Super Lap Scotland Round 4 - Anti Clockwise, and the weather was forecast to be wet! There was a huge variety of cars taking part, as well as other events being run along side SLS - MSA British Sprint Championship, Fueltopia Barrel Sprint and Gymkhana Cup, all helping to attract good crowds and create a busy paddock. There was a large and varied SLS grid with 46 entries, with some new faces to SLS, and some returning from previous years.

SLS is simple - man and machine against the track and clock. Competitors complete two warm up sessions to perfect their lines and tweak their set ups ahead of qualifying. In qualifying competitors get a couple of attempts at topping the timesheets by completing 2 flying laps, before progressing to the SLS Final; where one lap, that's right, one single lap decides it all. This final lap is often all or nothing, with some drivers throwing caution to the wind.

There are six classes, all based on the power-to-weight ratio of each car; which allows even the most modest of road cars the opportunity to compete against the super-tuned monsters out on track; with points awarded for qualifying positions and overall finishing positions in each class. Meaning that, a class E competitor (least powerful) could easily take the overall Championship title from a Pro class competitor (most powerful) by scoring more points throughout the season, giving us an overall "King of Knockhill".

Warmup

The warmup session traditionally sees competitors giving their cars a shake down, adjusting settings, scrubbing tyres or finding out more about the track conditions. No records are normally set in the first session of the day. With the Anti-Clockwise layout of Knockhill not that widely known, there were some competitors tackling it for the first time. Group 1 (Classes D &E) were straight onto the pace, with Tough, Keith and Milne leading to way in D, over 1 sec clear of Class leader Steve Warman in 4th. Class E was very close at the top with Collins, Phillips and Cameron all setting times within 0.169s of each other. This session was ended early with a red flag, to recover Bonner's Fiat 500 after turbo failure. There was a lot of oil lost, and spread on the track. Group 2 (Classes Pro, A, B & C) looked to be taking it fairly easy with the slippy conditions, with the exception of Martyn Henry (class C) who shot to the top of the times, and lead over all at the end of the session. This session was also affected by oil, with Matty Lawson suffering oil line failure. Thankfully his ECU cut the engine when it detected pressure drop - saving the engine and lots more oil on track!

The top three times in the Pro/A/B/C session were set by Henry (Astra- 59.316), Brown (Elise - 59.422) and Sutherland (EVO - 59.453).
The top three times in the D/E session were set by Tough (M3 - 59.519), Keith (Impreza - 60.955) and Milne (EVO - 61.093).

Practice

The drivers now started to push on, with some practising laps on cool tyres, or fine tuning changes to setup from the first session. Other drivers took a different approach and used the time to get maximum laps in to get a better feel for the car and further learn the track layout. Class E had Collins, Phillips and Lai at the top. All the times were again looking very close throughout the class, again showing the thinking behind the class structure. Class D saw Steve Warman straight back to the top with a 1sec gap to his nearest rival. Paul Tough and Calum Keith rounding up the top 3 - only 0.010 splitting the two. Class C practice was dominated by Martyn Henry. He was almost 2 seconds clear of McConachie and Walker. Class B looked to be forming into a good battle with 5 cars split by 2 seconds. The top 3, Brown, Sutherland and Long, by just 0.6s. Class A only had 1 competitor, and new comer to the series - Graeme Jeram. He posted a respectable 58.5s lap. PRO - Andy Forrest again dominating and creating a 4sec cushion to his nearest rivals. Andy Napier and Eric Holmes rounded up the top 3.

The top three times in the Pro/A/B/C session were set by Forrest (Impreza- 52.407), Brown (Elise - 56.025) and Napier (Impreza - 56.232).
The top three times in the D/E session were set by Warman (EVO - 58.887), Tough (M3 - 59.937) and Keith (Impreza - 59.948).

Qualifying

Qualifying is scored, so the pressure is on to perform. Drivers get two chances at two flying laps, this give practice on cold tyres for the 1 lap 'Super Lap' Final. Traditionally the fastest times of the day are set during qualifying. Sadly the rain had started, and turned Qualifying into a bit of a lottery, with some drivers catching a lucky break and getting a slightly dryer track during intermittent showers.

Class E

With 14 competitors challenging for the win in Class E it was always going to be interesting. James McEleny must have been quietly confident that the conditions would affect his 4wd car less than others. James took top spot with 1sec to spare. Allister Phillips second and Craig McDowall third. The gap between 3rd and 7th just 0.611s. It could have been anyone's!

Class D

The battle for the top spot in D was also very close. The top 3 were split by less than 1 second, with the 4wd machines of Keith and Warman proving more adept to the slippery conditions. This session saw Warman losing his 100% record, and Keith's first 1st in qualifying. David Greenan rounded up the top 3, doing well with FWD in those conditions.

Class C

Mark Dawson took top spot in C to continue his good form, and showing intelligent tyre choice helps. His times look particularly impressive when compared to higher powered 4wd cars. Walker took second, 1.2s behind. Henry 3rd despite having a big moment and getting airborne earlier in the day.

Class B

A returning Wayne Sutherland took top spot in B qualifying, just 0.5s in front of Fee Kindness in second, who was just 0.004 in front of Dorward. Power to Weight classes again showing how competitive they can be. The top 4 (all 4wd) split by 1second.

Class A

Graeme Jeram posted a good time for the conditions, taking full points.

PRO

PRO qualifying looked a little closer with the weather playing havoc with available traction. Andy Forrest took P1 from Napier, but only by 1.8s this time. Matty Lawson claimed third.

Final

One final flying lap to decide the points, all or nothing. 100 points are available for 1st, down to 10 for 10th. Cars went out in order of qualification, with slowest out first, building up to the fastest car. The track conditions were very changeable, wet but patchy rain showers.

Class E

2014 Class D winner Matt Collins took his road going Cayman to 1st in Class E, with over a 1 second gap back to 2014 Class C champion Keith Cowie and his Mini. Kevin Henderson took third and his first SLS podium. Championship front runners McEleny and Phillips finished down in 6th and 7th, cursing their bad luck with rain showers.

Class D

Steve Warman returned to the top after a brief lapse in domination. Calum Keith continued his good form in his Impreza, just edging out Tough. There were a number of DNFs in this class as some found the conditions a bit too slippery. Craig Dillon sliding his RWD escort like it was on a rally stage.

Class C

Mark Dawson upped his pace and put in a great performance to beat the 4wd Porsche 997 of Walker. Martyn Henry took 3rd again, rounding off a solid day for him.

Class B

David Brown took full points but only by the skin of teeth. Sutherland was just 0.3s behind him. 3rd went to Dorward, who had the upper hand over Fee Kindness this time. She later revealed that she had to restart her car twice on her final lap - fuel pressure issues.

Class A

Another good time from Jeram to take full points in A. Hopefully more will join him in future.

PRO

Andy Forrest continued his 100% winning streak with a 51s lap with a dry line forming. Andy Napier took second, Matty Lawson 3rd, Rankin 4th and Paton 5th.

Full class honours are as follows:

	Pro Andy Forrest - Impreza (1st) Andy Napier - Impreza (2nd) Matty Lawson - EVO (3rd) Class B David Brown - Elise (1st) Wayne Sutherland - EVO (2nd) Colin Dorward - EVO (3rd) Class C Mark Dawson - Corrado (1st) Stewart Walker - 997 (2nd) Martyn Henry - Astra (3rd) Class D Steve Warman - EVO (1st) Calum Keith- Impreza (2nd) Paul Tough - M3 (3rd) Class E Matt Collins - Cayman(1st) Keith Cowie - Mini (2nd) Kevin Henderson - Civic (3rd)

Fastest laps per session:

Speed Traps per session:

Thanks also, once again, to all those officials, marshals and medical teams who devote so much time to ensuring we can enjoy motorsport events like today.
For all the results and in-depth reports from today, make sure you hop on over to the Super Lap Scotland website or give their Facebook page a like ahead of the next event.

See you all at Knockhill very soon!

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