K&N Sponsored Randall Lawson Wins Div. II Championship at Zandvoort Trophy of the Dunes
- 14 Sept 2011
"For my team the weekend went okay," said team Jaronn Equipe founder and driver, Randall Lawson. "My teammate in the green Renault Alpine A310 V6 blew his engine in free-practice and for him the weekend was over. For myself, I also had big problems with the engine in free-practice, but my good mechanics repaired it and in qualification I got 8th place overall. The first race was very good with close racing against some newer cars from the Division III (1984-90 cars) like Porsche 964, BMW M3 and Porsche 944. Lawson takes enormous pride in his role as a giant slayer, pitting his pink Alpine A310 against the younger, stronger big guns. "The result in the first race was even better, a 6th place overall, and first in my class (Division II 1976-83)," added Lawson. The popular Dutch Youngtimer Touring Car Challenge Series, in which Randall and his team completes, is for cars from the 1970's and 1990's. "We made the decision to race with an unusual car, our Renault Alpine A310 V6, which was not intended as a circuit racer, but as a rally car. We took up the challenge and created a circuit winner," commented Lawson after winning the 2009 Championship. In winning his division at Zandvoort, Lawson also won the 2011 Division II Championship, yet he wasn't completely satisfied with that. "It's nice to have that trophy," Lawson told K&N Race News, "but it would be more interesting to try to get also a podium in the overall standings of the Championship. And for that I had to finish inside the top-ten in the second race."
As in the first race, fierce competition once again dominated the race action. Lawson, up against cars decades younger and with an average of 120hp more, showcased what driving skill could accomplish. "I had a lot of fun," said Lawson, "8th place was the best I could do. The first race took too much toll out of the rear Dunlop tires, so the car was sliding much more and drifting than I would like. But it was enough for another Trophy, much nicer than the championship in Division II. Third place overall, with a car as small as the Renault Alpine A310 is a very, very, good result. The first two podium finishes where for ex DTM BMW M3 cars, with almost 150 bhp more under their bonnet. Impossible to beat. But to finish before some newer Porsche 964's, BMW M3 and even a Big Rover SD1, is letting me feel very good about this year." "For 2012 we already have a new engine ready with 60 bhp more in it. Next season is going to be interesting; maybe I can win the overall championship with it. We have a lot of work this winter to test and prepare the car for a new battle though. With K&N's help over here in Holland, we are going to make a special air-box for it. This is not going to be so easy, because we don't have a lot of room between the inlets of the Kugelfischer injection system and the rear bonnet of the car. But problems are there to be solved, and with the technicians of K&N, I think it's going to be something we will have no problem managing. That is one of the best parts of having fun with racing." Find K&N products for your vehicle using the K&N application search then use the K&N dealer search to find a K&N dealer in your part of the world. |
