Race Driver Interviews
Castle Combe Rally Day
CASTLE COMBE RALLY DAY Race Collective spent an action-packed day at Castle Combe Circuit, soaking up the atmosphere and performance of some seriously impressive machinery
Race Collective recently spoke with Fred Chiddicks, a newcomer to the Caterham Championship and one who tore up the field in his debut year. We talk all things Caterham Motorsport and how he has gone from zero to hero in his first year of racing.
Fred has quite an eclectic background, jumping between both karting and competitive sailing in his younger years. “It all started with indoor karting at 8 years old, my dad and I visited the local track and we ended up doing this on and off for a few years, competing in a few races, but to be honest nothing serious though. I then moved up to outdoor karting when I was around 11 years old and we again we competed in a few races, but this quickly started to get too expensive when it came to racing competitively”, says Fred.
“My dad had always sailed in his younger years and instead took me for a few lessons, quickly getting myself into a topper dinghy and I started racing those” says Fred. Fred worked his way up from local races, competing in national and then all the way up to the world championships, even representing team GBR. “I had some good success sailing, but as I started University it was hard to keep up with those who were full time athletes” says Fred.
It was here that Fred got back into motorsport, signing up to the British University Karting Championships and grew the society from just a team of four, in which by his own admission had no real experience, to a race winning team. “We had some good success in the BUKC rookie championship and this is really what got me back into the Motorsport side of things”.
After University, Fred didn’t really compete in any Motorsport, just following the F1 and British Superbikes on TV. That is until his dad spotted that one of their local Motorcycle dealers were selling Caterhams. “The local dealer (Krazy Horse) invited my dad and I along for a Caterham test drive and to watch the final round of the Caterham Championship at Snetterton. We ended up coming away with a car to race in the Caterham Academy in 2021!”.
For those who are new to the Caterham racing scene, there are five classes, which start from academy and run to the mighty 420R series. These classes are tightly regulated, designed to suit all budgets and driver abilities, so you find racing across the board is both competitive and very fair.
Fred had purchased an Academy Caterham, which is designed for novice and up-and-coming racers. “We started in the Academy Championship, which you can’t have previously held an ARDS licence. Caterham sell a package, that includes the car, entry to the championship and pretty much everything you’ll need to race in it (apart from racewear, trailer etc)” says Fred.
As this was Freds first time out on track, he had to cover all of the first steps, including licenses, racewear and transport. “Caterham actually helped us out a lot, they put us through the ARDS test, gave us some exclusive test days before the season and also ran a setup and handling day, which made getting started really easy”.
One of the things that interested us at Race Collective was around the modification rules. Fred goes on to say that one of the best things about the Caterham championships is the tight regulations. “The Caterhams are all built to one design and there is very little you can do to the car apart from a wrap livery and add your logos. Setup is very limited too, you can change toe/camber/castor, but even then, there are limits on these ranges. It is also the same for weight and ride height, these are closely monitored to keep racing fair”, says Fred. In terms of the engines, these are completely sealed by Caterham and monitored through scrutineering, so drivers are unable to extract any more power out of them, even if they wanted to.
Fred started winning from the outset, outperforming the majority of the Academy field. “I finished 2nd in the championship, only losing out on winning it on the last lap of the last race! But, throughout the year I’m pleased to say that I had 10 podiums from 11 races (5 wins, 4 2nd’s and a 3rd)” says Fred. Fred also managed to set 2 Academy lap records in his debut season and is keen to keep that going into next year where he takes on the Roadsport class.
In 2022, Fred is taking on the next class to see if he can continue his winning streak. “This year I’ll be racing on the next rung up on the Caterham ladder, the Roadsport championship. I’d really like to continue working my way up the Caterham ladder and hopefully reach the top class, the Seven UK Championship which races the 420R’s.
There isn’t a massive difference between the Academy and the Roadsport classes, the only changes to the car involve adding a rear anti-roll bar, installing stiffer front anti-roll bar, and bolting on new Avon ZZS tyres. Other than these changes the car stays exactly the same.
To continue his journey, Fred has setup his own website www.fc-racing.co.uk to promote his racing and attract sponsorship opportunities. Please check out his website or Race Collective profile for more info. Photo’s were not taken by Race Collective but provided by Fred.
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