In the first of three features for MotorPunk, Michael gives us his insight into Caterham’s Academy Championship
\r\n\r\nWords: Michael Downing\r\n\r\nThere was a moment, whilst waiting to be marshalled out on to the starting grid for the first race of the new season, when a feeling of mild panic started to rise up. I looked around at my fellow nutters strapped into their Caterhams, waiting like me, and thought, “In a moment, I’m going to go out there and driving flat out for 20 minutes in among them all at close quarters”. I began to wonder why in heaven’s name I would voluntarily do this ... and pay for the privilege too. \r\n\r\nThen I remembered the feeling I have every single time I get back to parc fermé at the end of a race. In part it is a feeling of utter elation; in part it is a sense of camaraderie with the other drivers around brought about by shared moments of victory, of frustration, and (yes) fear. But mainly it is an overwhelming desire to go out and do it all over again. Holding that in mind, I then find myself able to think back to memories of past races and remember the adrenaline, the physical challenge, the total un-blinkered focus on the task; I recall the highs when I get past someone, and the lowbrow expletives when someone gets past me. And while I am dwelling on those thoughts, I suddenly realise that everyone else is revving their engines and leaving for the track and I’m not in gear and I need to be and ... oh bugger, this is going to be embarrassing if I stall and… and… off I go to race again. \r\n\r\nSO HOW DID I GET INTO THIS?\r\n \r\nWell it started with a nice road car and a long commute on some fantastic country roads. That progressed into an even nicer road car which, I soon realised, would have been silly to exploit to the full on public roads. So I took it on track days, which was a mistake. Nice as it was as a road car, it just couldn’t keep up with the proper track machinery. The obvious route was to upgrade, but 911RSs don’t come cheap and can you really push yourself in a car that expensive? What I settled on, as much by chance as by any other route, was the Caterham Academy. They sell you a car (either as a kit or built for you), get you a racing licence and organise a complete year of racing for you. All you have to provide is the cash, the time, and a solemn promise that you have never held a racing licence before. And there is the attraction – a grid of identical cars, all driven by complete novices. \r\n\r\nThere also lies the potential for thrills, spills and hilarity – a grid of identical cars all driven by complete novices! So I signed on the dotted line, and at the end of a very sunny and warm September, my kit arrived.