With three races done we are halfway through the season in the Caterham Academy championship but there is still a lot to learn, and fun to be had.
Arrival at Donnington Park, near Derby, brought two new experiences for me; a day with an instructor and driving on a wet track.
Both taught me a lot and made me a better driver in different ways by the end of the weekend.
As all our Academy race cars are identical the only variable is the driver. But of course not all drivers are equal. By the end of a the race the slowest driver was a lap behind the winner.
There is no doubt that we are all better track drivers than when we began this journey earlier in the year , but some have improved more than others.
The use of instructors is a bit of a guilty secret among our group, with some not liking to admit if they have had coaching or not.
I get the feeling most have had at least half a day with a track teacher at some point in the season. While others take them to every track a few weeks before our scheduled races.
Now it was my turn, after all there is only so much you can learn from reading and watching Youtube videos.
Caterham kindly gave me the services of Jamie Unwin Porsche and Caterham racer and event driver for Ferrari and Maserati.
He has taught all levels of Caterham drivers for years, after he started racing them aged 15, and rates them as one of his favourite cars because of the go-kart like feel and connection to the road.
First I took him out for few laps so he could get an idea of my driving so far, then he critiqued my car control and cornering technique.
First was to stop the bad habit I had picked up of coasting the car by leaving the clutch down for too long, meaning the car had no power and unsettling it severely. After it was pointed out and I stopped doing it there was a noticeably improvement of smoothness at the start of fast corners.
I was still making the classic mistake of going in to corners too fast, then losing time on the way out. Especially with lower torqued cars like ours, if they are off the boil on the exit of a corner you lose tens of seconds on the next straight.
Jamie taught me to brake earlier and firmer, to get the correct turning point to enable the car to hit the apex.
The idea being that you can be back on the power at, or before the apex, picking up the speed earlier.
With his constant instruction via an earpiece, he also helped me read the car’s movement, like waiting for that feeling of the car just settling down on the exit of a corner, before nailing the throttle.
This really pays off on the two hairpins on the GP course at Donnington.
Another big benefit an instructor brings is their knowledge of the track and the best lines, braking points to take and what gear to be in. With limited time on an unfamiliar track it certainly super charges the process of learning the fastest way round.
There was certainly wisdom in Jamie’s words, as despite having his extra weight in the car, I was keeping up with other drivers who would normally disappear out of sight.
Then when the heavens opened and continuous hammering rain arrived I was pleased to have him on-board as cars skidded off left and right.
It was the first time that many of us had driven on a soaking wet track, but with Jamie’s help we were still going flat out down the straights and not far of usual pace through the corners.
With constant encouragement I kept the pedal down a lot more that I would have done on my own. The main change in technique was earlier and more gentle braking, and more gradual acceleration.
With no roofs on for racing, reduced visibility and slippery track many other drivers chose to skip the last few sessions of the day.
But Jamie didn’t mind, and in the 25 minute session I learnt a lot about car control in the wet, which I hope will hold me in good stead at some point in the future.
By the end of the day my confidence had been given a huge boost, with a much more thorough knowledge of any track I had had previously.
So I approached the qualifying session the next morning I had more of a spring in my step than usual and was more relaxed.
Luckily it stayed dry and I managed to get in 7 laps during the 15 minute session. You have to complete three laps to be allowed to race, so there is always the balance between banking some safe laps and getting the fastest times as possible.
My fastest time of 1.59.06 was three seconds faster than anything I had done before and would have given me a grid position of 15. But my lap time was struck out for exceeding track limits, which are parts of the track that can’t be driven on.
My next best time was on my last lap of 2:01.07 which gave me a grid position of 19 out of 23.
A fluffed start saw me drop a few positions off the grid, somehow with all the adrenaline I managed to miss the moment the red lights went out, which is a fairly crucial moment.
But I made them up in the now traditional chaotic first corner as we went round four or five abreast with several cars going off into the gravel.
What followed for the next 20 minutes was the best racing I have had so far, as I was constantly involved in battles with at least one other car.
I was definitely able to pull away on some of the faster sections, with Jamie’s words ringing in my ear. After coming off track in all but my previous race, I had set out to concentrate on keeping off the grass.
But in the heat of the race it was not to be, as I got on the power to soon out of one of the hairpins which sent me spinning off on the start straight finish.
It cost me at least four places, and the last of the race I swapped places with the same driver as we both had our own stronger sections of the track.
But it was a hairpin again that caught me out, in (a with hindsight) and move I was never going to pull off, I braked far too late to make the turn and went off again.
I made up the time and by the time the chequered flag came down I was parallel with him, but just a few inches behind.
I finished 20 out of 21, which was disappointing given my confidence and training going into the race.
But I had had an amazing race and enjoyed the sheer thrill of driving at my limits.
Next up is Silverstone, which has the promise to being even better.
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