Super-De-Light R300’s at Silverstone
15th June 2015
The R300-S Championship did not disappoint at Silverstone.
Not only was Caterham supporting the British GT Championship, they were also live on TV and the race could not have been better. Continuing on from the first two rounds we saw the same intense battle between David Robinson and Aaron Head unfold. Robinson has won five and finished second once from the six races now completed, compared to his main rival, Head who has finished second, five times and won once.
Robinson picked up a few penalty points during the first round, which keeps the championship hunt that much closer with only three points separating the pair. Sean Byrne stuck with the prevalent pair for both races adding more excitement and a three way scrap for the lead. We thought he might keep his nose in front, but he was pipped at the post by the dynamic duo and had to settle for third in both races. After showing that he had the pace not just to stick with the leaders but to challenge them we wouldn’t be surprised if he climbs higher on the podium steps very soon.
However the three of them were not the only ones with their eyes set on a podium finish. We had fantastic racing from Jon Mortimer, Lee Wiggins, Matt Dyer, Michael Gazda, Trevor Carvey, Paul Thacker, our guest driver Ben Anderson and Jason Redding, who spent the entire race battling it out to get maximum points. (Yes we do realise we just listed eight drivers, but that’s Caterham racing for you!).
Being a guest driver can have its disadvantages: The cars are difficult to get the hang of (not in Matt Dyer’s case who proved this in the first round taking third place after less than two days in the car) but Ben Anderson, who hasn’t raced an R300 since 2009 and had never driven the sequential version, did exceptionally well, considering he hardly had any testing before the Silverstone race. He also commented after that “It’s honestly the most fun I’ve had on track in a long time”. He enjoyed it so much, he is now considering racing in one of the Caterham Championships.
Silverstone saw every car on the grid with a sequential gearbox. At the beginning of the season Stewart Calder and Paul O’Reilly started in cars with H-Pattern gearboxes. That has all changed now as Calder upgraded before Donington and O’Reilly before Silverstone. They are both now within reach of picking up some good results and points and this was shown in the TSL analysis where Calder was at the top of the MPH listing, reaching a staggering 129.5MPH (we must give credit where it is due!) It will be interesting to see how they get on through the rest of the season.
Brent Millage is sitting comfortably in the middle of the results, alongside returning Caterham racer Jeremy Ellis. The progression shown from the pair could see them land some solid results and challenge the front runners in the not too distant future.
We look forward to seeing more action from the pair of them. Stuart Simpson and Carlton Brown joined us at Silverstone for their first round in the R300-S Championship. They qualified omfortably in the middle of the pack proving that despite only joining for this round they still have what it takes to be competitive. Sadly neither were able to secure the results we know they are capable of, therefore we look forward to welcoming them back at Brands Hatch to see what they can deliver then.
At Silverstone the marshals chose Dyer’s car again for the Autoglym award, but having won before, their second choice, Lee Wiggins, got the prize. We think it’s fair that you can only win once so we can share the prizes out. For your chance to win, and join us on the podium make sure your car is well presented, clean and tidy.
Track Days / Test Days / MotorsportDays.com
