As we made our trip up for Australian Motorkhana Nationals, we spotted a morning session track day with Paul Stokell's drivingevents.com.au had a free spot on the Friday before..... so we decided to enter the S1 even if it was only for a couple of sessions due to an already busy schedule. Even though we only got 3 or 4 hot laps, we fell in love with Lakeside and its old school, high risk, high reward layout. Every corner is a fun corner and has its own challenge and in a car as fast as the S1, there is no back straight, you are always doing something with the wheel or brakes or both. The only break you get is on the main straight, but then the flat-out, bumpy left-hander that challenges the chase for commitment, sneaks up on you starting the next lap. Even though it is a short track, it has almost as much undulation per KM as any track I have driven and I would put it in the top 3 tracks I have driven with only Bathurst and the Nurburgring Nordschleife bettering it.
As you can see by the video, probably not the best place to try and get a quick lap with a playful gymkhana setup but still managed to break the 1 minute barrier on our very first lap and then bettered that over the next 3 laps with this 58.49 going over 215km/h (GPS) through turn 1!!
We only got the couple of sessions before we had to pack up and get going, so with a few more laps, I don't think a 57 would be off the cards. Might be a little easier with a track wheel alignment and matching tyres front and rear instead of only RE71RS's on the front!! Definitely a track that rewards balance over power.
Big thanks to all our sponsors
Northside Euros
Mobil1 Australia
Galano Engineering
Trackschool Trackdays
Tuggeranong Chiropractic Centre
Car-
-2016 Audi 8X S1
-IS38/Golf R turbo
-Galano ProFlex ECU Tune
-Galano FlexFuel Sensor
-Galano E85 LPFP
-Bosch Motorsport 980cc injectors
-Custom Turboback Exhaust
-Racingline Intake w APR inlet
-Airtec front mount Intercooler
-KW Clubsport Coilovers
-Powerflex front control arm bushes, camber and caster
-Tarox 4-Pot Brake Kit with Circo M119 Pads
-OzRacing Rims with Bridgestone RE71RS Soft Fr and Zestino 07R Hard Rr
-Quaife ATB LSD Front
-NPC Heavy Duty Clutch with SMF