Super Lap Scotland, powered by Rockstar Energy Drink, 2016 Round 4 was the first day of the second double header of the 2016 season. With lots of show cars, British Sprint Championship, drift and gymkana content alongside SLS there was plenty to keep spectators busy. Another great turn out, with of 60+ entries looking to do battle. We'd like to welcome a couple of new faces that entered for these rounds. Steven Hunter in his EVO, Rob Attwood in his Impreza, Andy Gordon in his 211, Alan Tait in his Impreza, Calum Dryburgh in his Mini (returning) and Martin Palmer in his MGF.

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 20 minute open pit session for small groups of cars. 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

Round 4 was held on the Anti-Clockwise 'Reverse' circuit. 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. Drivers were split into 4 groups to limit traffic on track and allow drivers more space. The track was dry, and conditions looked good for breaking lap records!

The top 3 times for each class in the warmup sessions 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 in qualifying, and any hopeful 'King of The Hill' winner needs to score very well in both.

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 higher. Drivers get 15 minutes to find space and set the fastest lap possible. Traditionally the fastest times of the day are set during qualifying. Track conditions were generally good. An added bonus in Qualifying was the Edinburgh Watch Company offering a trophy to the person who could set their fastest lap with a combinations of all their fastest sectors - a perfect lap. Tie breakers used difference to second quickest lap as a guide to consistency.

Class F

With 15 competitors challenging for honours in Class F it was always going to be interesting. Marshall Wishart continued his good form and took top spot with margin of 0.359s to Scott Robson in the Elise. Ian Pitman took 3rd despite having car issues earlier in the day. The top 7 in F were all setting very close lap times.

Class E

Ali Mowat took another top spot and full points in qualifying with a 1.2s gap to Collins in second. Andrew Cameron rounded off the top three, narrowly beating Jamieson in his Clio. 4th to 8th separated by just 1s, showing how competitive this class is.

Class D

Paul Tough continued his good form in Round 3 with another 57s lap to top the Class D timesheets, and take full points. Disaster struck though, and he had brake failure at the hairpin, hitting the tyre wall at 60mph - ending his day. Paul was thankfully ok, but the car was not. Keith Cowie took a narrow second from an improving Steven Jefferies. Just 0.021 separating the drivers. Very close battles all the way through the class, showing amazing competition.

Class C

George Rigby took top spot and full qualifying points in Class C, narrowly beating Blair McConahie by just 0.086s. Both drivers having their issues over the day showing their pace when it counted. Martyn Henry took 3rd with a return to his normal fast pace we saw last year.

Class B

Fiona Kindness took full points with a lap narrowly quicker then David Long's. Andy Gordon took 3rd with both Attwood and Adam Kindness having car issues in Qualifying.

Class A

John Stevenson took full points with a 55.7s lap. Archie Bain second and Elassar third.

PRO

Paul Rankin took full points again with a 1.5s gap to Barbour in second. Holmes pushed Barbour hard but just missed second by 0.023s. Steven Hunter suffered some more car issues but showed signs of improving pace for his first time out in the car at SLS. Hamish Gordon set a good lap time despite signs of issues with the car.

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 (within their 4 allocated groups). Slowest out first, building up to the fastest car.

Class F

Marshall Wishart took a deserved win and full points for the day. He is showing signs of constant improvement at every round. Scott Robson pipped Jobson for second. Just 0.028s between the two drivers - in very different machinery. Again, 1st to 6th all very close on times, and 7th to 11th all close. Several battles going on within the class, and anyone can step up and challenge for wins.

Class E

Ali Mowat took another commanding win, and full points for round 4 to help with his King of The Hill tittle fight. Matt Collins took second and Fraser Jamieson a well deserved third. Some very close times in this class too, showing how the power to weight banding works. The larger engined RWD cars looking to have an advantage in the dry though. Craig Dillon was a DNS due to gearbox issues.

Class D

With Paul Tough unable to contest the final this left things more open. Paul was on form to take top spot. In his absence Keith Cowie made the most of it and took a commanding victory with a 1s gap to Jefferies in his EVO. Alan Tait took the final podium place, an excellent result for his SLS debut. Class D is another very competitive class, with 4th to 9th all lapping with very similar times.

Class C

George Rigby's title challenge gathered momentum with a win and full points on the day. Blair McConachie took second and a good haul of points to remain in contention. Both drivers still fighting hard despite their car issues. Martyn Henry was unlucky to miss out on 2nd with a slender gap of just 0.011s to McConachie. Robbie Wyper missed the final with car issues.

Class B

Fee Kindness dominated the final and took full points for round 4. Andy Gordon took a good second place on his debut. Long took third, suffering from some handling issues/low tyre temps in the lightweight Caterham.Adam Kindness nursed his misfiring car round to take 4th.

Class A

Stevenson and Bain both set 55s laps in the final, showing signs that Class A is becoming more competitive. Stevenson took full points, Bain second and Elassar third in the McLaren. Dorward was missing with gearbox selector issues. Clark Sutherland was missing after having engine issues during Friday testing.

PRO

Paul Rankin took the win and full points again. His only dropped points to date have been to Ian Donaldson during R3. Eric Holmes took a superb second (I think all of the pit-lane enjoyed his reaction to him hearing the news) and Barbour rounded off the top 3 with a 55s lap. Steven Hunter took 4th and Steven Darley 5th. Darley had a large slide through the gravel at Butchers and lost a lot of time.

Full class honours are as follows:

	Pro Paul Rankin - Impreza (1st) Eric Holmes - EVO (2nd) Andrew Barbour - EVO (3rd) Class A John Stevenson - Impreza (1st) Archie Bain - Impreza (2nd) Sam Elassar - McLaren (3rd) Class B Fiona Kindness - Impreza (1st) Andy Gordon - 211 (2nd) David Long - Caterham (3rd) Class C George Rigby - Impreza (1st) Blair McConachie - Caterham(2nd) Martyn Henry - Astra VXR (3rd) Class D Keith Cowie - Supercopa (1st) Steven Jefferies - EVO (2nd) Alan Tait - Impreza (3rd) Class E Ali Mowat - M3 (1st) Matt Collins - Cayman (2nd) Fraser Jamieson - Clio (3rd) Class E Marshall Wishart - RX8 (1st) Scott Robson - Elise (2nd) Robert Jobson - A3 (3rd)

Fastest laps per session:

Speed Traps per session:

Warmup	Practice	Qualifying	Final
		Speed Trap PDF
Edinburgh Watch Company - Perfect Lap