Caterham has unveiled a new nomenclature for its series of domestic motorsport championships, ahead of the 2017 season.

The new system was developed to better reflect the road car model range and bring the titles of the six championships more up to date.

Further alterations are expected to be made ahead of the 2018 racing season.

From today, Caterham’s championships will be named as follows:

Caterham Academy ChampionshipCaterham Roadsport ChampionshipCaterham 270R ChampionshipCaterham 310R ChampionshipCaterham 420R ChampionshipThe Caterham Supersport Championship, while not included within the motorsport ‘ladder’ will continue as a standalone championship as long as grid sizes remain viable.

The outgoing Caterham R300 Championship becomes the 420R series on the basis that, while it shares a base engine with the roadgoing Seven 360R, the R300 racer is such a high-spec vehicle that it is more akin to the more powerful 420R.

With the most horsepower of all the championships, the 420R series will be the pinnacle of Caterham Seven racing in the UK.

Meanwhile, with 17 years of history, the Academy championship will continue to be the novices’ category of choice, introducing drivers with no previous racing experience to the world of motorsport.

Caterham’s Chief Technical & Motorsport Officer, Simon Lambert, said: “Two years ago, we changed the nomenclature of our range of roadgoing Sevens in order to make it an easier, simpler system to understand at a glance.

“Now it seems like the right thing to do to bring our race series more in line with the road range, making it easier to understand what cars are being raced on each rung of our hugely successful ladder.

“With the latest addition to the Seven range – the 310 – being introduced just this year, it’s fitting that we are unveiling this new naming system just as the new car makes it motor racing debut.”