CATERHAM MOTORSPORT’S SECOND TEAM ENDURO READY TO RACE AT SILVERSTONE
After the success of the inaugural race in 2019, Caterham Motorsport is once again all set to welcome competitors to Silverstone this weekend for the second consecutive Team Enduro event, a race that will perfectly prepare the competing drivers for the 2020 season of racing ahead. Last year’s exciting encounter saw a close race all the way to the end of the four-hour distance and the signs look good for more of the same on this occasion.
The Team Enduro is a relay-style endurance race reserved solely for Caterham Seven race cars, with teams of three drivers competing as “Super Teams” which comprise of a Roadsport, 270R and 310R race car each. The teams are created and allocated based on Caterham Motorsport’s own grading system to ensure as level a playing field as possible and to give as many teams as possible an equal chance to take the chequered flag first at the end of the four-hour race. Alongside the Super Teams, there are also set to be two squads of 420R race cars taking part and it’s almost certain that they will be battling it out between each other to take the overall win.
Of those two 420R teams, the rather comically named “ITC Bald Spice” will feature Ian Sparshott and Matt Dyer teaming up with former multiple Caterham champion Stephen Nuttall, touted by some as the “Roger Federer of Caterham racing” after he won four titles on the bounce in previous years! The other team currently comprises of Matt Topham and Jay McCormack with a possible third driver yet to be announced at the time of writing.
Moving across to the line up of Super Teams on the entry lists and there are plenty of front running drivers relishing the opportunity to stretch their legs and dust off the cobwebs of the off-season, in order to prepare for their Silverstone return in April. Defending champions Team Power Pratt returns with an identical line-up of Martin and Oli Pratt plus Tom Power to go for the double, but also in the mix will be the teams featuring some of 2019’s championship contenders. The RAG-tag squad features Academy Green Group champ Alexander Conway alongside Caterham’s very own CEO Graham Macdonald and Ryan Erroll, while Roadsport king Lars Hoffmann will compete in the Dealersplusone team with Jonny Jarrett and Fraser Riddington.
Both of Hoffmann’s key Roadsport rivals from last season will be out to beat him this weekend too. Will Rossetti will run his upgraded 270R alongside Dimitris Melas’ Roadsport spec car in one of three squads entered by LFP Motorsport, with Scott Parker completing that team respectively. Andrew Murgatroyd, runner up to Hoffmann, will be hoping to emulate his team name as he races for Closing the Gap with Gary Curtis and Peter Martin. A former Roadsport champ in James Murphy will compete in the “Three Four. Purple 4 Polio” team alongside Nick Allbones and Mark Tredwin.
As for the other teams, any of them could spring a surprise. LFP’s two other teams feature a line-up of Stuart Bell, John Shiveral and Mark Lovett in one, while James Venning, Aman Uppal and Gary Lapidus make up the third. The SOLO 64 team sees Geoff Price, Giuseppe Felet and Duncan Cooke band together for this occasion, another trio in the form of Ben Lopez-Appleton, Tom Allen and Charlie Mizon will be known as the Dukes of Legondos, and Matt Sheppard heads up the WIOBI team alongside Carl Jones and Andy Lees. The Williams Caterham Motorsport outfit also has a trio ready to go with Don Henshall, Harry Cook and Roger Gaunt making up their line-up.
It’s going to be another stellar encounter as the Caterham drivers prepare for flat-out long-distance racing in a bid for their first silverware of 2020. With the season opener for the Roadsport, 270R, 310R and 420R Championships just around the corner, bragging rights will certainly be up for grabs before the drivers return. So, who’s got what it takes to become the second Caterham Motorsport Team Enduro champions? Let’s find out!
Scott Woodwiss
