Cherry standing tall as Super Lap champ
Consistency the key as Perth racer scoops title
Fair City track ace Chris Cherry rounded off a memorable year by being crowned Super Lap Scotland champion.
Solid performances throughout the season kept the former Perth Grammar School student clear at the top of the standings.
And that meant the 31-year-old had the Class C championship title wrapped up before last weekend’s closing round at Knockhill.
Super Lap Scotland is a time-trial challenge where competitors battle throughout the day to post the fastest overall time across seven classes.
Cherry loves hitting the track and told the Perthshire Advertiser: “The buzz is brilliant.
“I’ve got a pretty busy job and going up to Knockhill throws all of that out of the window.
“Someone put up a comment on social media saying that, when you’re in your car, all of your problems go right out of the window. That is true.
“The way that the format is with Super Lap Scotland, you need to put everything into the one lap. Any issue and you are done.
“The timing is that close at the top, you’re hundredths of a second between first and second place. It makes it really competitive.”
Car troubles made last year a frustrating one for Cherry but he made sure there was to be no repeat this time around.
“It was a bit of a nightmare last year because I pretty much had the championship in the bag,” he said.
“I was trying to keep the car running to finish rounds and that ended up being the issue which stopped me from winning the championship.
“I spent time over the winter making sure that the car was going to be as reliable as possible.
“The car was solely for Super Lap Scotland this time and I knew it was going to be competitive throughout.
“In rounds four and five, the clutch went on the Sunday during the first warm-up lap. I was thinking: ‘here we go again’.
“But a mechanic came up and there were about six of us in the pit changing the clutch to try and get back out for qualifying.
“We managed to do that, finish first in qualifying and then won it in the final. It was a pretty tense day.”
Cherry, who previously raced go-karts before returning to cars, is assessing his options for next year.
“I was in Class D last year and moved up to Class C,” he said. “There were talks of me going into Class B because the car is capable.
“But there is also potential to take part in a series down south called Time Attack. It’s different tracks and a different experience.
“So I might have a stab at that next year and see how I get on. It would be a lot of getting used to so I might see what the first year is like.”
Chris Cherry (right) won the Class C championship Chris powers around the Knockhill track PICTURES: JOHN STEWART