This Saturday November 2, on the cold and unforgiving asphalt of Taupo Motorsport Park’s Track 2, Toyota Levin driver Barry Manon pulled off what many thought was impossible – winning a Wynn’s Racing Super Lap round in a front wheel drive vehicle. Super Lap is a time-attack style event in which competitors push street legal cars of Japanese-only origins to the absolute limit for a single flying lap. After a full day of practice sessions, racers get two attempts at the Super Lap run and their best is time logged. Piloting his turbocharged 1800cc street-legal Levin on the cold, grip-less surface, Barry managed to cut a blisteringly quick 1.16.93 lap time, which not only put him in first place for the Street Car class, but also edged out every competitor in the theoretically faster Street Pro class, which allows for street legal, caged race cars like those seen in the Targa. This class was won by experienced Super-Lapper Ian Campbell and his well set up Street-Pro Mitsubishi Evolution VI, with a 1.17.10.

For the first time in Super Lap history, the day also included an “Unlimited” class, which made room for all-out, non-street legal race cars. This class could only compete amongst themselves, as the Super Lap time attack days are first and foremost, a street car competition. 3SGTE-powered Toyota AE85 driver Grant Hohaia took out this class with the fastest time of the day – a 1.15.45.

Noticeably absent from the list of front-runners is previously undefeated Super Lap champion, Scott Kreyl. Scott and co-driver Jono Lester only managed one practice session in the early morning before technical problems forced them to retire. Before the mishap, the pair looked set to once again clean up, running a second quicker, according to their transponder, than any else managed all day long. Used to competing in the Porsche Cup, experienced driver Jono was determined to carry on, and managed to get himself a drive in a high powered Toyota Supra with which he then proceeded to cut the second fastest time of the day. Congratulations to everybody involved — Another successful Wynn’s Racing Super Lap for 2008.

Results: Top 10 Shootout

Results: Run Sheet

What’s all this Super Lap thing about then?

In April 2007 New Zealand’s modified import performance car scene turned a new corner when the first-ever NZPC Super Lap was run at Taupo Motorsport Park. The Wynn’s Racing Super Lap is an event specially formulated to be a total test of import street car performance. One by one competitors will be timed over a single flying lap of the track, and by the end of the day, the car that made the fastest lap will win and the Super Lap 'time to beat’ will have been laid down.

Super Lap is broken down into individual classes: Street Pro (PRO), Street Private (PVT) and a new Unlimited class (ULM).

Street Pro consisting of caged warranted, registered and certified cars while Street Private will sport uncaged and legal cars. The new Unlimited class allows those with full competition cars — those which are not road-registered yet are clearly up to a race-ready standard — to compete should they wish.

While they will contest the solo flying lap, their individual times do not go towards the overall title contested by the street-registered vehicles. Those wishing to compete in the Unlimited class must contact us to discuss their vehicles prior to entering. The main two classes will be broken down into sub-classes (4WD, RWD and FWD) so that drivers have something more to strive for on the day.