The first track outing for the Caterham and I for 2009 was at North Weald airfield near Epping, for an 'activity day' with Hondas-On-Track. It was to be the fifth time I visited the airfield and the third time I attempted to take the Caterham. The previous two attempts had been hampered by transmission problems but this time round the car was absolutely ready for a days abuse.
I had been keeping a close eye on the weather during the week leading up to the day and very nearly cancelled altogether due to forecast heavy rain. At the last moment however, the outlook brightened up and the weather stayed dry for the majority of the day, the hazy sunshine only briefly interrupted by a couple of showers and some hail stones (which were quite painful). Everyone arrived nice and early and the day started off with a difference.
The group was split into two; those that had been before and those that were new. Us old hands ventured off to a new location west of the runway where a short course had been set up. This was apparently due to some unexpected issues with the airfield which meant the planned slalom course was unavailable. The course was quite tricky and included five or so cones to create a short slalom. It was clearly a part of the airfield that doesn't get used much because it was more like a gravel rally stage to begin with, so I let a few others go before me to sweep the surface a bit.
One of those that went before me was my friend Tony with his Elise. This was probably a mistake; it's safe to say there's a bit of friendly rivalry between us and having seen him set a very impressive initial time, I was keen to at least keep in touch (but really my superior machine should allow me to set a much faster time...). Anyway, I was an inch or so too close to a cone as I understeered after going into the slalom too quickly, and unfortunately the cone was flicked up into the rear wing, ripping it from the car. After collecting the debris I checked the car and thankfully the only damage was the broken (sacrificial) plastic wing retaining bolts, the wing itself and the light cluster. The delicate aluminium side skin had survived unscathed apart from a minor dent, which a new wing will cover up.
So after that somewhat embarrassing start, the day progressed quite well. After quite a few rides to passengers around that course, we swapped with the other group to attempt the high speed bend. I was a little disappointed with the car, struggling to turn in at much more than 80mph. I've never had such an issue on a circuit (or the road), where I'm better able to set the car up for a corner to find the right balance between understeer and oversteer.
After a break for lunch we continued with the traditional short and long handling courses, my personal favourites. Starting with the short course my first run ended up being my fastest of the day, and no matter how much I tried I could only ever equal it. The hairpin was dispatched with ease (and gusto) with a prod of the throttle which was great fun, and when the clouds brought a brief shower it was great fun steering around most of the cones with the throttle. Tony struggled with ground clearance on the bumpy long course but I managed to set a time four seconds faster than anyone else on the first run, although by the end of the day it had been matched by an impressive run in a DC2 Integra.
All of this larking about is great fun but it does have a serious side to it. It's impossible to learn the limits of a car in any other environment so anyone that completes a North Weald day will be a safer road and circuit driver. They are a hugely valuable lesson in what to expect when the unexpected happens.
However, the numbers involved on these days have gradually increased and far too much of the day was spent waiting around in queues. This could have been a lot worse if there weren't three courses running simultaneously, but for me it spoiled the day slightly. Having done five days on the airfield now I will give the next few a miss and concentrate on circuits.
So I must say thank you to Hondas-On-Track and Andy Walsh for organising the day which was very enjoyable, and also to Si Martin and Andy Elder for some excellent photos. I've put together a short video and a collection of photos from the event:
Browse the photo gallery for the event
View the video