Organisers of the 2012 Caterham Academy series are urging potential competitors to act fast to book their place, as only 10 slots remain for next year’s competition.The Academy, run exclusively to take novice racers through the process of gaining their race license as well as their first full season of competition, has created more than 850 brand new racing drivers since its inception in 1995.Caterham Motorsport is holding an open evening at its showroom in Caterham, Surrey, on Wednesday August 31.The event will allow aspiring racers to try out the road-legal Academy cars and chat to current competitors to find out why the series has been the launch pad for more racing drivers than any other grassroots motorsport initiative.The Academy has received high-profile backing from Team Lotus Formula 1 driver, Heikki Kovalainen, who entertained crowds at the wheel of one of Caterham’s iconic Sevens at an event at Duxford earlier this year.Team Lotus Formula One driver Heikki Kovalainen said: “I drove a Caterham Seven when our partnership with Caterham was launched in April this year and it was a fantastic car to drive. Because it’s lightweight it’s very fast but the engineering team at Caterham have got the handling characteristics finely balanced so the Seven is not a tricky car to drive hard. The best place to do that is on a track and, from what I’ve seen, the Caterham Academy is the perfect way to really learn how to push the cars, get into motorsport and start living the dream.”To book a test drive at the Caterham Academy Open Evening, at 6pm on Wednesday August 31, call 01883 333 700. For more information about the Caterham Academy, visit caterham.co.uk or call Jenny Grace on 01322 625800.