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CA DY POWER
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You may have read of Volkswagen's latest racing Caddy, but only CM has given it the ultimate test — racing at Britain's fastest circuit, Thruxton.
The story of Volkswagen's unlikeliest racer began when the UK importer's CV director, Peter Wyhinny, thought it might be an idea to run a Caddy in the one-make rallying series for the VW Polo. Various factors prevented this idea coming to fruition in its original form, but a racing Caddy did eventually emerge. CM tried the origina11.9TDI for our Christmas issue in 2002, before Wyhinny himself raced it in the Volkswagen Racing Cup during 2003.
The Cup is a highly competitive championship for VW models of all types, from GolfTDIs toV6 Ventos. Only begun in 2000, the championship now boasts 30 registered contenders and a high profile slot supporting the British Formula 3 and GT Championships. But among all this pedigree racing machinery, the arrival of the first Caddy at Thruxton in September 2002 for the final race of the season created an unprecedented level of interest,although the meeting was equally memorable for Michael Neuhoff taking the first ever win for a diesel car in UK racing.
With a stripped out interior and the standard suspension stiffened up with solid racing joints, the Caddy looked the part and was spectaci liar to watch in the hands of the exuberant Wyhinny. But in many ways it remained a compromise, especially its rear suspension, while the turbo-diesel engine was still fairly modestly tuned. Despite retiring from its first race, it finished 16th in the second; the promise was there.After its debut. the old Caddy ventured out for the occasional race, culminating in 10th place at the first race of the 2004 season at Donington at the hands of serious single-seater racer David Scott.
By 2004, Peter Wyhinny had decided it was time to do things properly, and at Snetterton on 6 June, a brand new racer based on the new Caddy 2.0 TDI was rolled out.This time, it finished both races, in 17th and 12th positions.
Competition career After a few conversations during the first two years of Caddy's racing.Vollcswagen GB bravely agreed to allow CM's operations editor to take to the track. despite a competition career limited to sprinting, competing only against the clock. However, an earlier abortive racing career had seen the acquisition of a race licence, maintained just in case.The original plan was to enter the final meeting of the year at Brands Hatch, a familiar circuit from the days when clubs could afford to hire the circuit for sprints. But this went awry when touring car racer Jason Plato's changed TV schedules saw him take over the Brands drive.
Reconciled to putting our plans on ice until next season, a surprise call included an invitation to drive at Thruxton on August Bank Holiday Monday:Ile only downside was that there was barely two weeks to go, but a bit of creative diary changing saw the offer quickly accepted before VW saw sense. Unfortunately work commitments meant no opportunity to sample either the van or the ultra-fast circuit before the meeting, although there was a brief opportunity to try the seat at VW Racing's Milton Keynes workshop.
The programme was two 30minute test sessions on Friday, then a solitary 20—minute qualifying session on Sunday before two 20— minute races on Monday.
Friday was very much a day to meet the team and get to know the van and the circuit.The first session was on a damp track, resulting in a best time of 1min 45.3sec.The only adjustments needed for the second session were minor tweaks to the six-point seat belts and to fix the non-functioning wipers.We started the session determined to improve, but after j ust nine minutes, a Golf blew its turbo, covering the track with oil and bringing the session to a premature end.
Nearly 48 nervewracking hours then ensued, before turning up for qualifying day. By Sunday, the full team was on duty,including a number of dealer technicians who were spending a weekend on the 1raining team as a reward for success on training courses.All went well with scrutineering, but while sitting in the assembly for official qualifying, it started to rain heavily again.Apart from the slippery track, the biggest problem was the screen misting up, and being tightly strapped in it was too far away to wipe.The reduced visibility added to the hazard of the seriously quick drivers passing. but the diesel Caddy was so quiet that the high revving petrol cars could be easily heard approaching.
Exemplary
Unlike the first Caddy. the handling of the new one was exemplary, although as we got nearer to its limits on the fast corners at the back of the circuit, it started to feel nervous. Passing a slower moving car on the fast Church corner meant moving off the ideal line, resulting in having to lift off. Fortunately. the ensuing excursion down the infield grass was no more than embarrassing as the slow car trundled past.
Visibility remained a problem all weekend on the approach to the Club chicane,just before the startline.The combination of low seat. double A-pillar, roll cage and big mirrors, made it hard to see the front right corner and the approach to the chicane. By the end of the greasy qualifying session,we still hadn't driven the van in the dry,and our qualifying time was lmin 53.1sec,an average speed of just under 75mph.The radar on the back of the circuit showed a speed of
EGRAVE COBB AMPBELL
92.9mph,compared with the 110.1mph of the fastest car.
Race day arrived with nearly clear blue skies, at last, and it stayed that way for the first race; finally a chance to see how it performed in the clry. Lining up at the back of the grid was a new experience, one not helped by being correctly positioned, only to discover that the view of the starting lights was obscured by Peter Wyhinny in the old Caddy a couple of rows ahead. But at least there were only three faster cars behind to obstruct with a slightly tardy start.They were being punished for technical infringements in qualifying. But the third placed car was spun off into the wall on the first corner and the race was stopped to extract the uninjured driver from the wreckage.
After the restart, this time with a view of the lights,the race was a bit of an anti-climax,as we circulated at the back,only passing those with mechanical problems or who had fallen off.A determination to bring van and driver home unscathed saw a gradual exploration of the dry handling limits, without passing them.A minor problem with the gear knob working loose and an occasional reluctance to engage third gear cleanly probably affected confidence more than driveability.The most action came around lap seven,when the seriously quick drivers began to pass. Staying out of the way of the championship contenders became a priority.All too quickly the flag fell on the shortened race, with the Caddy not surprisingly last, although five cars had failed to linish.The lap time had dropped to lmin 42.9sec with a speed trap reading of 101.2mph,not bad considering the aerodynamics are more porch than Porsche.
Frustratingly, although the second race was fairly uneventful, it was fractionally slower than the first. By the last couple of laps, the Caddy instilled enough confidence to take Church corner without lifting off, but the best time was only lmin 43.3sec. The most exciting part was seeing the other Caddy in the mirror, going completely sideways down the back straight at over 100mph.With the race going the full 20 minutes this time, it was a relief to see the flag drop with the van still in one piece. Thanks to a few dramas afflicting the hares, Otis tortoise-like run ended in 23rd place out of 30 starters, although after subsequent technical exclusions this eventually improved to 20th.And as for Jason Plato, his efforts at Brands earned him tenth place, the best yet for the new Caddy. •