If you love racing, then you should know what a Caterham 7 is. It’s the “world’s most raced car” and has events in about a dozen different countries worldwide. Malaysia has their own series called the Caterham Motorsport Championship that holds 5 rounds per year. And in 2017 one those will be in the Philippines.
These guys have been racing at the Sepang International Circuit since 2015. Growing tired of driving on the same track over and over again, they ventured out to Bira Circuit in Thailand in 2016 as part of the Thailand Super Series. This year, they’re adding a stop at the Clark International Speedway (CIS) this October 20/22 in support of the Philippine GT Championship.
14 cars are expected to arrive for the race weekend comprised of the Caterham Supersport and the more potent Caterham 420R.
The Supersport packs a 140 hp 1.6L engine and 5-speed manual gearbox. This allows it to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.9 secs and reach 205 km/h. If that’s not quick enough, the 420R, with its 210 hp 2.0L dry-sump engine and 6-speed SADEV sequential box, shaves 1.1 secs off the time to 100 and top out at 230 km/h.
But we don’t care about statistics. What we want to know is how fast these little rockets can go around the Clark International Speedway. And by our estimates, a 2:05 lap is possible for a 420R.
When the Caterham Motorsport Championship visits the Philippines in October, the schedule will have Practice on Friday, Qualifying and Race 1 on Saturday, then finally Race 2 and 3 on Sunday. Its field will be made up of drivers from Malaysia, Singapore, France, Britain, Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, Kenya, and New Zealand.
They may, however, offer very limited slots for local racers. Anyone interested (and willing to pay) can sign up for an arrive-and-drive package by sending an email to Campbell Tupling at [email protected]. Do note that participants must have a National C (or higher) license to race.
The Caterham Motorsport Championship provides the most exciting and closest racing of any one-make-series in the region. Its commitment is to make racing accessible with predictable costs by providing a reliable, race proven, single make chassis with very few set up changes or modifications permitted and a single spec tire with limited sets allowed. The emphasis is on driver ability and quality racing.
For more info and updates, please visit www.caterhammalaysia.com and Like ‘Caterham Motorsport Championship’ on Facebook.