Caterham Academy 2015: Get on the Grid

If you’re like us fellas at MotorPunk, you love the look and feel of bare-bones British sports cars and often dream of, one day, getting onto the grid at a big British motor circuit for some proper wheel-to-wheel action. However, if like us you haven’t quite reached the top of the corporate salary ladder, become a well-heeled trophy husband or played any part in recent nefarious activities in a London bank vault, then you’ll probably think that its just to expensive to contemplate.

Nevertheless, our chum Michael was in exactly the same boat when he bravely took the plunge in 2011 and arranged delivery of his Caterham Roadsport race package ready to spanner together for the 2012 Caterham Academy season. For £22k as an all in package it really is one of the most affordable and user-friendly introductions to circuit racing; no wonder it has sold out every season since 1995!

Luckily for us, and any other chap who has ever considered getting into proper circuit racing, Michael painstakingly blogged all about his experiences, from the bloodied knuckles of the build process to his very latest race reports. Check it out here.

Here’s what you get:

Caterham 7 Roadsport (1.6 125bhp)
A complete road-legal car for self-assembly

Academy Seminar
An introduction to the year ahead with hints and tips on everything from building your car to buying the right crash helmet.

Set-up day
Fettling the car to suit your driving.

ARDS Test + Medical
Get your racing licence.

Circuit test day
Final testing before your first event.

All licence, club membership, entry fees and registration fees.
Taking care of all that boring admin.

Handling Day
Honing your driving skills in your very own 7.

2 championship speed events
Start your season with hillclimbs and sprints.

5 championship circuit races
Racing wheel to wheel with other novice racers on tracks across the UK.

Bearing in mind that second-hand Academy-spec cars can still fetch up to £18k, this doesn’t seem such a bad deal. Caterham can keep down the costs through sponsorship deals, helped by a bit of TV coverage, and the certainty that you’ll be needing the odd few spares over the race season.

For the complete novice, going racing for the first time is a nerve-wracking experience; the Caterham Academy package takes a huge amount of hassle and stress off the newbie driver’s nomex-clad shoulders. One thing is for certain, when MotorPunk starts raking in some serious dosh my cheque and application will be winging its way down to Caterham HQ before the ink is dry … or Mrs. O asks for a new kitchen.

In 2015, the Caterham Academy Championship will be celebrating its 20th Anniversary. This unique video shows what it’s like to compete in the Academy from a driver’s perspective.
The Caterham Academy is the perfect introduction to competitive wheel-to-wheel motorsport.

For more information check out the Caterham Academy Website