designated grid slots and the lights went out for the warm up lap. I knew that slowing down from 115mph to about 40mph for the first corner would take a lot of braking power so it was crucial to have the brakes in perfect condition for the opening lap. We arrived back on the grid and I slotted into fourth place.

The one minute board went out, followed by the 30 second board and then the lights went out. I made a cracking start and immediately slotted into third place on the approach to the first corner. I noticed in my mirrors that fifth placed Houston had made a great start too and on the run to the first corner he was alongside me. I gave him enough room and then it all kicked off and around me. Pole position sitter Hutchinson outbraked himself and went off, opening the door for Houston to lead the race and me to take third.

A top ten finish was the aim...

I kept close to the front two guys for as much as possible during the first lap. I had a slight moment through the fast left at about 85mph and had to make a correction to avoid going off. I got a nice run out of the last corner and knew that a decent slipstream would make a chance for picking off second place. As we approached the first corner I noticed Houston was taking a wide line, leaving the door open for me to take second. Over the next couple of corners I was gaining on the leader Heaton but over the following laps he kept edging away at two or three tenths a lap and I couldn't match his pace.

I was unexpectedly in a great position but I knew that the guys behind would start reeling me in eventually. Fourth-place Horton managed to get past Houston and looked fast. He got in my tow going onto the pit straight and made a move to the first corner. I decided not to fight him as I didn't want a repeat of Brands Hatch again.

... but Dan actually bagged second; result!

Going into the last lap I could see fourth place Houston had a great run out of the last corner but he was still quite far behind. I braked really late to ensure there was no overtaking chance; I had a quick glance in my mirrors and he braked even later and tried to throw it up the inside. It would have been a brilliant move, but he lost the back end of the car and slammed into the side of second place Horton. This meant I sailed through to claim second. I took the last lap slowly because of the huge gap back to third. I brought the car home safely and crossed the finish line to take my best result of the season!

As I arrived in parc ferme I could see my dad was so excited and it was great to see. Following the disappointment of Brands Hatch this more than made up for it. We went into the weekend not expecting much and to finish second was out of this world. It shows that anything can happen in motorsport.

The season finale is at Silverstone, a race I'll arrive at sitting fourth in the championship.

Qualifying and race videos here

Qualifying

Race

Previous Updates:
The lucky winner of our 2013 Caterham Academy drive is announced
The seasonbegins - Dan collects the keys to his new car
Practice makes perfect
Battle commences at Aintree
Blyton Sprint
Brands Hatch

OP Posts Only

Author

Discussion

toppstuff

Original Poster

13,698 posts

277 months