Racing Caterhams
Discussion
Not that you are allowed to 'race' on a track day, I discovered that the Cerbera happily overtakes Caterhams on the straights but gets wiped out in corners.
My track driving skill is limited and at 60,000 miles on the same bushes and original shocks I'm sure the whole suspension system needs a refurb.
With some training and a decent setup should a Cerbera be able to match the Caterhams through the corners?
My track driving skill is limited and at 60,000 miles on the same bushes and original shocks I'm sure the whole suspension system needs a refurb.
With some training and a decent setup should a Cerbera be able to match the Caterhams through the corners?
No chance.
At Croft a few weeks ago there was a Tuscan racing. A proper 4.5 one from the Challenge days, not the road going one. It was in Class A with some Westfields and other stuff.
In Class F was a Mazda 323F. Class F also had a Fiesta XR2i in it.
On every lap the Tuscan overtook the Mazda down the straight. At the end of every lap the Mazda was in front.
At Croft a few weeks ago there was a Tuscan racing. A proper 4.5 one from the Challenge days, not the road going one. It was in Class A with some Westfields and other stuff.
In Class F was a Mazda 323F. Class F also had a Fiesta XR2i in it.
On every lap the Tuscan overtook the Mazda down the straight. At the end of every lap the Mazda was in front.
Oh well that's definitive then. Of course we know nothing of who was behind the wheel of each car, whether the the Tuscan had mechanical problems or any other of the possible countless anomalies. No, best thing here is we just say that your snapshot view can clarify that TVR's even when it's a race Tuscan car are just inherently slow and will lose out to a Mazda 323. Brilliant, so glad we have cleared that up 
Out of interest, what series was it, I would love to have a look at the time sheets, I assume they are published online.... maybe Mike can dig out some of his times from Croft and see just how much slower his Cerb would have been than this mighty class F car?
Out of interest, what series was it, I would love to have a look at the time sheets, I assume they are published online.... maybe Mike can dig out some of his times from Croft and see just how much slower his Cerb would have been than this mighty class F car?When I used to watch motor cycle racing, I was always amazed at how close the laptimes were between the 250cc and 500cc engined bikes. Power to weight is a real leveler. At Brands it was interesting how the Cerbera's gearing was perfect for some corner/straight combinations and hopeless for others. Now I understand why race cars change their gearsets for each track.
OK, I have owned and tracked (reasonably extensively) a 244bhp Caterham as well as having owned (all too briefly) one of the more respected 4.5 Cerberas (which I never tracked).
In my experience of trackdays in the Se7en, I have only ever been "worried" by 3 cars which were 1) one of those aircooled Porsche GT2 or 3 (with the bolt-on wheelarches - I don't know a lot about Porsches), 2) a Noble and 3) a Cerb.
I actually lost out to the Porsche. It was pedalled by a very good driver, and even though I was noticeably faster in the braking areas and corners, he more than made up the time elsewhere. That was at Bruntingthorpe.
At Castle Combe, a Noble was lapping within a half second of me, and in all but quarry was able to brake and corner as effectively. Quarry tends to unsettle a car, and this is the only place where I managed to maintain a lead. Had the circuit been longer, with longer straights, I doubt I'd have kept up.
I encountered the Cerb at Silverstone. It was a dry but cool day which gave me the technical advantage on my ACB10s but the track was more open, with longer straights that don't normally benefit Se7ens with their relatively low top speed. And on that day I effectively diced with a 4.5 Cerb for about 20 laps, neither of us being able to outrun the other.
I must also mention that I have completely outclassed 2 other Cerbs at Bruntingthorpe (I like it there - I used to get cheap trackdays) but their owners seemed less experienced when talking to them. Probably not a reflection on the car.
In fact, having owned my own Cerb I would say that the normal favourite would be the Se7en owing to the fact that Cerbs (as they left the factory) were not well set-up, with wheels not always pointing in the same direction. And I'd point to the fact that they are different to most cars, in that you can't just jump into a Cerb and "learn" its capabilities in 10 mins. It takes time, and to *really* learn it, it would take a few trackdays.
Essentially though they are very different cars that would suit very different tracks. In my old Se7en I doubt any Cerb would keep up at Angelsey or some other smaller circuit, but pitch them together at Snet, the longer circuit at Silverstone or Spa and the Se7en wouldn't stand a chance.
In my experience of trackdays in the Se7en, I have only ever been "worried" by 3 cars which were 1) one of those aircooled Porsche GT2 or 3 (with the bolt-on wheelarches - I don't know a lot about Porsches), 2) a Noble and 3) a Cerb.
I actually lost out to the Porsche. It was pedalled by a very good driver, and even though I was noticeably faster in the braking areas and corners, he more than made up the time elsewhere. That was at Bruntingthorpe.
At Castle Combe, a Noble was lapping within a half second of me, and in all but quarry was able to brake and corner as effectively. Quarry tends to unsettle a car, and this is the only place where I managed to maintain a lead. Had the circuit been longer, with longer straights, I doubt I'd have kept up.
I encountered the Cerb at Silverstone. It was a dry but cool day which gave me the technical advantage on my ACB10s but the track was more open, with longer straights that don't normally benefit Se7ens with their relatively low top speed. And on that day I effectively diced with a 4.5 Cerb for about 20 laps, neither of us being able to outrun the other.
I must also mention that I have completely outclassed 2 other Cerbs at Bruntingthorpe (I like it there - I used to get cheap trackdays) but their owners seemed less experienced when talking to them. Probably not a reflection on the car.
In fact, having owned my own Cerb I would say that the normal favourite would be the Se7en owing to the fact that Cerbs (as they left the factory) were not well set-up, with wheels not always pointing in the same direction. And I'd point to the fact that they are different to most cars, in that you can't just jump into a Cerb and "learn" its capabilities in 10 mins. It takes time, and to *really* learn it, it would take a few trackdays.
Essentially though they are very different cars that would suit very different tracks. In my old Se7en I doubt any Cerb would keep up at Angelsey or some other smaller circuit, but pitch them together at Snet, the longer circuit at Silverstone or Spa and the Se7en wouldn't stand a chance.
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