THE formula II World Championship qualifying round brought the leader in the points, Liam Bentham up from Ormskirk, but he was only a few points clear of Fifer Gordon Moodie when the meeting started, writes our Racewall reporter Jim Turner.

The weather was dry although a bit chilly and whilst the track was fast it became a bit tricky when a driver dropped oil on the track.

During the final the hopes of Moodie and Burgoyne were dashed during a shunt on the pit bend which saw the Burgoyne car clamber on to Moodie’s.

In the saloons there were a couple of visitors from south of the border with John Thompson buying the Willie Mitchell car prior to the start of the meeting. James Letford and Raymond Dick were having their first outing of the year and they suffered differing fortunes with Dick having to retire whilst Letford won a couple of heats.

The prostock basic cars made their first appearance and whilst only two made it onto the grid for the final the fans were left amazed at their antics. The cars tangled at least twice on the closing laps, both visiting the wall but somehow managed to make it to the finish line!

Bentham was joined on the grid by fellow travellers Aaron Vaight and Andrew Palmer but unfortunately there were a few Scottish drivers who were sidelined for one reason or another. Liam Rennie was a welcome addition to the scene having missed last season. Amongst those looking for points were Kieran Howie (Dunfermline), Paul and Craig Reid (Cowdenbeath) and Gordon Moodie (Windygates).

Prior to the start of the meeting the formula II drivers were given a practice session and whilst most were happy Moodie pulled off with what appeared to be a misfire.

The first race of the night was a white/yellow challenge heat with C. Reid going through to win from Holly Glen and Howie.

The opening heat saw Colin Forbes make the better of the starts but he then lost out to C. Reid but Millar and Howie were running nose to tail and closing fast. Moodie made a lightning start from the back of the grid quickly getting ahead of Burgoyne before setting off after the pack. However, with Howie leading the race had to be suspended when Rennie and Craig Wallace tangled on the main straight.

The field lined up behind Howie but within a lap both Moodie and Burgoyne were through into the leading places. Millar moved into third running just ahead of Garry Sime. Although Burgoyne did close the gap, Moodie was still clear when the cars took the chequer flag with Millar still third despite the pressure from Sime with P. Reid in tenth place.

Heat two was quickly suspended after P. Reid was caught up at the front of a chain of cars and they ended up running around the turnstile bend wall. Forbes led the cars away but by the end of the lap Millar and Howie were ahead. Rennie was making inroads through the field and whilst he got ahead of Howie by the time he had Millar in his sights, Burgoyne was on his back bumper. Rennie dropped to third and a few laps later Burgoyne was leading and pulling away from the field before going on to win from Robbie Dawson and Craig Wallace with Howie in fifth and C. Reid in tenth place.

There was a random draw for the final which placed Burgoyne and Moodie side by side on the front row of the superstars whilst C. Reid was on pole position and it was he who led the field away. Moodie managed to get ahead of Burgoyne and this duo were soon closing in on the cars ahead of them. However, Glen and Howie tangled and both came to rest against the pit gate suspending the race. The restart was hectic with Burgoyne and Moodie tangling but C. Reid spun and a few others were caught up with the race being suspended again.

Millar was the new leader and he led the field away but as Rennie looked for the opportunity to take the lead Dawson dived down on the inside and into the lead. Rennie slotted into second with Wallace in third whilst at the back of the field Moodie and Burgoyne were making up ground quickly. Wallace moved into second with Moodie into fourth with Palmer between him and Burgoyne. As the laps dwindled Dawson had a healthy lead but Moodie was now in third but a good bit adrift. Dawson reeled off the remaining laps to win from Wallace and Moodie.

Moodie then won the Grand National from Burgoyne and Millar with Dawson finishing in seventh place.

There was a good turn out of 2 litre National saloons with Trent Arthurton and Thompson joining in the fray, Barry Glen had returned whilst James Letford and Dick were having their first outing of the year.

The first heat was another of their white/yellow challenge heats and it turned out to be an exciting affair with J. Letford winning from Derek Duff and Scott Jamieson.

Heat one was led off by G. Honeyman but he soon had J. Letford pressurising him for the lead which changed hands before the half distance. Ian McLaughlin was ahead of Ross Watters and Kyle Irvine and they were making steady progress through the field.

However, there was to be no catching J. Letford who went on to win his second race of the night and he was ahead of G. Honeyman, McLaughlin, Watters and Irvine with Duff in ninth place.

When heat two started McIvor and Rutherford Jnr clashed again with both cars retiring on the opening lap and it was G. Honeyman who led the field around only for the race to be stopped.

Arthurton then led the cars away but was clipped and spun out of the race. G. Honeyman took over at the front of the field but was under pressure from J. Letford although they in turn were being closed down by Ross Watters. Jamieson and Glen ended up on the centre green as Watters joined in the dice for the lead. With two laps remaining Watters took the lead going on to win from McLaughlin and Paul Honeyman with Welsh fifth and Irvine sixth.

When the final started Rutherford Jnr led the cars away with G. Honeyman closing and eventually taking the lead but was being followed closely by J. Letford. P. Honeyman and Irvine were dicing and swapping places but ahead of them was McLaughlin who was beginning to catch the leaders. During the closing stages McLaughlin moved ahead and on to win from G. Honeyman, Welsh and Watters with Irvine in sixth.

There were only three prostock basic cars at the track, four others had run into troubles of one sort or another and failed to appear. In heat one Megan Wilson (Comrie) got out of shape and hit a marker tyre hard with Robert Grant going through to win, something he repeated in heat two.

Despite their only being two cars out for the final both Grant and Steven Jones each led, gave each other hefty wallops, crashed into the wall together and in the end Jones just beat Grant to the line with the fans cheering them on.

This Saturday the formula IIs are back in action along with the 2 litre saloons and they are joined in the fray by the microf2s, the minis and the rookie bangers. The meeting starts at 6.00pm

* At Crimond on Sunday in the World Championship qualifying round Moodie had a good meeting picking up two second places in the heats before winning the final.