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Sunday 28th July - SLS Round 3
Round 3 Report.... Super Lap Scotland - The UK's newest lap-time challenge event. Super
Lap Scotland, in association with RA Motorsport Developments,
held round 3 of its inaugural championship on Sunday 28th July,
with its second anti-wise visit to Knockhill. The double header
event was part of a world first 'Twin Track' weekend. The rules
and class structure will equalise the most powerful cars on the
planet with even the most modest of road cars. The aim of Super
Lap Scotland is to offer competitive motorsport action for everyone
from the track day driver, the Hot Hatch driver through to some
of the most extreme cars around. It is a genuine alternative to
track days and a stepping stone to full blown circuit racing.
The
format of the event sees all the cars share the track in two 15
minute practice sessions during the morning, before moving onto
the point scoring qualifying and final sessions. For the qualifying
sessions, a maximum of 5 cars at a time are released onto the
track in 10 second intervals for a warm-up lap followed by a two
"hot" laps and then a cool down lap whereby they try
to set their fastest time possible. Each car gets a minimum of
two qualifying runs, giving them the best opportunity to set a
class leading time. The
weather was forecast to be terrible, and it was. A handful of
cars ventured out for the open session to see how much grip was
available, many driving the reverse circuit for the first time
in the wet. The tricky conditions seemed to favour the lowered
powered cars, producing some interesting timesheets with Class
D cars placing well up the order. Six seconds clear at the top
of the times was Graham
Davidson in the Noble. A 600bhp mid-engine RWD car in torrential
rain on MSA 1B semi slicks! His fastest time was 12 seconds slower
than Round 2's winning time, giving an indication of the challenging
track conditions.
Similar
conditions to FP1, and more cars making an appearance this time,
as the weather didn't look like it was going to improve. After
FP1 some cars had moved on to more road based tyres with deeper
tread patterns, but aqua-planing was still a big issue for the
lightweight kit cars. Especially Alan
Gourlay in the R500 on Avon semi slicks. He completed 1 lap
before abandoning the session. The top 3 from Round 2 were at
the top again, but followed closely by Bob
MacKay in his Class C EVO. Class D again showing that wet
conditions are good equaliser. Davidson was quickest of the Class
A competitors despite showing signs of a problematic misfire.
Alan Freeland went quickest overall on his final lap, 0.6s ahead
of Davidson.
The business end of the day. Wet but drying track conditions. Class D saw Dave Herd and William Keith trading places again, Keiths' 4WD Impreza taking the 15pts in the end, 4WD proving too much for the lightweight MkII Fiesta. Craig McDowell did well qualifying 3rd, coming back from issues that caused a no score in Round 2. Class C was a battle between Bob MacKay and Callum Dryburgh in their 4WD saloons. John Wilson, Wayne Sutherland and Kevin Arthur failed to post times. Bob took P1 with a respectable 1:04.217 in the challenging conditions, 4th overall. Class B was dominated by Alan Freeland in the NR Autosport prepared and Bellside sponsored EVO. Alan finished the session with the first sub 60s lap of the day, 13 seconds clear in Class B and over 1sec clear overall. David Long qualified P2 with another PB in the wet this time. Class A featured
only two cars by this stage. Charlie Shaw and Graham Davidson.
Russ Paton
was competing at TOTB, Jason
Ogg in the RA Motorsport Impreza couldn't attend, Fiona
Kindness was without a working car, and Brian
Rennie suffering engine troubles in round 2. Shaw and Davidson
(still hampered by an intermittent misfire) had been fairly evenly
matched so far, and qualifying was no different. The two were
separated by 1sec again with Shaw on top for the first time in
Round 3.
Class D - William Keith had been on top most of the day and remained in control of the final. P1, 1 second clear in class. The dry conditions allowed Dave Herd and Craig McDowall to close the gap on the Impreza, but too little too late perhaps. Dave Herd won the TrackScotland 'Driver of The Day' trophy for his amazing efforts. He sourced and replaced his head gasket between sessions! Class C - Bob MaKay took top spot, and 4th overall, after being stuck out in the North Sea for Round 2. More than making up for his absence, and hoping to make good use of the dropped round points system (best 3 rounds count). Class B - That man Alan Freeland again, taking the Class B win by 6 seconds and finishing within 0.132 seconds of being the outright winner. The pairing of Alan and the powerful EVO proving untouchable in the tricky conditions. Class
A - A straight two way battle between the Focus (rush fix
for oil leak to make the final, and sporting a hastily fashioned
drip-tray) and the now healthy Noble (fuel roll-over vent issues).
In a dramatic climax to the day, with conditions at times resembling
a boat race, it came down to just 0.014 seconds. Graham Davidson
took his first win, defeating the mighty AG Motorsport Focus,
and setting up an interesting finale at round 4. "It's
been such a tough day with the car, I've put in a lot of work
and managed to post a lap in the end to win, so I am delighted"
Write
up thanks to Chris O'Donnell
Results:
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