Track record tumbles at Singapore Nitro GP
The track record at the newly resurfaced RCMC Marine Parade track has tumbled today in practice ahead of this weekend’s Singapore International Nitro Grand Prix. The 20th Anniversary of the race, lap times got quicker and quicker over Friday’s running with double World Champion Tadahiko Sahashi setting the latest benchmark with a 15.457-lap in his afternoon running. With the previous record standing at 15.9 and set 10-years ago shortly after the track’s previous resurfacing, today’s times are considerable faster than last year’s best of 16.1-seconds. With an entry list that reads like a World Championship, it was the Mugen Seiki of reigning 1:8 World Champion Shoki Takahata who set a new record in the morning before reigning Electric Touring Car World Champion Bruno Coelho upped that pace. The Portuguese driver’s time was short lived however as Takahata produced a 15.5, his first visit to Singapore’s only permanent track clearly not hampering his form. The day however would end up being Sahashi’s as he found another tenth of a second from his Infinity IF18-3 but with three rounds of qualifying tomorrow and the high level of drivers taking part it is widely expected the record will tumble further.
