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About the Caterham Graduates... |
Back to Homepage |
About the Caterham Graduates... |
The Caterham Graduates series was started in 1998 by competitors from the 1997 Caterham Scholarship as a “follow-on” championship. In its first two years, it was a multi-discipline series, with the rounds being made up of sprints, hillclimbs, and circuit races, similar to the Caterham Scholarship format. The emphasis moved more and more towards circuit races, and from 2000-on the series has comprised solely of circuit races.
In 2001, the championship spawned a second class - Super-Graduates - based on an up-rated Caterham Academy car. In 2003, Super-Graduates became Mega-Graduates and a new Super-Graduate class was formed for the latest spec of standard ex-Academy cars (confusing, isn't it?). A fourth class was added for 2011: “Sigma-Graduates” to cater for the current Ford Sigma engine Caterham Academy cars. Each class generally races on a separate grid (although the embryonic Sigmas often team up with another class), the exception being Spa-Francorchamps, where all classes start together on a 65-car grid!
The cars in the series are genuinely road-going, although Mega-Graduates spec is moving away from this with the deletion of lights, and indeed a few are driven to (and hopefully back from) races. Some are even used by drivers mid-week for transport to work and for shopping, needing no more than the covering up of competition numbers to make them road-legal. Very few changes from the standard specification are allowed, putting the emphasis firmly on driving ability rather than car development and set-up. Along with low consumable costs, this keeps the costs of running a car very much under control, making it one of the most cost-effective ways to go racing. The large grid sizes are a testament to this low-cost formula, with – for the last few years – well over 100 drivers registered for the championship across the four classes.
The championship is one of the largest in the country. The competitors come from a variety of backgrounds. A number have "graduated" from the novice Caterham Scholarship and Academy series, but these days most have made it their first foray into motorsport, or come to Caterhams from other race series. Past competitors include 2002 Super-Graduate runner-up Jon Barnes who started car racing with "Grads" and went on to win the British GT championship in 2008, and Ollie Jackson who made his BTCC debut in 2011.
In Megas & Supers points are awarded thus: 30 for a win, 29 for 2nd place, 28 for 3rd place, right down to 3 points for finishing 28th or lower. (In Classic Grads and Sigma-Grads, the maximum score is 20 points). And even a driver who fails to finish will still earn one point! At the end of the season, drivers drop their worst three scores, to allow for missing a race or two, or a DNF.
Race numbers represent a driver's performance in the previous season: Numbers 1 - 70 go to Mega-Graduates, 71 - 99 to Classics and 101 - 199 to Super-Graduates. And the first ten numbers in each class are reserved for those finishing n the previous year's top ten (For instance, Graeme Smith’s number 73 indicates that he came third in Classics in 2011). Higher numbers go to those who are new to the championship or class.
All classes run on Yokohama tyres. Classics race on list 1A A539s, whilst Sigmas, Supers and Megas use the stickier list 1B A048R – all are limited to using only three sets of tyres for the whole season. George Polley Motorsport provide tyre service at selected rounds.
The championship enjoys sponsorship from McMillan Motorsport, Yokohama tyres, George Polley Motorsport, MX Display (Nick Pancisi), REIS Insurance, ENW Electrical Engineering, JBC Industrial Services, ID:UK websites (Jamie Ellwood), and SMM Solutions (Sheila Marshall).
The cars in the Classic class are Caterham Seven Classics with live-rear axles and 1600cc 8-valve engines, producing around 100 bhp - cars which originally came from the Caterham Academy between 1995 and 2000. Engines are either from Vauxhall or Ford, but the old Ford Cross-Flow is a rarity in the series these days. The standard Graduates run on class 1A Yokohama A539s, ensuring a good balance of power-to-grip. Cars can be identified by green flashes front and rear, and green bars on the number squares.
Sigma-Graduates is for current specification Caterham Academy cars, with Ford’s 115bhp “Sigma” engine. They run on the stickier Yokohama A048R tyres. The only significant permitted changes are a swap to stickier Yokohama A048R tyres and an optional rear anti-roll bar. Cars can be identified by blue flashes front and rear, and blue bars on the number squares – along with having the exhaust on the driver’s side. New for 2012, Sigmas are permitted to fit aeroscreens in place of windscreens.
The Super-Graduate class is for cars from 2001-2008 Caterham Academy specification. They also run on the stickier Yokohama A048R tyre, and also allows an optional rear anti-roll bar. The cars have more modern DeDion rear suspension and 1600cc Rover K-series engines, producing around 125bhp. Cars can be identified by yellow flashes front and rear, and yellow bars on the number squares.
Mega-Graduates are an up-grade of the Super-Graduate car, with about 140bhp thanks to some controlled engine modifications. The cars are also allowed wide-track front suspension for better handling, along with a close-ratio gearbox. Perhaps the most obvious changes are an aeroscreen instead of a full windscreen and the deletion of headlights and rear lights, giving a more "race car" look and reduced aerodynamic drag. Cars can be further identified by orange flashes front and rear, and orange bars on the number squares.