After signing a last-minute deal prior to travelling to Larkhall (17 March), RL Racing Departments latest exciting star delivered a lights-to-flag victory for his new team.
Luke Knott enjoyed a dream debut with PFi-based RL Racing to put himself in the frame as a pre-season contender for Super One title glory. He certainly bedded-in quickly and very well! said RLRD owner, Steve Armstrong. Luke is still adjusting to the class and, by his own admission, he wasnt perfect in Saturdays wet conditions. However, we all worked at improving his times and by Sunday, Luke was right on the pace.
Indeed, the former Honda Cadet O Plate champion went on to take an emphatic pole position for the final with two wins and a 3rd place in the heats.
Once the final had got underway, Knott became locked in a game of cat and mouse with the driver in 2nd but with two laps remaining, he picked up his pace and put matters beyond doubt. He broke away at the perfect time and set the fastest lap on his run to the chequered [flag]. Understandably, he was very happy and, of course, so was I and the rest of the team!
In the Mini Max class, the team maintained its 100% record of scoring podiums in all of its pre-season club events. Larkhall proved to be another happy hunting ground for Sandy Mitchell and Jack McCarthy. The pair featured throughout the preliminaries and against a quality field.
Sandys day was not without some controversy, when he was disqualified for contact during the third heat - something he and the team felt was not entirely justified after his rivals own driving standards went unpunished. However, this served to fire him up further and he charged from the 9th row of the grid to a fine 3rd at the finish. Crossing the line ahead of him, Jack had briefly led, but by mid-distance the top three finishing positions had already been decided.
It was alright, really said Armstrong, summing up. We always knew we would face a tough test against the local heroes, so to come up and take away two more trophies was satisfying. We needed to find a couple of tenths in the wet - but championships are won on podiums and pace in the dry is second to none, so everything is still pointing forwards.
RL Racing Departments Euro Max squad is currently in Belgium, preparing for the opening round at Genk (30-31 March).
Jack will join Lando and Oliver Norris in Belgium. We havent seen Lando for a while now, as hes been racing in KF Junior, so it will be great see him back in the team alongside his brother. For more information about racing with RL Racing Department, call Steve today on 07843 586 416
