A visit to Donington Park and Silverstone in a Caterham

[Croc]

Then a short straight uphill to Coppice which is an early apex and long arcing exit.

 

 

 

For this I had a Caterham 310. This is 152hp Sigma engine car. LSD. 5 speed Mazda box. Ideally I would have had more power but it was the only car available for rental at short notice.

 

 

 

Donington, like most UK circuits, is subject to strict noise controls. For my track day it was 98db. Needless to say this Mustang failed it on the sighting laps behind the pace car!!!

 

 

 

 

 

The noise limits were a problem. By afternoon with the very still air, a lot of cars were being blackflagged and sent home after a first warning. All the Porsches, a couple of Caterhams and a few others. By around 3pm I had the track to myself as the ranks had thinned out substantially.

Edited May 20, 2018 by Croc

[Croc]

This is a relatively short track. We were running the GP configuration which gives the extra arm off the back of the pits that provided extra length. However, it is quick – indicated by the average speed. In my rent-a-caterham it was a third and fourth gear track for the most part. Only went into second for the two hairpins on the GP extension. It may have been a 5 speed box but 5^th is an overdrive and you lost speed if you tried to use it. Luckily 4^th was a direct drive and so I survived just reving it out to 7000.

 

 

Some on track action

 

 

 

 

[Croc]

 

 

I just overtook him…honest!!!

 

[Croc]

[Croc]

For video we have two options. The first is the 360 video. You can pan the camera around to look out the back or look down on me driving - click and drag the cursor to pan. For Kitcat you can pan the camera round and round and round and so pretend you are spinning like normal. For Xcarguy you can aim the camera at the sky and pretend you launched it again.

 

Sorry no decent sound on this as it does not support an external microphone.

 

 

For those who are conventional and like sound then this is the alternative video.

 

[Croc]

Silverstone Circuit

 

Then it was Silverstone late in the week. Like Donington, I had been here before and I was driving the same Caterham 310. However, I had big reservations. The GP layout at Silverstone is a power circuit. Very fast. But I only had 152hp so I was not going to be very fast. Plus with the 5 speed gearbox that they only offer now (apparently there are now reliability issues with the Caterham 6 speed box that traditionally was specified and that I have in my Caterham CSR) then I was likely to find myself stuck without the right gear at some point. Sure enough that was how it turned out.

 

 

http://www.silverstone.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/si2417_map_grandprix_v8.png__2805x3683_q85_crop_subsampling-2_upscale-1200x1576.png

 

 

You really need a Caterham 620R or R500 to enjoy this circuit.

 

Some on track photos

 

 

 

Edited May 20, 2018 by Croc

[Croc]

 

 

 

 

[Croc]

Similar to Donington I have two choices of video

 

Option 1

360 video that you can pan around and look everywhere but not great sound but it does have a track map and data overlay and corner labelling for the first lap so you know what corner I am going through. Click and drag cursor to pan the video around 360 degrees

 

 

Option 2

Regular video with sound and data overlays.

 

 

 

Both videos really illustrate the power nature of the circuit. I would belt into corners at max velocity 105mph, usual high speed understeer and then the aim was to minimize the speed being scrubbed off by the corner. Then on exit, I could not drop a gear to pick up the pace because of the gaps between the ratios forcing me to hold a higher gear and lug it out of the corners.

 

And this was the situation all over the circuit – Copse, Maggott/Beckett, Abbey, etc. It was a fun day on a circuit but frustrating all the same.

 

So whats my favorite – Donington. No contest. Its fast and fun and well suited to a seven. Even in a lightly powered Caterham it is a good drive because it flows so well. Donington is one of the best circuits you will ever drive in a Seven as it flows so well maintaining momentum.

Edited May 20, 2018 by Croc

[panamericano]

Croc,

 

About your comment on the A110. I had a Dinalpin in the long ago. It handled great. When I first came to the US for good (at 19), I tried a Lotus Europa. It had nothing on my Dinalpin. The car had previously been a racer, I watched it at the Magdalena Mixhuca racing against Freddie Van Beuren's GT350 (SCCA B Prod. champion). Ate the Mustang in the twisty bits and then the Shelby would blast past on the main straight.

 

-Mark

[xcarguy]

Croc,

 

As alway, an awesome writeup and a great read. :cheers:

[seabbot]

Great photos and write up, made me quite nostalgic for my homeland...thanks

[Croc]

An October 2019 update with a return to Donington, this time with more power and a 420R. Running the National configuration this time, no extension with hairpin to create added length needed by the GP cars.

 

Sadly, the Donington Collection of GP cars is no longer. Museum is closed and the cars have mostly been sold off. So sad. It was an amazing collection. Photos of the museum from my last visit there are contained in this thread:

http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?9660-On-Track-with-Croc&highlight=Silverstone

 

 

Bookatrack is now rebranded as Want2Race now that it is part of Ginetta cars

 

 

 

Still have 3 rental Caterhams but they are Academy cars, not a bad thing at this circuit given its momentum nature.

 

 

Edited October 18, 2019 by Croc

[Croc]

Interesting range of cars:

 

 

 

 

 

This Porsche was well driven, demonstrating every lap that it was one lift off from heading off track. Driver was pretty skilled, pity he had no idea of any cars around him or in the rear vision mirror

 

[Croc]

Plenty of Caterhams present:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Croc]

 

 

 

 

Some drivers decided to get enthusiastic exceeding track limits

 

[Croc]

Obviously the rental cars had a mixture of drivers. Some of which exceeded the track limits by accident:

 

 

 

 

 

This is a lovely little Ginetta G40. 145hp 2L Zetec as you would get in a Caterham. Beautiful to look at. Little snappy on the limit.

[Croc]

Some drivers had the skill to drive 11/10ths and use all of the track width - tarmac, kerbs, gravel traps, grass, dirts, etc - to gain the most possible speed and still keep it moving. Notice our erstwhile driver below still has the foot down "I can save this" he says....

 

 

 

And he did... :rofl:

 

 

Unlike others...

 

[Croc]

Donington is a very pretty circuit - wonderful views and elevation changes

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Croc]

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a practical joke my UK friends from the L7C decided to "register" my Caterham in New York, hence the license plate.

 

You can also see I was experimenting with microphones in my continued quest for good engine sound from a Caterham on a track day. Two battery powered mics, split off the same mic in camera channel - one under the intake and the other just above the exhaust exit. The black fluffy thing is a "dead kitten" mic wind cover and not some animal I have run over.

 

[Croc]

 

 

 

I think the new mic set up worked well in the video. Also got my fastest time ever - 2.5 seconds off lap record for a 420R and that was with a 5 speed box with less than ideal ratios compared with the former 6 speed gearbox.