Where can you race a K-series Caterham nowadays?
Discussion
I have an itch to scratch and would like to do some racing, preferably of the Caterham variety. I'm a long time owner of various Seven-alikes, currently driving a Westfield which is fun but road biased which I'm currently looking to sell in order to buy a race car. I'd like it to be road legal but ready to race, I don't really care if it is compromised on the road.
I'm looking for something around the 150bhp mark, so the obvious answer seems to be to go for a used 310R race car (which appears to be eligible for Mag 7s, Se7en Racing and Caterham Graduates).
However, I've been offered a few older 1600 K-Series cars in race trim at varying levels of power from Academy spec upwards at very competitive prices which made me take notice. I know that the GCRC used to allow K series cars to race alongside the Sigmax categories, but looking at the rules nowadays there is no mention of this. Ditto Se7en Racing - only Sigma engined cars are catered for. Mag 7s work on power to weight ratio, so this looks like the only option for a K series?
I'm not really interested at the moment in doing a whole championship - I have too many other demands on my time and a young family meaning that trekking up to the North of England or Scotland from Surrey just isn't going to happen for now. I want to pick and choose a few local races to start off with.
Long question short - if I buy a 1600 K series of about 150bhp, what race options are open to me in SE England? Or should I just spend the money on a 310R?
I'm looking for something around the 150bhp mark, so the obvious answer seems to be to go for a used 310R race car (which appears to be eligible for Mag 7s, Se7en Racing and Caterham Graduates).
However, I've been offered a few older 1600 K-Series cars in race trim at varying levels of power from Academy spec upwards at very competitive prices which made me take notice. I know that the GCRC used to allow K series cars to race alongside the Sigmax categories, but looking at the rules nowadays there is no mention of this. Ditto Se7en Racing - only Sigma engined cars are catered for. Mag 7s work on power to weight ratio, so this looks like the only option for a K series?
I'm not really interested at the moment in doing a whole championship - I have too many other demands on my time and a young family meaning that trekking up to the North of England or Scotland from Surrey just isn't going to happen for now. I want to pick and choose a few local races to start off with.
Long question short - if I buy a 1600 K series of about 150bhp, what race options are open to me in SE England? Or should I just spend the money on a 310R?
I race my K-Series Caterham in Magnificent 7s.
The only unreliability issues I have had with the car over several years have been electrical (I had a new loom made up) and heat affecting the starter motor.
I can’t say for sure but I think that next season the series will return to a qualifying and 2 x 20 min sprint race format, all on one day.
The calendar for 2025 is here:
https://www.classicsportscarclub.co.uk/post/2025-c...
Plenty of races in the S/ SE. The individual days that each series race on will be announced later and I would expect any regs and class changes to be announced shortly.
News on tyre regs for 2025 is here:
https://www.classicsportscarclub.co.uk/post/gold-a...
I am biased but I think it’s a good value for money series with good driving standards and a good paddock atmosphere. There are some very quick cars at the sharp end but they are respectful of those of us at the blunt end of the grid and I find that there is almost certainly someone to have a battle with. Highly recommended, and I would not worry about racing a K-Series one bit.
The only unreliability issues I have had with the car over several years have been electrical (I had a new loom made up) and heat affecting the starter motor.
I can’t say for sure but I think that next season the series will return to a qualifying and 2 x 20 min sprint race format, all on one day.
The calendar for 2025 is here:
https://www.classicsportscarclub.co.uk/post/2025-c...
Plenty of races in the S/ SE. The individual days that each series race on will be announced later and I would expect any regs and class changes to be announced shortly.
News on tyre regs for 2025 is here:
https://www.classicsportscarclub.co.uk/post/gold-a...
I am biased but I think it’s a good value for money series with good driving standards and a good paddock atmosphere. There are some very quick cars at the sharp end but they are respectful of those of us at the blunt end of the grid and I find that there is almost certainly someone to have a battle with. Highly recommended, and I would not worry about racing a K-Series one bit.
Edited by andy97 on Monday 4th November 16:12
Agree with Andy97.
I race a Sigma engined Caterham in CSCC’s Mag 7s. While I haven’t read the regs for 2025, I’d be surprised if they didn’t include all Caterham type cars.
You would also be able to race in the open series if you wanted to maximise your race time at each meeting.
Just completed my first season in CSCC and can’t recommend it highly enough.
If you’re buying a car to go racing I’d make sure the safety equipment is to current regulations. You could easily spend thousands on extinguisher, harness, cage etc. sadly, I also expect it is a buyers market.
I race a Sigma engined Caterham in CSCC’s Mag 7s. While I haven’t read the regs for 2025, I’d be surprised if they didn’t include all Caterham type cars.
You would also be able to race in the open series if you wanted to maximise your race time at each meeting.
Just completed my first season in CSCC and can’t recommend it highly enough.
If you’re buying a car to go racing I’d make sure the safety equipment is to current regulations. You could easily spend thousands on extinguisher, harness, cage etc. sadly, I also expect it is a buyers market.
Thanks all for the input.
As suspected, Mag 7s does look like the only place suitable to race a K series at present. I like their proposed race calendar for next year but looking at this year's results it does look as there are only a small handful of cars that I would be racing against directly if I had a 1600 with about 150bhp (think that is Class B?), with the rest of the field made up of much more powerful machines and a couple of Academy spec cars.
CGRC and Se7en racing do seem to be able to fill an entire grid with 270R / 310R cars, and a 310R would also be eligible in Mag 7s too, so this would give more options for close racing and the widest choice of races to enter (albeit I do need to find out whether I'm actually any good before this becomes much of a factor!)
I do still like the idea of a K series - it's a great engine for a Caterham, and I do like a bit of spannering and tinkering with engines and running gear as I have a fairly well equipped engineering workshop. Unfortunately the 310R is a sealed unit with no tweaking allowed at all to the engine and very little that you are allowed to do to the car, and I suspect I'd miss the satisfaction that I currently get from modifying or fabricating parts to improve performance. Food for thought... As one poster said, it's most certainly a buyers market at present, so for now I'll keep my eyes open and see what comes up for sale.
Thanks again
As suspected, Mag 7s does look like the only place suitable to race a K series at present. I like their proposed race calendar for next year but looking at this year's results it does look as there are only a small handful of cars that I would be racing against directly if I had a 1600 with about 150bhp (think that is Class B?), with the rest of the field made up of much more powerful machines and a couple of Academy spec cars.
CGRC and Se7en racing do seem to be able to fill an entire grid with 270R / 310R cars, and a 310R would also be eligible in Mag 7s too, so this would give more options for close racing and the widest choice of races to enter (albeit I do need to find out whether I'm actually any good before this becomes much of a factor!)
I do still like the idea of a K series - it's a great engine for a Caterham, and I do like a bit of spannering and tinkering with engines and running gear as I have a fairly well equipped engineering workshop. Unfortunately the 310R is a sealed unit with no tweaking allowed at all to the engine and very little that you are allowed to do to the car, and I suspect I'd miss the satisfaction that I currently get from modifying or fabricating parts to improve performance. Food for thought... As one poster said, it's most certainly a buyers market at present, so for now I'll keep my eyes open and see what comes up for sale.
Thanks again
djtom said:
Thanks all for the input.
As suspected, Mag 7s does look like the only place suitable to race a K series at present. I like their proposed race calendar for next year but looking at this year's results it does look as there are only a small handful of cars that I would be racing against directly if I had a 1600 with about 150bhp (think that is Class B?), with the rest of the field made up of much more powerful machines and a couple of Academy spec cars.
I believe all grids were challenged in '24 as many people suffered from increased bills etc. I certainly wouldn't want to be a racing club right now, putting down all the deposits for '25. As suspected, Mag 7s does look like the only place suitable to race a K series at present. I like their proposed race calendar for next year but looking at this year's results it does look as there are only a small handful of cars that I would be racing against directly if I had a 1600 with about 150bhp (think that is Class B?), with the rest of the field made up of much more powerful machines and a couple of Academy spec cars.
Mag 7s had a worse year than many due to the tire regulations they put in place following the departure of Avon. This ruled out a lot of the fast cars, and, it's believed reduced the grid sizes of the sub-150bhp cars too.
CSCC have listened and changed the tire regs for '25 so fingers crossed more come back. Either way, I can vouch for the fact that CSCC and Mag 7s is a great place to learn, and, I'll buy you a coffee if you don't enjoy it.
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