ANOTHER pleasant evening greeted drivers, teams and fans as they gathered at HRP Lochgelly Raceway on Saturday for the latest slice of stock car action presented by Hardie Race Promotions, writes Les Waller.

Championship Fever continued as the final event before the mammoth HRP October Speed Weekend saw Scotland’s top stock car formula, the HRP 1300 Stock Cars, take centre stage as they contested their Scottish Championship.

Jason Secker was looking for an unprecedented third title in a row but would have his work cut out as almost FORTY cars arrived to do battle.

The Scottish Championship, as is traditional, would be the first race of the evening for the 1300 Stock Cars and the random grid draw saw former ProStocks driver Scott Gilmour on pole in only his second appearance of 2015 with Glenrothes pilot Dale Robertson alongside him.

Secker would certainly have his work cut out as the Denny driver began his defence towards the rear of the grid. Many on both sides of the fence had arrived expecting a chaotic event and they were proven right almost immediately on the drop of the green flag as the drivers used their front bumper to their full effect with cars scattering in all directions!

Halbeath’s Jazz Moore (a former ProStocks multi-champion) shot into a healthy lead as the race settled down with former British Champion Fraser Clark in pursuit while the likes of Secker and other stars battled their way through the order.

As the laps wound down, it was clear that Coaltown of Wemyss’ Callum Barclay had the fastest car on the track but he looked to have left his challenge too late as Moore and Clark were well clear but Barclay closed down Clark with a sense of urgency before setting his sights on Moore.

Moore was unlucky to clip an errant marker tyre which slowed his momentum down enough for Barclay to get on terms with him and eventually take over in the lead to take the title of 2015 Scottish Champion.

Moore came home in second but failed post-race checks which elevated Clark to second and outgoing champion Secker to third in a fantastic effort to defend his title. Barclay climbed on to the roof of his Corsa C to celebrate with a smile as wide as the Forth!

The first heat for 1300 Stock Cars saw Kirkcaldy’s Dean McGill claim a win on his return to the formula after a brief break as he took his newly acquired ex-Zak Gilmour car to the victory lane ahead of Lee Moore and Lochgelly’s own Billy Wilson. The second heat saw a first win in the formula for Marc Hughes and his smile certainly rivalled that of new Scottish Champion Barclay as the young Glasgow driver celebrated a hard-earned win ahead of Aundre Adams and Wilson.

A third heat was scheduled for the 1300 Stock Cars to give the drivers and fans an extra race and Callum Barclay stamped his class all over this one as he stormed to victory thereby denying Hughes his chance of a race-winning double as he finished second with Windygates’ Kev Baird coming home in third to round off an amazing night of 1300 Stock Car action!

The CC Rods were back in action and, with Ian Taylor’s continued enforced absence, the question was; could Lanarkshire’s Ian Donaldson grab another hat-trick of wins? The answer came quickly in heat one when Methil’s Ian Walle Jr claimed an excellent win ahead of top drivers Stewart Aitken and Donaldson.

Walle doubled up in heat two as he held off the advancing Donaldson to claim a heat-winning double with Craig Watson taking third place.

The final was a little lighter on cars due to damage during the evening but that did not deter Walle who went on to claim a faultless hat-trick with Donaldson taking his second runners-up spot of the evening. Walle is one of those drivers at HRP Lochgelly Raceway who has raced in several formula and has raced CC Rods and ProStocks on a regular basis this year and deserves all the credit in the world as he also helps keep his father’s car on track as well as son Jase’s Ninja Kart – three generations of the same family enjoying their racing together – that is exactly what the sport of stock car racing is all about.

Talk of young Jase Walle brings us to the Ninja Karts who were also racing this past Saturday night at HRP Lochgelly Raceway and Ian Walle Jr was able to enjoy a “proud dad” moment, as well as his own race-winning exploits, when Jase claimed the win in the whites and yellows race ahead of Lewis Walker and an on-form Evie Black.

The next two heats belonged to a very on-form Declan Honeyman who has shown incredible pace in his new kart and it was this vehicle he piloted to back to back wins in heat one and two. The third and final heat of the night did not go so well for Honeyman who was one of the unfortunate victims of a pile up but we are pleased to report that Declan is suffering from no more than a sore hand.

With the yellow flag coming out, the top drivers were able to make a very strong challenge for the win and it was Polmont’s Charlie Hardie who crossed the line first but he fell victim of the officials who called the #7 driver for a jump start after the caution which demoted the young driver to third place while Ratho Station’s Alex Robertson took the win ahead of Robbie Armit.

The final formula on show were the 2.0 Hot Rods. The first win of the evening went the way of Carluke’s Kenny Purdie, ahead of Dunfermline’s Gordon Hendry and Falkirk’s Alex Wilson. Hendry went one better as all of the hard work that he and the team have put into the car finally paid off with an excellent win in heat two ahead of points leader Robbie Burgoyne and Purdie.

The Feature Final was another fast-paced race with track conditions absolutely perfect for the hot rods and it was Burgoyne who stormed through to take the win ahead of Purdie and Wilson.

This weekend sees the final HRP Speed Weekend of the year at HRP Lochgelly Raceway and history should be made as around ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY National Micro Bangers are currently booked in to contest their World Cup this Saturday October 3rd from 5pm.

The ProStocks are also in high profile action as a huge field will gather to compete for their European Championship while the 1300 Stock Cars will contest the final of the Bill Auld Fabrications Trophy on the Saturday night. Sunday October 4th sees the same three formulas back in action from 1pm and they will also be joined by the Stock Rods for what promises to be an incredible weekend of action at HRP Lochgelly Raceway.