Back to school

Even though I’ve never seen or driven it before, I know this car. I’ve been here before. It is familiar. And it feels lovely. Like meeting up with a lifelong friend you’ve not seen for decades then realising you still get on like a house on fire.

This particular Caterham Seven is the one and only prototype for next year’s Caterham Academy, a championship designed specifically for novices. A bit like the Caterham K-Series Challenge me and Commander Frankel competed in way back when (see Andrew’s sidebar) hence the familiarity, of which more in a minute.

Back then, anyone could compete in the K-Series Challenge and, inevitably, there were some seasoned pedallers in it who were pretty damn quick, as well as a mix of rank amateurs (us included). Three decades on, although the car itself feels familiar, the rules designed around the racing of it are very different.