Caterham will be joining names such as McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull on the grid next season following the official change of the 'Team Lotus' racing team to the 'Caterham F1 Team' on Thursday, 15th December. For years the classic Caterham Seven car has been a well-known name amongst motoring enthusiasts but from next season the brand will also become a household name for millions of F1 fans across the globe, Andy Noble, Sales and Marketing Director at Caterham Cars, said: "The new Caterham F1 car is being launched at the end of January and the plan is to be fighting for points next year, which is something we couldn't hope for this year.

We are investing in the team, the personnel and the facilities and I am really excited about our involvement with F1. We will be selling F1 merchandise in the showroom so it will be nice to see fans of Formula 1 in here."

Caterham Cars will be rebranding in 2012 so there will be a common brand of green, yellow and white colours across the Caterham Group. Owned by Tony Fernandez, the Caterham Group consists of a range of automotive, motor racing technology and innovation companies (see www.teamlotus. co.uk/news/2011/cate rham-group).

Andy has been in discussions with the organisers of the Caterham Festival with regard to a possible Soap Box Race down Church Hill in Caterham as part of the Festival activities next summer with teams from local organisations invited to take part. "It is just the gem of an idea at the moment," said Andy. "It would be a great way to showcase the design and technology departments of local schools as well as other F1 teams that may want to join in. Other towns have quirky events like the Gloucester Cheese Rolling, why not Caterham?

"Church Hill would be a fantastic track to do it on, nice and steep, but we would need the co-operation of the council and local people."

Andy would like to know what members of the community think about the idea of a Soap Box Race and also their thoughts generally on Caterham Cars being in town. The company's future in Caterham is uncertain as the lease on their premises in Station Avenue is due to expire soon which means they may be forced to look for a new location for their showroom.

Andy said: "We would really like to know if people in Caterham like us being here and want us to stay. Personally, I like Caterham Cars being in this location, especially because of the name and it suits our customers too."

Please send your comments about Caterham Cars being in Caterham to: feedback@ caterham.co.uk