If you’ve ever dreamed of throttling around a race track but you’re a complete amateur and don’t know where to begin, you need to know about the Caterham Academy.
The premise is simple.
Besides leasing your daily driver with Select (of course), you can channel your inner petrolhead by joining the Caterham Academy.
Prices begin at £38,990. For that you get your very own, road-legal Caterham Seven Academy race car - to keep - and a full package of kit to have you up and running.
And as part of that initial outlay, you’re automatically entered into the Caterham Academy Championship as your gateway into the world of motorsport.
You’ll receive your racing licence, full training and guidance, and a full season of trackside technical support that enables you to hone your car to your precise style.
Because the events are aimed at complete novices, Caterham promises a ‘level playing field’ when it comes to competition as well as a fully-inclusive network of support from like-minded individuals.
You get to enjoy racing on some of the UK’s most famous circuits, including Silverstone, Brands Hatch, Knockhill and Donington Park.
And if you want to continue racing after the entry-level Academy Championship ends, you can continue your progression up the Caterham motorsports ladder.
To get a flavour for what it’s all about, Caterham has launched a new video series - ‘The Academy Racer’ - which you can watch via the website.
But what’s it really all about, and can you actually go from newbie to grisled racer in a matter of months?
To find out, we sat down with Caterham alumni Samantha Parker. She’s a 42-year-old mum-of-two from Leicestershire who has done just that, and is now two races into her Championship journey.
She’s been involved with Caterham for a long time now, initially working in promotions before getting into the seat of the cars themselves. She now teaches Caterham fans how to ‘drift’ - aka, going sideways around the circuit with a big grin - so she clearly already knows her way around a steering wheel.
Here’s what she’s got to say:
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So, Samantha, you’ve already got an innate feel for Caterham cars because you can drift them. Is that going to help you in the Championship?
For sure, yes, particularly on the tight, twisty courses. On those narrow tracks the car gets lots of oversteer and I can get it sideways without it really bothering me because I already know how it feels and I can react accordingly. It’s an advantage in some respects because I don’t panic when the back wheels lose grip. But the problem is that going sideways isn’t always fast so I do need to contain it.
Let’s talk about the car itself. It’s a track-ready Caterham Seven with a 1.6-litre, 4 cylinder engine sourced from Ford and which chucks out 125 bhp and 150 Nm of torque. What’s it like to drive?
You’re looking at a car that weighs just 625kg - including the driver - which is nothing! The car is super quick because it’s so light. And as it sits on regular road tyres as standard - which could last you the entire season if you wanted them to, depending on your budget - it’s also cheap to run.
The other real beauty of the Caterham Seven is that you can drive your car to the event, race it, and then drive home again. You don’t need to trailer it to a race if you don’t want to - and there’s also a real thrill to driving home in a car that you’ve just competed in. The Caterham Academy itself is, for me, such an accessible championship where you really can take it back to basics. It’s less about the car itself and much more about the driver and the raw experience of racing.
Can you talk to me about the licence you need to get you up and running with the Caterham Academy?
The first thing to say is that the licence comes as part of your package and everyone in the Academy does the ARDS (Association of Racing Driver Schools) test together. Caterham is there to support you through the entire journey.
One of the first things to get your head around is learning a section of what’s called the ‘Blue Book’ - a rulebook for motorsports provided by Motorsport UK - and you need to pass a written test. You really need to do your homework in order to pass it, as in three sections of the test you need to get 100% of your answers correct.
Then you also have a practical test in which you take to the track with an instructor, which teaches you about oversteer and understeer, among other things.
The great thing about doing the licence together is that you get to meet everyone else in the Academy. You’d think that might be a daunting experience, seeing all of your competitors in one place, but we’re more like a big family. We’re all in this together. No-one has ever raced before. And we’re all going through this exciting process together.
Your first race was the Curborough Sprint back in April. How did you get on?
We had two practice runs in the morning and then three timed laps in the afternoon. I did.. okay. I didn’t do as well as I would have liked because I went round a corner with a bit of oversteer and my back wheel touched the grass, which is an instant fail. So, that was annoying. And on my third lap I was probably too cautious, eventually finishing 17th out of 24 cars.
It was slightly disappointing but, up until that point, I’d only ever done two track days in my car so I’m still proud of how I got on. Those early sessions are also more about learning about the car and making little tweaks that might help you move further up the grid, from the rake of the suspension to the tyre pressures. It all counts.
What has taken you by surprise about racing?
It’s much, much more emotional than I thought it would be. On my first ever full track day, at Snetterton, I got quite upset because I felt I wasn’t doing as well as I could. The adrenaline is surging through you and your body reacts to it in what I guess are the classic highs and lows of motorsport. In the afternoon session, though, I was much quicker, and the utter joy I experienced was unforgettable. When that day finished I was absolutely buzzing - completely wired to the point I couldn’t go to sleep. There’s nothing else quite like it.
Has the experience of racing on a track influenced how you drive on the road in any way?
Weirdly enough, it has. I like to think I’m a good driver anyway but I now look much further ahead than I did previously. It’s something you need to do when you’re racing, as you have to look as far as you can see, up to where the bend disappears out of sight. And I’m definitely looking much further in front of my Range Rover’s bonnet than I was previously, rather than scanning around for the nearest pothole.
Finally, do you see yourself as a bit of a role model for other women who might want to get into motorsports, which is typically perceived as a male-dominated environment?
I want to show people that you don’t have to be young, that you’re not held back if you’ve got a family, and I want to highlight that there is an avenue for you into motorsports. I’m a mum of two, a wife, I’ve got two dogs, I’m like a lot of other people out there. But why can’t I go and race and immerse myself in the motorsport world? Whatever your age, you haven’t missed your opportunity to get into all of this because if you’re passionate enough, there’s nothing stopping you.
There’s another female racer in my Academy group and we’ve both had the best reception, where everyone is so welcoming. It’s a family-oriented paddock, too, and my kids are really enjoying the atmosphere.
To find out more about the Caterham Academy please visit the website.
2024 Caterham Academy Calendar
- 6 April: Curborough Sprint
- 18 May: Croft
- 15 June: Silverstone GP
- 13 July: Cadwell Park
- 3 – 4 August: Knockhill (Super header) Racing in both directions
- 31 August: Brands Hatch Indy
- 19 – 20 October: Donington Park National (Caterham Racing Festival)
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