It was an interesting weekend, starting with a mad Test day on the Friday in which there was a large amount of carnage, including a 69mph coming together between myself and David Russell.... which could have ended a whole lot worse. Qualifying was the first time i got back in the car after the crash, and i managed to pull a 7th position on the Grid for the start of the race. The race itself was not quite to plan, my start was better than at Donnington, but a dodgy gear change on the first lap which meant I couldn’t get up to 4th gear coming out of Graham Hill bend cost me 3 places. The next 8 laps involved fighting in a pack of 5 cars, Brian Caudwell, Tony Mingoia, Jason Gale, myself and Tor Mcilroy all fighting for position, I felt I was faster than the three in front of my, but could not find a way past them on the tight short circuit that is Brands Hatch (Indy). Unfortunately we lost Tor on about lap 9, when his inertia switch stopped his engine and put him out of the race. Lap ten saw me take Jason coming out of druid's, but the yellows for Tor's car meant that I lifted and Jason took two places (as he had not seen the yellows). We then battled very closely for the rest of the race, and the last second saw Jason pip Tony to the line taking 7th place from him. if you want to see the race have a look at my race page which has my in car video on it. As well as the crash that happened on the Friday (click here for race page).
Well what can i say a superb day of racing, and a mixed back of emotions.
Qualifying was done in the morning rain, with me being slow to start and consisting of overtaking 11 cars (2 of them twice cos i span), without a clear lap i only managed to qualify 12th on the grid.
Racing in the afternoon, there was lots of weather watching and tension... but if you want to see how i got on, including a good view of a spin right in front of me, and a great peice of driving from scott lawrence to deny me an oertake into the chicane, then have a look at my video.... Lots of action, on lap one with 3 spins, some narrow avoidance, 3 laps of saftey car, cars overtaking under yellows, one good blocking move, and another overtake, this time by me.
PS, noone was hurt in the makingof this video, but some cars were bend out of shape, and hopefully they will be on grid at Brands in 3 weeks time..
Today we had the setup day for the cars, where we had a tour of the Factory and were shown the concepts, terms and adjustments that can and should be made to the car.
I have created a video the of Simon Lamberts setup talk for the cars and once I have had a chance to turn the orientation round I will look at posting some or all of it on U-Tube. but if anyone wants a copy you can download it below.
It was a good day we got to see the SP300R as there was one at the factory where they had been testing earlier in the week, all I can say is ... I want one !!!!.
I also took one of my caterham wheels to show Simon, as during the week i checked that the tyres met thier race rules, and my tyres did not have the "Caterham" stamp on them, which would mean they would fail scrutineering.
Caterham were under the impression that all tyres after week 16 of 2010 had caterham on them either in small or large writing, it would appear that this is not the case as my tyres proved. It appears that there will be an amendment for the rules on this to remove the need to have Caterham on the tyres, but the tyre must be after week 16 of 2010 (which is when they were started to be manufactured in the UK instead of China).
So hopefully I will find out in the next few weeks that the rules have changed so that my car is legal on that point.
Most evenings this week have been about the build of the car. I have 1) installed the oil breather system (worth reading the Build tips as this is not straight forward) 2) move the 7 infront of the grille on the noce cone (see the build tips section for some pictures) 3) installed the Fuel Tap (again there are some pictures and instructions on the Build tips section) 4) Installed a power supply socket to the boot 5) Sealed the boot with aluminium tape and fire sealant 6) added the padding to the roll cage 7) installed the second mirror to the drivers side windscreen stantion (and removed the door mirrors) 8) adjusted the wrist restraints ready for use (I may try them at donnington) 9) Fitted the upgraded front brake pads 10) finished the plastic bolts for the rear wing (only had the passenger side to do as i had already fitted the drivers side when I fitted the side impact bar) All in all a busy week which means that the car is very nearly ready for track. I need to decide on the seat, get the HANS device fitted and get teh flat floor setup done (but will find out about that in more detail tomorrow as we are off to Caterham for a talk on Setting up the car).
Well I have started on the list of things to do in order to get ready for the racing, which has involved
- Putting the seven in front of the grille in the nose cone
- adding the Fuel Tap to the fuel line
- checked that there is yellow tape on the black battery leads
- Putting tape between windscreen and Roll cage to stop rain
- Fitting the second Mirror i purchased from DEmon Tweeks in the week
- Changing the nose cone Seven to be in front of the Grille (I also painted the seven red)
- Starting the breather kit installation... which i will say is extremely hard....
***** once I have completed the installation of the breather kit (I am waiting for some hose from caterham) I will put up how it was done as it is not a simple installation, and involves getting the wife (or someone with small hands to help).
Even with all of the above there is still plenty to do....
Whilst I have not had a car i have had a look at the 2012 Regulations and made some notes on what i need to do in order to get compliant and ready to race.... and let’s just say there is a fair bit of work to do.
Add more things
- I need to add the Vinyl protection to the sides of the newly painted car
- I will need to add the Fuel Tap to the fuel line
- I need to fit the Oil breather kit
- Fit the wrist restraints to the car (and add tape to identify one arm from the other
- Fit the roll cage padding
- Add yellow tape to the black battery leads
- get the HANS Device fitted
- Fill the void behind the Tillet seat with expandable foam
- Put tape between windscreen and Roll cage to stop rain
- Tape up doors
- Fit the second Mirror
- Checklists
* Create a checklist for pre-race preparation
* create a list for track day
* create a list for cockpit
* create a post-race day check list
- Fit T200 Lap timer to the car
- Fit competition numbers and decals when received
- Fit Timing strut for first sprint race
Change some things
- Fit the upgraded front brake Pads
- Fit the racing brake fluid cap
- check the fittings of the harnesses
- adjust the drivers seat
- put the seven in front of the grille in the nose cone
- Seal the boot floor
Remove some things
- I need to remove the extra rubber from the car (all the SVA stuff) so that it cannot come off the car
- remove the excess bolts from under the car (in case they scrape on a kerb)
- remove the passenger seat
Buy some things
- Car setup needs to be done, balance all needs to be completed
* Ride height to 145mm
* Camber
* Weight of car and driver to be checked
* Pedal set up
* etc
- HANS device and setup .. need to still do this
- I am looking at a second mirror to fit to the driver’s side (convex) to allow racing without doors if i want to)
- buy the silicone and aluminium tape required to seal the boot from fire
- I am thinking of buying a cigarettes lighter socket to fit in to the boot for the Tyre air compressor I have purchased.
- I need to get another Jerry Can for the track meets
- there is the dilemma about new tyres and wheels... do I or don’t I?
- buy some electrical tape for the fitting of the roll cage padding
- Duct tape for general use (but specifically for use between roll cage and windscreen)
- Buy T200 track timer
Some things to Learn
- The rules
- The light sequences
- Heel and toe
- Smooth driving
Considerations
- consider if going to use half doors - probably not
- consider under tray for protection of car - probably not
- consider usage of heat diffusing kit (30P242A) - probably not
- movement of the inertia cut out switch into the cockpit ---- possibly, but not sure where it is
- think about marshalling and how that is arranged
Well i have been reading the "blue book" and looking at the flags in preperation for next weeks ARDS test.
I have also been looking at what else I need for the car, so looking at the blogs and recomendations i have purchased some racing front pads, and a "race" cap for the brake fluid so that it hopefully will not throw out all over the car.
The next thing has to be tyres... everything i have seen seems to indicate that there is a need for more than the "one set" caterham tell you that you need for a race season. so i am on the hunt, i may have missed a couple of bargains earlier in the year as i was in the hope that i could only need one set of tyres, so I am now probabily going to have to look at a good set of tyres and hopefully wheels what ever the cost (hopefuly not new ones)
Once I get the car back i am also hoping that i will be able to fit the "oil breather kit" that is manditory for the academy, so that will be the next thing to do with the car (it does seem never ending).
If there is one thing I would recommend if you are thinking of entering the academy and going to build the car yourself, is get your car as early as you can, and be prepared to spend a long time getting the car to the IVA, and then even more time getting the car race ready.
(but having said that... it is great fun ! ! ! ! !)
Today i have sent the car back to caterham for the 1000 mile service and to have the paint work which was damaged by the brake fluid leak fixed.
Because of the issue with the build manual Caterham are doing the paint under warranty, and thankfully they are also looking at the powder coating of the chassis to make sure that is not damaged too.
In the mean time i have received my MSA pack and am busy studying for my ARDS test, so at least i have a distraction whilst teh car is in for repairs.
I also need to look at the Race class rules and familiarise myself with those too.
 | 2012_caterham_academy_championship_regulations_draft_300112.pdf | | File Size: | 363 kb | | File Type: | pdf |
Download File
Today we wenet to Silverstone to compare some of the kit that will be needed for next year. The race suit, helmet etc. The idea is that we go to GPR-Direct which has a store at silverstone race circuit so that we can try before we buy, get siceses and compare to demon tweaks. The store at GPR-Direct is not large, but the warehouse does hold arge amounts of stock, so they had no problem trying sizes etc for anything I wanted. I am doing this on an very limited budget, so was looking at the bottom to mid range gear (not worth going cheap when it is your life that you might be slashing). I have produced a comparison for the items that I selected, and have put a small review on my Academy 2012 page on this site ( click here). Plesae go and have a look and let me know what you think.
Well that was the first meeting for us 2012'ers and I think it was a very good meeting. My car was on display in the garage so that when people talked to the echanics they could show them what they were talking about, i.e. what to do and what not to do.
As far as the racing is concerned, it was a little bit daunting about all the things that need to happen and when they will be occuring, but i am sure that story will unravel with time.
As for my next steps it is time to take the car to the IVA next week, at the mometn Caterham are finishing off the IVA and post build checks, and I will collect the car from them and take it to Nottingham test centre. I am told by all (inclusing he insurance company) that i am allowed to drive the car to and from the vehicle test centre, so that will be the first time the car will have been driven any distance by me.
Well i hope the IVA gods are kind to me, and i look forward to registering the car next week i hope.
Well not much to do at the moment except wait and see what happens next monday.
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