2nd Track Day in the Caterham 620S

[andy tims]

So, 2nd track day yesterday at the fabulous Cadwell Park in the prettiest part of Lincolnshire.

This is the car ready for the day. Aero screen & half doors on.



The paddock at Cadwell is pretty basic, to say the least. No garages, no electricity.



I've sorted a remote mic for the GoPro so you can (but I still couldn't at speed) hear the engine revs. My heal & toe technique needs work & I need the accelerator pedal adjusted slightly, but not being able to hear if I got it right or not, is definitely sub-optimal. However, I didn't lock a wheel all day. My braking is getting better - less of it & carry more corner speed in general.

There was a lot of traffic at times, but I did get a few mostly clear laps, the best of which is captured at the end of this clip.

https://youtu.be/O0vjOAEyydk

I made the mistake of nipping out for fuel at lunch time without my helmet & got caught in a rain shower. Won't make that mistake again. Even light rain hitting your face at 60mph stings.

and then rain stopped play for over an hour.

https://youtu.be/h9wDG3Ew3pE

It did (mostly) dry out for about the last hour of the day, but the section of the track under the trees, stayed wet.



Packed up ready to come home with the Aero screen cable tied to the roll bar & the half hood fitted. The half hood came off when I stopped for petrol, as I was confident the weather was going to hold.

Roof off, heater on towards the end, no delays, Iron Maiden on my iPod - lovely

[giosdad]

That was outstanding. Thanks for sharing the experience.

[smellody]

Fantastic!!! Thanks for sharing. What fun!!

[unsub073]

Cadwell Park looks like a very fun track to drive on. I am just going to continue living through you on your track day video's.

[Joeprez]

Cadwell Park looks like a very fun track to drive on. I am just going to continue living through you on your track day video's.

Same here! Love reading about your track days.

If I remember correctly, you have been moving from more "street oriented" sports cars to basically track only cars. I know is probably to early too tell, but I'm curious about the progression, are you looking for the challenge of a more unforgiving car (no electronic nanny)? Or the classic "better to drive a slow car, fast and a fast car, slow"?

Haven't riding the bike in a while, need to fix that.

[mikeylacroix]

Cadwell Park looks like a very fun track to drive on. I am just going to continue living through you on your track day video's.

Same here! Love reading about your track days.

If I remember correctly, you have been moving from more "street oriented" sports cars to basically track only cars. I know is probably to early too tell, but I'm curious about the progression, are you looking for the challenge of a more unforgiving car (no electronic nanny)? Or the classic "better to drive a slow car, fast and a fast car, slow"?

Haven't riding the bike in a while, need to fix that.

The more u track,
The more u track(or race)

I have more track only bikes then road bikes these days

There's a certain mindset shift
U r still the fastest guy on the road but at like 30% pace

Sent from my V2169 using Tapatalk

[andy tims]

Thanks chaps

If I remember correctly, you have been moving from more "street oriented" sports cars to basically track only cars. I know is probably to early too tell, but I'm curious about the progression, are you looking for the challenge of a more unforgiving car (no electronic nanny)? Or the classic "better to drive a slow car, fast and a fast car, slow"?

I’ve gone 996.1 GT3 Club Sport to Lotus Exige Sport 380 then Sport 410.

The Caterham is far from track only, but it’s less civilised than the others, which were all compromised road cars, but they all had a/c, ABS, and a stereo.

The move (back) to Lotus from Porsche was in search of something lighter, even better handling and faster accelerating.

The move from Lotus (back) to Caterham was mainly just to try something different and more challenging to master.

Bike track evening at Brands Hatch tomorrow evening. This will be first track action on the M1000R. Video to follow as usual.

[andy tims]

Dropped the Caterham off at GP Sevens this evening. They are fitting the shift lights and having the car remapped / rolling roaded to smooth out the fuelling.

The last 2 620s they did came away with over 350 bhp. Should be interesting

[Joeprez]

Thanks chaps

If I remember correctly, you have been moving from more "street oriented" sports cars to basically track only cars. I know is probably to early too tell, but I'm curious about the progression, are you looking for the challenge of a more unforgiving car (no electronic nanny)? Or the classic "better to drive a slow car, fast and a fast car, slow"?

I’ve gone 996.1 GT3 Club Sport to Lotus Exige Sport 380 then Sport 410.

The Caterham is far from track only, but it’s less civilised than the others, which were all compromised road cars, but they all had a/c, ABS, and a stereo.

The move (back) to Lotus from Porsche was in search of something lighter, even better handling and faster accelerating.

The move from Lotus (back) to Caterham was mainly just to try something different and more challenging to master.

Bike track evening at Brands Hatch tomorrow evening. This will be first track action on the M1000R. Video to follow as usual.

Thanks Ansy for the time you spend posting the videos and answering questions, really appreciate it!

P.D. I know you say the Caterham is far from track only, but don't have the balls to drive it in Puerto Rico streets, even in the Miata I felt really small against the regular traffic

I dont have a problem with the motorcycle because I can get out of the way quicker than any 4 wheel vehicle, plus I'm in a taller position than in the Miata so I feel that I have better visibility of what's ahead.