AARON’S A-HEAD

The top level of the Caterham Motorsport ladder where the best of the best gather to battle for victory amongst each other, the Caterham Seven Championship UK provided the fastest racing on the roster with many former champions and race winners dicing for victory all season long. With a purpose-built chassis, Avon slick tyres, a sequential gearbox and racing suspension, these were thoroughbred race cars and the ultimate expression of a Caterham straight from the factory. They certainly impressed Scott Woodwiss...

Returning champion Aaron Head got straight back to the front of the field with the first SuperPole of the new season, but stalled at the start of race one which threw him to the back of the pack. He charged back to finish fourth while Henry Heaton took a long-awaited top level Caterham win to start the year, leaving James Murphy to scrap with Lee Bristow over the podium places.

Henry’s task was much tougher in race two, constantly under pressure, battling back and forth and only just losing out on a second win courtesy of Head snatching it by 0.023 seconds. Domination of race three from Head gave him a second victory that weekend, followed by Heaton and Jake Swann.

After Chris Moore led the opening stages of the first race at Snetterton next time out, James Murphy worked his way up through the eight-car leading group to collect his first Seven UK top step visit of 2022 from Head and Heaton, but just like Brands Hatch it was Head that would do the rest of the winning, claiming both of Sunday’s 20-minute encounters. He overcame a feisty Heaton and Swann in race two before Henry dropped to third in the end behind Bristow, while race three took Aaron’s win tally to four from six races ahead of Swann and Moore.

Mixed weather conditions on the Silverstone GP circuit provided the next challenge, and because of that the wins were shared equally with Swann triumphing in the damp conditions on Saturday, Lewis Thompson clinching a first Seven UK win for himself on Sunday morning in the dry and then Head taking his fifth of the year later that afternoon. Incredibly, the combined winning margins from all three races that weekend was just 0.010 seconds, showing just how tight it was in the leading group! From the first three rounds, Aaron Head seemed firmly in command at the top of the points as Donington Park beckoned.

In Donington’s blazing summer heat, Head first held off Murphy after a lengthy safety car in Saturday’s race that took up half the race distance, and then both Thompson and Heaton after they stole podium finishes on the final lap just a couple of tenths behind. On Sunday with no let up in the heat, another mid-race safety car in the morning race helped Thompson capitalise on Head getting turned around at the chicane to win from Luke Stevens and Heaton, before doing it again later that afternoon courtesy of more misery for Head, as a five second track limits penalty dropped him to P2 with brother Dale Head in third.

Anglesey produced a purple patch for James Murphy as winning the SuperPole preceded a pair of back to back wins, seeing off Head and Thompson in the first on Saturday as the lead changed hands several times, before the same occurred the next morning albeit with Heaton taking third this time behind an identical top two. Head then rounded off his trip to the coast with the final win of the weekend, after damage to Murphy’s car denied him the hat-trick and handed more podium finishes to Heaton and Thompson. Heading from Wales to Scotland, the Knockhill “Super Round” turned into a complete domination for young charger Thompson. He capitalised on contact between Head and Murphy to end up over seven seconds in front at the flag on Saturday from Swann and Heaton, then had two much closer winning margins on the Reverse layout on the Sunday as he denied Swann, Head and Murphy victory.

All that remained was the finale at the incredible Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, a special place to conclude the season. While Thompson and Murphy shared the wins between them with the former taking a brace, three podiums finishes turned out to be enough to see Aaron Head clinch his third top level Caterham title after becoming champion in 2014 and 2016. His early wins had helped him top the table by 37 points from Heaton in the runner-up spot, while Swann captured an incredible third in points a further 33 behind.

With their original Academy cars now upgraded to their ultimate final form, the Caterham Seven 310R Championship provides the second to last step on the Caterham Motorsport ladder before the top-line Seven UK series, allowing drivers to use all of the lessons and experience learned to get the most out of their fully-upgraded machines. The 2022 grid was one of the most competitive in recent seasons, with plenty of top drivers in contention for glory, believes Scott Woodwiss