Aims for this blog

So, I’ve put the deposit down for the Caterham Academy 2013. It seems an awfully long way off at the moment. The 2012 season hasn’t even started yet!

However, I have set up this blog to record my experiences of entering the championship, building the car and of running the car through the 7 rounds.

I want to document this time for my own gratification. I’ve been waiting a long time to get to the point where I race on track and the build up to this experience is just as important for me as the action will be when the lights go out.

Secondly, I’ve spent a while, so far, trawling around the net for blogs and information on the Academy. As ever, there is an initial thirst for information and I have to say that, although there is information out there, it’s not all in once place and is often not up to date. Even the downloadable order form on the main Caterham website isn’t up to date!

There are some build diaries hanging around from back in 2003/4 that contain really interesting and useful pointers and tips. However, there is absolutely nothing to say that these tips/experiences are even relevant any more.

The plan is therefore to combine and present good resources that I find/uncover/ask Caterham/ask the community about, along with my own experiences and, fingers crossed, end up with something that will help others in a similar position, or indeed those looking to get themselves involved.

Once each stage of the process is complete – prepare; build; practice; compete – I want to go back and make note of anything that I would have done differently given the time again.

I want to also document the costs that this seasons racing attracts, including the running costs of taking part all year. This information just isn’t available out in the wild on the net. You get snippets here and there, but you have to take a bit of a blind leap into racing and hopefully, I can reveal a real world experience.

There doesn’t currently appear to be a central community for Caterham Academy racers. I can see that there are fractured past websites. But they look out dated and unloved.  Perhaps more time searching around will uncover a gem of a community that I can share and get involved in.