Big Brother star Nick Bateman joined 25 new Caterham racing recruits last
week to take his ARDS (Association of Racing Drivers Schools) test at
Silverstone.
Bateman, who recently took delivery of a Caterham road car, passed the test
as did all but one of the competitors preparing for the first season of the
First National evo Caterham Academy, the multi-discipline motorsport
championship.
"I had a little problem with the written exam," said Nick,
famed for being ejected from the Big Brother show when caught cheating, "but
nothing a bit of quick revision couldn't sort out. I thoroughly enjoyed the
experience and am looking forward to perhaps doing a bit of racing when my
schedule permits."
The Caterham Academy is open only to drivers with no previous motor-sporting
experience. This year a total of 50 will graduate from the Academy having
sampled a season of hillclimbing, sprinting and racing. There are so many
prospective competitors that the championship has to be split into two separate
seasons, one starting in April and finishing in August, the other spanning June
to October.
"The Academy's aim is to introduce people to the sport in a way that
gives them a good grounding and does not cost them a fortune," said
Caterham Cars MD Simon Nearn. "For £13,500 they can buy a road-going
1.6-litre Caterham that is ready to compete, and they get their ARDS test, club
membership and event entry fees thrown in. And at the end of the season they
keep the car..."
There's still time to enter the 2001 Academy's second season - one place
remains on the grid. Bookings for 2002 are already being taken.
