Super Lap Scotland, powered by Rockstar Energy Drink, 2016 Round 1 couldn't come soon enough for everyone involved with the series. The buildup to the season had suggested another step forward in the series, and there was no disappointment! A diverse field of 60+ cars entered the first round with healthy competition in all 7 classes, showing the growing popularity of the series, and its transparent classification system. There were a lot of familiar faces from Scottish Motorsport, a few competitors traveling hundreds of miles, and plenty of new talent making their first steps into competitive motorsport. The amount of new drivers highlights the accessibility of the series as a grassroots/low cost motorsport.

What is SLS?

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. The format for qualifying has changed for 2016. Gone are the batches of two flying laps, and in comes a 15 minute open pit session for small groups of cars. This seemed to go down well on the day, but we would welcome any feedback on the format. Please email club@superlapscotland.co.uk with any suggestions or issues. Qualifying is still scored, so it is important to set a fast lap time!
The final remains unchanged, and still poses a stern test for drivers. The pressure is high to set a winning laptime with cold tyres and only 1 lap! It can be all or nothing as some have found out in the past.

There are seven classes (Class F is new for 2016), 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 F 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. There were a few drivers who have never driven the circuit, so there sessions would be key for them to learn the racing lines and braking points. Drivers were split into 3 groups to limit traffic on track and allow drivers more space. Group 1 consisted of Class F and some of E. Group 2 the rest of E and D. Group 1 C, B, A and Pro.

Group 1: Lewis Skene made a bright start to his first year in SLS with a very respectable 62.609s lap in Class E, despite having an early end to his session with all 4 brakes locking on. He was closely followed by Kevin Kensett (E) and Craig Dillon (E) with less than 0.5s splitting the top 3. Class F saw another newcomer at the top in a standard power Impreza. Ian Pitman crossing the line with a 63.197s lap. He didn't have it easy though, with the 2 Clios of Neil Methven (Lothian Electrical) and Stevie McNab (Team C.S.O.C) both within 0.16s of him! Sadly the AET Turbos golf came to rest against the tyre wall at the outside of McIntyres, calling an end to their round 1.

Group 2: Class D - The session saw yet another SLS newcomer making his mark at the top of the time sheets. Stephen Henderson put in a very respectable 57.948s lap on his last lap of the session. Keith Cowie took second in the eye-catching SuperCopa, with Paul Tough in 3rd. Both drivers less then 0.7s off Stephen's time. SLS regular Matt Collins picked up where he left off, with a commanding display in this session. He was 0.7s clear of Alistair Mowat in his M3, and over 1s in front of Fraser Jamieson in the Clio. Sadly 2015's Class E champion, James McEleny, suffered headgasket failure on his Impreza during his first hot lap. The only positive news about that is it's the best 5 of 6 rounds for the championship!

Group 3: This session saw some very varied approaches to SLS. Some drivers doing 15laps, some just 1 single flying lap. Paul Rankin led the way in PRO with a healthy 54.135s lap, over 4s from his nearest PRO rival. Russ Paton and Eric Holmes were both having tech issues, and Steven Darley was just getting to grips with the borrowed Legacy. Second in the session went to Adam Kindness, setting a 55.0s lap with 1 single lap before returning to the paddock. Third place showed the pace of Blair McConachie in has Class C Caterham - 55.627 on his 14th lap. Setting a new Lap Record in the process!

The top 3 times for each class in the warmup session were;

Practice

The drivers now started to push on, with some practicing laps on cool tyres to get knowledge for the final, 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. This also now gives practice for the open pit qualifying session. Vital points need to be won here, and any hopeful 'King of The Hill' winner needs to score very well in both.

Group 1: Kevin Kensett (E, 106 GTi) took the quickest time of the session with a 61.813. The next two quickest times were set by Class F cars, beating some of the Class E cars in this group. Ian Pitman recording a 61.946 and Scott Robson narrowly behind by 0.152s in his Elise.

Group 2: The top 3 in this session were all from Class D. Stephen Henderson braking the class C lap record with a 57.644 to go top. Paul Tough (58.276) pipped Keith Cowie (58.486) in this session. Class E was again led by Matt Collins in the Cayman, but the margin to Ali Mowat in second was much smaller this time. Only 0.311 splitting the two. Fraser Jamieson was 3rd fastest again with a 61.345.

Group 3: Paul Rankin took first again with a 54.167, but was only 0.6s in front of Class B driver Adam Kindness (54.798). Third went to Colin Dorward (55.471), showing the pace he had last year. Blair McConachie took fastest time on Class C. Problems for Steven Darley, Martyn Henry and Eric Holmes meant unrepresentative times for these drivers. Fiona Kindness suffered a rear puncture in this session, but still managed to set a 56s lap with a deflated tyre.

The top 3 times for each class in the practice session were;

Qualifying

Qualifying is scored, so the pace will increase and the pressure to perform is high. Drivers get 15 minutes to find space and set a winning lap. Traditionally the fastest times of the day are set during qualifying. Track conditions were mixed with cold temperatures, light showers and strong winds.

Class F

With 14 competitors challenging for honours in Class F it was always going to be interesting. Pitman took a commanding win with a 61.314s lap. Jobson took second in his Audi A3 and Stevie McNab showed consistent improvement to take 3rd with a 62.186. Points of interest - Allister Phillips developed engine issues and Scott Robson had electrical issues. Class F looks very competitive, no one is miles ahead, and the top 10 are all quite close.

Class E

Matt Collins broke his own lap record again to top Class E with a 59.337. Ali Mowat took second and Fraser Jamieson 3rd, repeating the order from all of the days sessions so far! All of Class E showed good pace, with a great mid-field battle. 5 cars were competing within the 62s bracket.

Class D

Steven Henderson broke his own lap record to take full points in qualifying. A great start to a first year in SLS. David Rybowski took second place with times that crept up through out the day. Paul Tough again showed his consistency to take 3rd with a good 58.131s lap.

Class C

Blair McConachie topped the times for the 3rd session in a row, and set yet another lap record for Class C. His 55.508s lap was out of reach for the rest of the class. George Rigby took second, with Mark Dawson third. Both completing 56s laps.

Class B

Adam Kindness took first with another 55.0s lap, but Fiona and David Long both closed the gap to give an interesting Class B final. All 3 drivers in 55s.

Class A

Colin Dorward showed his true pace in this session, and proved too much for Archie Bain. Sam Elassar took his McLaren to 3rd, just 1s behind Bain.

PRO

Paul Rankin dropped into the 53s to take first, with Steven Darley taking the repaired Legacy to second. Russ Paton rounded off the top 3 in a depleted Pro class. Eric Holmes was missing due to power steering issues.

Final

One final flying lap to decide the points, all or nothing. 25 points are available for 1st, down to 1 for 15th. Cars went out in order of qualification, with slowest out first, building up to the fastest car. The track conditions were dry, but very cold.

Class F

Steven McNab made the most of Ian Pitman being missing and took a very deserved victory in Round 1. Robert Jobson took second and Neil Methven third. The rest of the field were not far behind at all. Some tweaks and more experience will see them closing the gap.

Class E

Matt Collins finished the day as he started, topping the timing sheets for each session. The gap was smaller this time round, showing the Porsche needs multiple laps to set its best times. Mowat took second and Jamieson third. 4th to 9th all showed competitive times.

Class D

David Rybowski took a win that came in very much under the radar! With Henderson dominating all sessions, it was a surprise to see him down in 4th. Rybowski took a deserved first with a solid 58.056s lap in his first SLS event, narrowly beating Tough and Chan. Tough and Chan, both in M3s, were also inseparable last year. 4th to 8th were all very close, with Greenan edging out Cowie in the final.

Class C

Another surprise for a lightweight car that had shown good pace all day! George Rigby took a great win despite Blair McConachie's great pace all day long. The tyre warming on out lap plays a big part in the final. Mark Dawson took second, and Blair recovered to take 3rd. Fred Walton was unlucky to have a spin on his lap.

Class B

Qualifying suggested this would be a tight final, but from previous classes it looked like the lightweight cars were struggling with tyre temps. Adam Kindness took top spot with 55.227, just 0.163 in front of his wife Fiona. Both lost time through mistakes on their laps, so who knows what could have been. David Long took 3rd with a 56.201, showing good pace despite the testing conditions and first event for the car after a lot of alterations.

A comparison of the final laps of Fiona and Adam can be viewed below.

Class A

Archie Bain took full advantage of Colin's misfortune to take a deserved victory in class A. Sam Elassar came home in 3rd, struggling to get temperature into the McLarens road based tyres.

PRO

Paul Rankin completed the full house and took his Impreza to victory in round 1. A solid start to the year with full points and a good showing for team Whiteline - PR Joinery. Russ Paton improved his times to set a PB 55s lap for the day. Eric Holmes and Steven Darley were missing with tech problems.

Extended highlights of Round 1:

Full class honours are as follows:

	Pro Paul Rankin - Impreza (1st) Russ Paton - EVO (2nd) Class A Archie Bain - Impreza (1st) Colin Dorward - EVO (2nd) Sam Elassar - McLaren (3rd) Class B Adam Kindness - Impreza (1st) Fiona Kindness - Impreza (2nd) David Long - Caterham (3rd) Class C George Rigby - Impreza (1st) Mark Dawson - Corrado (2nd) Blair McConachie - Caterham(3rd) Class D David Rybowski - Impreza (1st) Paul Tough - M3 (2nd) Viney Chan - M3 (3rd) Class E Matt Collins - Cayman (1st) Ali Mowat - M3 (2nd) Fraser Jamieson - Clio (3rd) Class E Steven McNab - Clio (1st) Robert Jobson - A3 (2nd) Neil Methven - Clio (3rd)

Fastest laps per session:

Speed Traps per session:

Warmup	Practice	Qualifying	Final
		Speed Trap PDF