The weekend of 25th to 26th July saw Knockhill Racing Circuit welcome a number of different motorsport Championships to the venue for two full-on days of super-fast action.
Headlining the weekend was our own Knockhill Motor Sports Club organised Super Lap Scotland Championship in association with RA Motorsport Developments and Track Scotland. The time-trial (MSA Sprint) series enjoyed a bumper entry with over 50 competitors split across six different classes taking part – a new record for the Championship that see’s a multitude of vehicles head out on-track in search of the ultimate lap time.
Competitors tackle a number of warm-up and practice sessions throughout the day – honing their car’s performance to the demanding twists and dips of the Knockhill track; before the first points-scoring session of the day – qualifying. This tends to be the session where everyone posts their fastest times of the day. Consistently, throughout the classes, qualification times tend to be a few tenths, even on occasion a few seconds better than the final ‘Super Lap’ times, which only goes to highlight the enormous pressure the single lap shoot-out puts on competitors. It really is a win or bust scenario and often, there are a few surprising casualties along the way.
Take Steve Warman for instance, he’s been untouchable in Class D so far this season, winning every round so far and topping the ‘King of the Hill’ standings ahead of more powerful and must faster cars. Warman also won his class on Saturday (Round 4) and posted a new class record time of 57.6 seconds during qualification on Sunday (Round 5). But, hooking that undoubted pace together in one final lap, when the pressure is on and all previous good form counts for nothing, proved to be a step to far this weekend. A 59.085 second lap, some one and a half seconds slower than his best time of the day, goes to show that you can’t take anything for granted during that final lap of Super Lap Scotland Championship battle.
Warman’s disappointment will be the polar opposite to eventual Class D winner Viney Chan, with the Monster Unit BMW E90 M3 driver taking his first SLS class win – in only his first full season of competition. Indeed, both Chan and second place finisher Paul Tough went slower than there qualification times, but with only a few tenths in it, they managed to hold their nerve to secure some vital Championship points this weekend; lapping the circuit in 58.5 and 58.7 seconds respectively.
Elsewhere, Andy Forrest continued his dominance of the Pro class by taking a brace of wins this weekend; with Round 5 victory coming thanks to a 51.312 second lap in the final. The Forrest machine certainly has a horse-power advantage over the rest of the Pro class field, but the Prestonpans ace set aside water hose issues to seal another straight-forward win. Forrest however, is still searching for that elusive sub-50 second SLS lap – we know the car is capable of it, given that Forrest clocked a 49.6sec effort with SLS driver liaison Rory Butcher in the passenger seat – but hooking all that power and performance together for that one single lap has proved to be his biggest challenge this year.
You can check out the Super Lap Scotland website for all the latest news, results and feedback from the latest double-header at Knockhill. Hopefully you’ll also consider joining us for the final meeting of the year – our SLS Championship finale and Paul Walker Tribute event on Sunday 20th September.
Elsewhere on the weekend, we saw Dmitrij Sribnyj power his Subaru Impreza SC36 to a spectacular double – with the Peterborough driver claiming Fueltopia Barrel Sprint victory on Saturday (25th July) and adding overall victory in our inaugural Gymkhana Cup event on Sunday (26th July) ahead of Adam Elder and Jake Archer. The MSA British Sprint Championship provided even more super-fast action with a whole host of single-seater racing cars being put through their paces on track. Additionally, the Darlington and District Motor Club brought their Northern Saloons and Sports Car Championship North of the border for some Reverse and International direction racing with Paul Brydon taking the winning spoils in both races. And, around one hundred or so, individuals and Car Club members set up around the venue to showcase a whole host of road-going machinery.
Knockhill Events Director, Stuart Gray said:
“What can l say, there’s certainly been a lot of exceptional action on view for Scottish race fans this weekend. The weekend’s been a roaring success and we’re very thankful to everyone who made it all possible – marshals, medics, officials and competitors; and of course the individual Championships who have travelled to Knockhill this weekend – Fuletopia Barrel Sprint, British Sprint and the Darlington and District Motor Club.”
Thanks to Power-Images for all the photos from today, there is a quick selection below; but stay tuned to our social media channels over the coming days for a full gallery of all the weekend’s action.
Hopefully we’ll see you all at our final SLS event of the year on Sunday 20th September – mark a date in your diary, it’s going to be another fantastic event.
The Super Lap Scotland Championship receives kind support from the following companies: RA Motorsport Developments, Clark Motorsport, Turbosmart, AET Turbos, Whiteline, Samsonas and Extreme Performance Clutches.
Action from Sunday 26th July will also appear on MotorsTV in a few weeks time.
See you next time.
