Caterham Motorsport 2006 - Press Release

[fatcat]

CATERHAM MOTORSPORT PLAN FOR 2006 October 2005 ACADEMY No changes planned for 2006. ROADSPORT B No technical changes are planned, but pressure on the grid capacity has necessitated investigation of possible race format changes to include heats, qualifying races and a final at each round, should the number of entries exceed the circuit capacity. There are currently 52 pre-registered drivers for Roadsport B. Grid sizes in the UK are typically 30 – 38 cars, with the smallest being 26 and the largest being 44. To enable two separate grids to be run all season, we would need a minimum of 70 pre-registrations and to guarantee a full season of racing for only one grid, no more than 35 pre-registrations could be accepted. So, we are clearly between the two and are likely to apply a flexible but effective system of qualifying and racing first used in 1986 in F3000 and developed over the last 20 years. It means that dependent on the number of entries at each meeting, the capacity of each circuit and the prevailing championship positions, a system of qualifying and racing is used to satisfy all competitors in the fairest possible way. It is intended to develop a full season of racing at some of the most interesting UK circuits sharing meetings as before with the Inter class. Races will again be double headers (subject to the numbers constraints above) and will typically be of 20 minute duration. No team support will be permitted (the precise regulation regarding this is currently under review), but centralised assistance will be provided by Caterham Midlands if desired. The cost of this would, as in previous seasons, be shared amongst all competitors. ROADSPORT INTER With the demise of Roadsport A as an official class, the Inter cars will be renamed simply “Roadsport”. Retaining the double header, 30 minute race format, the new Roadsport championship will feature on the same fixture list as Roadsport B at a range of the finest UK circuits. In addition, the regulations of the Eurocup will be changed to accommodate the 2006 specification Roadsport cars in a separate class. This will enable those drivers with a suitable licence (likely to be International C) to take part in these fabulous race weekends at some of Europe’s most famous circuits. In 2005 these included the Nurburgring, Spa, Hockenheim and Dijon. All efforts will be made to ensure that the two calendars do not conflict, thus enabling drivers to compete in both series, or a selection from each as desired. ROADSPORT A Roadsport A will cease to be an official class of Caterham racing in 2006. The cars are however eligible for a number of Club championships and with minor modification may be converted into “Mega Grad” specification and compete in the Graduates championship. Alternatively, there is a ready market for the cars as track day machines and of course being road legal, the residual values remain high should competitors wish to trade up to one of the new classes planned for 06 and beyond. R400 Following the demise of MG Rover, and the lack of engines to power this class of Caterham, both on the road and track, a new powertrain is under development. An all new Cosworth 2 litre engine, developing approximately 220bhp and 160lb/ft of torque, complete with Cosworth roller barrels, bespoke dry sump system, exhaust, loom and cooling system will be available both as an upgrade kit for existing cars and as part of an all new race car, to be called the C400. It is intended that both the upgrade kits and the new car will be available from the end of November. It will be possible to trade in the existing Rover engine and ancillaries (subject to condition) to drive the cost of the upgrade down to approximately £7,000 + Vat. If this option is not exercised, the cost of the new kit will be in the region of £9,000 + Vat. The new C400 race car is expected to retail at a modest premium to the old R400 kit price in the mid £20k range. All prices will be confirmed prior to the end of November when the final bills of materials are established. It will still be possible to race the R400 in this championship, as a separate class for the car will be maintained for the 06 season. Caterham’s commitment to the new series will be guaranteed for a minimum of three years, but as history has taught us this is likely to be extended for a far longer period if the popularity of the new car is as enduring as its predecessor. EUROCUP The regulations of the Eurocup will change to accommodate both R400 and C400, in separate classes, together with the new Roadsport class for Inter specification cars. Additional classes to cater for other Caterham models are under consideration, but it is not anticipated that CSR’s will be permitted to compete. Crucially, there will be a change of control tyre from the troubled Hankooks to Avon CR500s. This will remove one of the cost hurdles to competing in both the UK championships and overseas. COSWORTH CSR The inaugural season of the flagship Cosworth Caterham Masters series has been the fulfilment of a long held ambition to run a mini endurance two-driver format in 6 different European countries. The bespoke car has proved ultra quick and competitive, producing some epic races. The dramatic finale to the season at Monza was testimony to the success of the format. There has been some debate about the relative advantages and disadvantages of one versus two driver teams, so it is proposed to have separate classes for each in 06. A technical review of the CSR race car is currently underway to ensure that the lessons learned in 05 will further enhance the durability of the car in 06. The calendar will hopefully be decided, at least in draft form, prior to the dinner in November, but it is anticipated that another stellar line-up of Grand Prix circuits will be included. With an active sales programme underway to encourage sales to Italy, Germany and Spain, an even more diverse and international grid is envisaged for the coming season. Larger grid numbers will in turn enable the introduction of further benefits to teams and drivers. Ends Magnus Laird Director of Motorsport, Caterham Cars

[Graeme Smith]

Graduates Racing in 2006

 

All the indications from our drivers suggest that we are doing things pretty much right, so The Graduates' 2006 season is going to be virtually a continuation of 2005 with just a few minor tweaks. The Caterham Graduates Racing Club is run by its drivers and for its drivers - so what you get out is what you put in - and plenty of people seem to be prepared to put in enough to ensure that it all works pretty well. All like-minded drivers (or would-be drivers) are very welcome to join us!

 

The class structure and spec:

 

Graduates: For cars to the 1995 - 2000 Academy spec: Live axle, 1600cc and 100bhp from either Ford x-flow or Vauxhall 8 valve.

 

Super-Graduates: For cars to the 2000 - 2005 Academy and Roadsports-B spec. Just add tyres (Yoko 048Rs at about £55 each) and a rear anti-roll bar. Possiblity of a modest power upgrade by usig the inexpensive (<£200) Mega-Grad non-catalyst exhaust.

 

Mega-Graduates: Upgrade from Supers spec: Add: 20bhp Supersport upgrade with solid lifters and non-cat exhaust; possible further new engine upgrade for 2006 which should take power to 150bhp at modest cost (£500-ish); front wide-track; aeroscreen; no lights. Other changes are optional: dry sump, bigger rad, etc. etc. Also suits "downgrade" from Roadsports-A (change 'box, diff’ and dampers).

 

General:

Racing Membership of The Club will probably remain the same as for 2005 - £250. This, plus club sponsorship, pays for the running costs of The Club. It also pays for professional technical support from McMillan Motorsport at all races and most of the pre-race test days, FOC. MMM's tech support will provide for nearly all your "emergency" parts and repair needs at the circuit.

 

The Club's philosophy is to provide affordable motorsport for its members - experience has taught us that this means not encouraging drivers who want to have professional team support - if this is what you and your wallet want, please look elsewhere!

 

Having said that, MMM do provide a limited number of places for car transportation and would be delighted to discuss this with you. This is not quite "arrive and drive" - they take the car to and from the circuit for you, but if you want to mess around tweaking it, that's up to you; they do not take it to scrutineering for you, they do not polish it between qualifying/race and they do not adjust your seat-belts or hold your umbrella! The subscription also pays for The Club's driver catering facility to provide you with tea/coffee & lunch on race days.

 

Calendar:

The championship is administrated by the BARC. All three classes will always race at the same events, and all will get 20 minute races (although we may have one or two slightly longer races, 30 or 40 minutes at one or two selected venues). The 2006 calendar is probably going to feature 14 races over ten weekends (each weekend at a different venue), ie. six single races and four double-headers - and spread as evenly as possible throughout the season. Eleven scores to count - ie. "drop three".

 

The calendar is organized to try to provide interesting racing throughout the season for those people who love their racing and want to experience a wealth of different circuits. Most Graduates racers tend to think that a weekend not at a circuit is a weekend wasted! (Which is why, The Club often arranges for our drivers to get invited to non-championship races between the championship races!). The 2005 season featured a championship 30 minute double-header at Spa-Francorchamps which was just an amazing weekend! We expect to do another overseas event in 2006 but have not yet worked out whether this should be Spa again, or the somewhat cheaper and easier to get to Croix-en-Ternois in Northern France (why not let us know what you think!).

 

It is too early to discuss the other 9 venues in any detail, but since there are only 15 UK circuits it's more a question of which ones do we not go to! There is certain to be a nice mixture of some of the "major" circuits and some of the less well known (maybe Anglesey, for example - not top of everyone's shopping list but an absolutely amazing circuit for some tight Caterham racing - anyone who has raced there is always very keen to go back!).

 

Numbers / Signing-up:

The maximum number of drivers that can reasonably be squeezed into a one-grid class is in the region of 35 to 40. The Graduates and Mega-Graduates classes should fall into this area quite nicely, although is is not impossible that Megas ends up being "full". The Club’s original raison d’être was to provide somewhere for ex-Academists to race; today, Academists also have other options but with 50+ Academy drivers about to “graduate”, it is quite possible that we end up with too many Super-Graduates cars for one grid. In which case, we would expect to run two grids (at the smaller venues), with a qualifying race followed by the principal championship race; we have done this in previous years and developed a good scheme which has been shown to work very well (some drivers may end up getting two races for the price of one!).

 

It is even possible that we end up with too many Supers for two grids so drivers are advised to sign-up promptly. Enrolment for 2006 Racing Members is expected to commence on or about 1st November. First priority will go to existing racing Members; a few weeks later, 2005's "Social Members" will be invited to enrol and a few weeks after that (mid/end December?) enrolment will be open to all – first come, first served. Details will be on the web-site: www.graduates/org.uk. It’s especially worth keeping an eye on the site’s forum. Any newcomer who wants to be kept informed about Graduates Racing and perhaps wants to have the best chance of a place in 2006 may wish to consider signing-up now (just a tenner!) as a 2005 Social Member (see: http://www.graduates.org.uk/enrolment/new.asp).

 

All Graduates classes have always had their share of novice drivers – we like to think that we provide a very suitable environment for starting out in motorsport - and novices will be just as welcome as the more experienced drivers.