Super Lap Scotland, powered by Rockstar Energy Drink, 2016 Round 6 was the final round of the 2016 season. With lots of show cars, drag racing, drifting and an outright lap record attempt by a 700bhp single seater there was plenty of action to keep spectators happy. With several of the SLS classes still up for grabs there was a lot riding on the outcome of round 6.

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 6 was held on the anti-clockwise (reverse) circuit that is still quite new to some of the drivers. The warmup session normally 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 3 groups to limit traffic on track and allow drivers more space, and let loose for 20minutes. The track was dry, and conditions looked good for some fast times. Warmup saw several drivers opting to sit out and save the car/tyres for later. Some drivers look to have forgot it was a warmup! Blair McConachie set a new Class C lap record whilst completing 17laps, the most by far from the 3 groups. John Stevenson drove over his own bumper after a trip into the gravel. Fiona Kindness had issues with her splitter and completed 1 slow lap. Sadly Rab Jobson had car issues during Group1 warmup leading to a red flag and that session being cut short to clean the track. Sam Elasser was unable to make the morning sessions.

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

Practice

The drivers now started to push on, with some practising 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. Fred Walton sadly retired in this session after a large off through Clarks.

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

Class F has shown it can be very close, with 5 drivers capable of taking top spot. Consistency, reliability and in the case of Wishart development has proved key to being successful. Marshall Wishart set a new lap record whilst narrowly beating Robson in the Elise (that was now being shared with Rab Jobson). Allister Phillips showed his potential by taking third just ahead of Neil Methven. 0.063 between the two drivers. Chris Hislop took the Edinburgh Watch Company 'Perfect Lap' award for Round 6 2016.

Class E

Ali Mowat. 2.7s clear of the rest of Class E. It has been hard to see past Mowat from Round 2, and his qualifying performance in Round 6 proved he was going to be very difficult to beat. Andrew Cameron came in second with a 61.2s lap just 0.3 ahead of Wilson who had moved up from Class F for this round. Behind Mowat this class is VERY competitive, with just 1.4s splitting 8 positions.

Class D

Keith Cowie carried on his good form and set a time 0.7s faster than Paul Tough in second. Tough needed to pay close attention behind though, as Rybowski was just 0.072s behind him. As the season progressed Class D times have converged, showing the 2017 should be as good as if not better than 2016.

Class C

A season long battle between the 2 quickest cars in Class C was set to go to the wire. Top spot in qualifying would be the first step towards the class championship. Blair had been the quicker in both morning sessions but George Rigby upped his game when it counted and took a healthy 0.7s margin over Blair. First blow to Rigby. 3rd went to Robbie Wyper, setting a quick 57.3s lap with Martyn Henry not far behind despite not having use of all of available gears.

Class B

Fiona Kindness took full qualifying points again with a steady 56.2s lap with reduced aero on the car. Sadly there was no contest put up by David Long as his car developed terminal engine problems during qualifying.

Class A

John Stevenson set the quickest time in a Class A - 54.551 and a new Class A lap record. Class A was beginning to get very competitive with the upturn in form for Archie Bain and the return of Colin Dorward. Sam Elassar completed his first laps of the day after arriving late, so was off his normal pace.

PRO

Paul Rankin made is first appearance of the day - a tactic he has been using most of the year. Preserving the car and keeping the opposition guessing. Rankin took 1st with a 53.0s lap to Eric Holmes' 54.2. Andrew Barbour took third with boost pipe issues preventing him showing true pace. Steven Hunter continued to show improvement with a low 57. Matty Lawson making a return to SLS with a new car was off the PRO pace all day, but was using the session as a test for next year. Hamish Gordon had car issue and did not set a representative lap time.

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 allocated groups). Slowest out first, building up to the fastest car.

Class F

Marshal Wishart confirmed his form on the reverse layout with his second full points victory out of 3 attempts. His 1 flying lap in the final was too much for Robson, but Robson had done enough to take the Class F Championship for 2016. Phillips would be left with a lot of 'what if's after a strong finish to the year. Just 0.072s quicker would have seen him in second place.

Class E

Ali Mowat dominated again, taking full points over the weekend. Paul Wilson took second and Kevin Kensett took third. The championship went to Ali Mowat in his road going M3. The times for all the drivers behind 1st were very close.

Class D

Paul Tough took the victory but not without some drama. Keith Cowie span at the top of Duffus as he wound the car up for the start of the hot lap. He touched the barrier but luckily suffered no damage. Unluckily the car was stuck on wet grass. This meant Keith was out and Paul was given a rerun. By this point Paul would have known David Rybowski was sitting on a potential winning time, so he couldn't afford to be too casual on the lap. Paul did enough and took his first win of the year. David Rybowski took second and Alan Tait a clear third from Adrian Milne. Keith Cowie took the Class D Championship by a very narrow margin, with both Keith and Paul dropping round where they were off the track and not scoring in the final.

Class C

Class C was simple. Either George or Blair had to win the final to win the championship. George did a better job in qualifying so had the advantage of doing his lap after Blair, meaning he was able to see his lap and know the time he needed to beat. With a large lockup at the hairpin and a 56.2s lap Blair had left the door halfway open for George. George did enough with a 55.9s lap and took the Class C Championship for 2016. Martyn Henry took a well deserved 3rd after a very difficult day and year.

Class B

Fee Kindness was left to simply coast round to get full points. She didn't hold back though and managed a 57.1s lap with a very large lockup and sideways moment into the hairpin. Her lack of aero perhaps giving a little more speed into the hairpin. Fiona took the Class B Championship.

Class A

Colin Dorward had a good end to the day and year after a troubling season. His 54.7s laptime just enough to take the win from John Stevenson who had already sealed the Class A title. Archie Bain again continued his good form, pushing Stevenson close and taking third in front of Elassar in the McLaren.

PRO

Paul Rankin, already PRO Class Champion before the day began, ended the season in style with another full points victory. Eric Holmes and Andrew Barbour are getting closer though, and next season should see some closer battles at the top of the SLS class structure. Eric just did enough to take second from Andrew. Matty Lawson had to bail out of his lap after spinning at the bottom of Duffus.

Full class honours are as follows:

	Pro Paul Rankin - Impreza (1st) Eric Holmes - EVO (2nd) Andrew Barbour - EVO (3rd) Class A Colin Dorward - EVO (1st) John Stevenson - Impreza (2nd) Archie Bain - Impreza (3rd) Class B Fiona Kindness - Impreza (1st) Class C George Rigby - Impreza (1st) Blair McConachie - Caterham (2nd) Martyn Henry - Astra VXR (3rd) Class D Paul Tough - M3 (1st) David Rybowski - Impreza (2nd) Alan Tait - Impreza (3rd) Class E Ali Mowat - M3 (1st) Paul Wilson - Clio (2nd) Kevin Kensett - 106 (3rd) Class E Marshall Wishart - RX8 (1st) Scott Robson - Elise (2nd) Allister Phillips - Prelude (3rd)

Fastest laps per session:

Speed Traps per session:

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