We have a great deal to offer our customers here at McMillan Motorsport. Specialising in the build, restoration, preparation, maintenance and repair of Caterham cars – both road and race cars – on and off track, the list is endless.
The association with the Caterham brand stems all the way back to 1993 for us, and although we have claimed expert status technically and mechanically, the McMillan name is also well known when it comes to car and driver development and tuition.
The figure behind the team, Andy McMillan, is now synonymous with Caterham racing. With a history amassing a great deal of success, including lap records, race wins and championship titles, Andy certainly knows his way around a race car, and in particular, a Caterham. “Being a successful racer isn’t all about being able to replicate the fastest lap and being on the best lines” says Andy. “You first need to understand what the car is doing and why it is doing it. Is the driver seated in the car correctly, are the pedals in the optimum position for starters. Then when pushing the car is it over or understeering and does this change as you progress through the corner, what is it like under braking and acceleration. Educating a driver to be able to understand what the car is doing and to be able to communicate that back to the engineer is a fundamental part of driver coaching and it is a big part of what we focus on here at McMillan Motorsport”.
Andy goes on to say “We look at all aspects of car setup and optimise for specific tracks and weather conditions. Aspects of the car that we consider include differential preload, front and rear wheel toe and camber, front wheel castor angles, ride heights front and rear, side to side spring platform adjustments, roll bar settings and tyre pressures. It’s only when a driver understands what the car is doing and why it is doing it, are real advantages gained”.
“Once the car is setup then we focus on the most important part of any racer’s arsenal of skills, race craft”. Andy adds “A driver won’t always be on the optimum line, or the part of the track that he wants to be when he is in a race, so we develop race craft, showing a driver where to position the car when attacking and defending, how to be quick around a corner when not on the optimum line, how to setup for an overtake etc etc”.
Speaking as someone who has benefited from Andy’s expertise, long time Caterham racer and former 7 Racing 420R Champion, Phil Jenkins said: “Andy McMillan is a terrific racing driver, with an extremely high level of both technical and mechanical expertise. Off track Andy is able to convey perfectly the technical aspects of the car, and with many years experience behind him, Andy knows exactly how the car should be setup”.
Fellow 420R racer and current 7 Racing competitor, Mark Stansfield, has also benefited from the McMillan experience. Mark first met Andy back in 2016, and although a competent and competitive racing driver in other championships, the step into Caterham racing was somewhat more daunting than expected. This is when he requested the guidance of Andy.
“My first race went ok, but my mind was blown with the proximity of the racing, the intensity and how competitive Caterham racing is. A few days later after speaking to Andy about it, we went back to Oulton Park – same circuit, same car – and we spent the day working on my progress.
“After sitting in the passenger seat beside me, we swapped seats for Andy to show me what the car was really capable of, things which I didn't believe were possible, yet Andy achieved it. Smoothly, in full control and with apparent ease with metronomic consistency.
“When Andy coaches you, he teaches you to understand the car, the track and race craft, not just perfectly sweet lines around a race circuit. He teaches you to understand all of these things, so you can communicate with the car.”
Ian Noble, another member of the 7 Racing community, has worked with Andy and McMillan Motorsport for 21 years. Ian certainly echoes the sentiments of both Phil and Mark, above, when reviewing his experience. “Anyone that knows Andy will be aware of his incredible engineering talent and skills supporting us racers both on track and back in the workshop. I recently spent a day at Donington Park with Andy, benefiting from his guidance.
“Andy climbed into the driving seat first to demonstrate what the car could do, whilst I sat beside him. To understand in the first three turns that this is what my car is capable of was a complete revelation and a very humbling experience.
“He analysed my current driving technique throughout the day and advised in detail how to be better and quicker. I am more confident now taking on Andy’s advice and exploring my revised driving limits.”
If you feel that you could benefit from expert advice courtesy of Andy McMillan, please get in touch. Whether you are new to track days and racing, or you are a seasoned racer looking to fine tune your skills, we will certainly have something up our sleeves that could help maximise your performance on circuit.
For more details, or to book instruction, please contact us at:
E-Mail: Info@mcmm.co.uk
Telephone: 01455 239900
Due to overheating, melting problems and loss of power with the standard catalytic converter on many of our own customers and our partners customers cars, we have developed and now released our own upgrade to the standard catalytic converter.
The McMillan Motorsport catalytic converter utilises an FIA approved unit which can withstand temperatures up to 1,600 degrees Celsius and we believe will cure any overheating and melting issues. Testing in both track day and race conditions have so far shown no signs or wear or heat damage.
These are now available on an exchange basis in the McMillan Motorsport shop. Send us your existing, melted catalytic converter and we will supply one of our lovely new FIA approved race catalytic converters.
These have been dyno tested and show no increase in performance over the standard unit. Therefore these units are legal to be used in the 7 Race Series.
The 7 Race Series is very pleased to announce the appointment of Sean Bicknell as the new Race Series manager. Sean comes to us with a wealth of event management and organisation experience, gained during a varied career across a number of business sectors.
On top of this, and more importantly in our eyes, Sean is a true petrol head like the rest of us here at the 7 Race Series. He raced a Lotus Exige for many years in the Elise Trophy and has owned a Caterham 420R race car for the last five years or so. We are looking forward to Sean joining our team and helping us all push the 7 Race Series to new levels within UK Motorsport.
“I am very pleased to welcome Sean to the 7 Race Series” comments Andy McMillan. “Sean will be an asset to the race series, and I am looking forward to working with him in 2022.”
“This is a great opportunity to work with a fantastic group of drivers, and staff at the 7 Race series” adds Sean. “I am looking forward to continuing the good work from previous years, plus executing some new ideas we have, that will hopefully elevate the race series to an even higher level than it already has in the UK and European clubman racing scene.”
Sean will be based with the rest of the 7 Race Series team at McMillan Motorsports Hinkley headquarters. He can be reached on: E-Mail: Sean@mcmm.co.uk, Office: 01455 239900. Mobile: 07967 662294
Our traditional race season curtain closer took place at the former F1 venue of Estoril on the outskirts of Lisbon as our British racers were joined for a non-championship race by our Portuguese friends.
With a change in format with 2 heats and a final, grid positions for the first heat drawn from a hat it was all bets off for the separate races for 1600 and 420R cars.
Jonathan Mitchell took victory in both heats but a deluge sweeping the circuit before the start of the 420R final meant it was anyone’s for the taking. The Portuguese racers compete around the circuit numerous times over the year but usually in somewhat drier conditions! After 30 minutes it was Jonathan who took the overall victory with series returnee Adam Clarke the second UK registered driver in 6th and Mark Stansfield in 7th.
All 3 of the 1600 races were stunning to watch. With Luis Felipe Oliveira just taking the victory in heat 1 from Mark Roberts and Jay McCormack leading home a fabulous battle in race 2, it was an expectant audience that watched a scintillating final race.
As McCormack and Ben Winrow escaped at the front there was a 7 way scrap for 3rd which was eventually won by Tim Child after a battle that saw him, Roberts, John Shiveral, Michael O’Reilly, Oliver Gibson and Geoff Newman together and swapping positions for the full 30 minutes. All 7 were covered by just 1.1 seconds at the chequered flag… and not a wing missing!
And so our season comes to a very entertaining close and we’re finally back racing around our favourite circuits in Europe.
Thank you to all our fabulous drivers, the hardworking mechanics and the professional teams that race with us. We’ve loved having you in our paddock and we look forward to seeing you in 2022!
See here for more images -
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.336470198286688...
Jon Bryant.
The 2022 calendar for the 7 Race Series is coming together nicely. At the time of this article all dates are still provisional and there have been changes from the first draft we published a couple of weeks ago, but we are working hard with the circuit owners and race organisers to get it nailed down as fast as possible. The latest version of the 2022 calendar is below:
| Donington | 2-3 April | Championship |
| Brands Hatch GP | 30 April - 01 May | Championship |
| Snetterton 300 | 11-12 June | Championship |
| Spa | 24-26 June | EU Invitational |
| Silverstone GP | 30-31 July | Championship |
| Oulton Park | 27-28 August | Championship |
| Barcelona | 17-18 September | Winter 'Fun in the Sun' |
| Monza | 29-30 October | Winter 'Fun in the Sun' |
| Estoril | 18-20 November | Winter 'Fun in the Sun' |
“It always takes time to get the race calendar set in stone” comments Andy McMillan. “The 7 Race Series has always strived to take it’s drivers to the biggest and best circuits that the UK and Europe has to offer and 2022 will be no different. We are working hard with MSVR to finalise our UK calendar, the circuits are chosen, we are firm on those, we are just zeroing in on specific dates. We are also getting really close with our European invitational events, we have long established relationships with our European partners and we are excited for what we will be offering in 2022”
“A season opener at Donington park followed by the awesome Brands Hatch GP will make for a fantastic start to the 2022 campaign.” Says Sean Bicknell, 7 Race Series Manager. “With Snetterton 300 and Silverstone GP following up to make an excellent mid-season, then a UK season closer at Oulton Park to round off the campaign, we are looking forward to a very exciting 2022 UK championship” he continues, “If you then add into this, a European invitational round at Spa, then our Winter ‘Fun in the Sun’ events in Barcelona, Monza and Estoril, I genuinely believe we have the best calendar of any clubman race series in the UK”
