Ah, lap times. We don’t judge cars based on their speed around a circuit, but it gives us a yardstick by which to measure their performance.
We expected, for example, the Lotus Exige S to be the fastest car around Bedford’s (damp-patched) West circuit by a mile, but because of a gearshift unfit to grace a Raleigh Chopper, it wasn’t.
For fairness, to limit the wear on the heavier, more powerful cars, and so we could get through them all in consistent conditions, each car got the same treatment: an out lap, two fliers, and an in lap.
The time quoted is the quickest. Beyond the Lotus, any other surprises? Not a lot. The Cayman’s wonderful balance let it go quicker than a 911. The RS4 is a frankly astonishing piece of kit.
And the GT86 is proof that speed does not necessarily correlate with fun.
