Caterham’s foothold in South America has strengthened after launching its first race series in the region in partnership with its new Colombian dealership.
The British sportscar maker has agreed a 21-car grid for the new Caterham Superlight R300 series, with the first race planned for March 2015.
The Superlight R300 series, Caterham’s flagship competition, was first launched in the UK in 2009 and is acclaimed for its close fought racing.
As the first ever one-make series to be introduced in Colombia, its fiercely competitive nature is expected to help unearth a new Colombian racing star. The series is aimed at young drivers, aspiring to reach the pinnacle of Motorsports, Formula One.
Caterham Colombia figureheads, Andres Vargas and Joaquin Caicedo, will administrate the series from its headquarters in the Capital, Bogota.
Powered by a 2-litre, 180bhp engine and equipped with a Sadev 6-speed sequential gearbox, the R300 is the fifth and ultimate level of Caterham’s motorsport ‘ladder’ and provides a significant step up in performance from the ‘Supersport’ Series, whilst maintaining the durability and low running costs enjoyed in the lower powered series.
Caterham Group CEO, Graham Macdonald, said: “This is a particularly exciting new series which is hoped could uncover some new talent. There’s huge potential in Colombia and who knows whether we’ll find a new star, but it’ll be a blast for anybody competing because the racing is so close and the R300 is such a well sorted race car.”
The motorsport series will be officially launched at the Bogota Auto Show in November along with the Caterham Colombia road car range.
