Caterham Cars Ltd
17 hrs
Last month a team from Caterham Japan (including one of our own illustrious UK staff members) entered a Seven 160 in the seven-hour K4GP endurance race at Fuji. It was the only non-Japanese car in a field of 98 (yes, 98) cars, all racing at once. With no previous experience of the event, and only a couple of days to prepare, the team found they were hobbled by the tight fuel restriction and very low gearing, resulting in a self-imposed sub-5000rpm rev limit that left them crawling down the long Fuji straight. Not letting up through the corners made things ‘interesting’ though (not least for other cars nearby), but they were running at 15-20 seconds off ultimate pace. So no-one was more surprised than they were to find themselves finishing 3rd in class (of 34) and 14th overall. Great work by the team from Caterham Japan and Witham Cars, Tokyo; well done! Now we have learned what the car needs to win, should we try again?...