ANOTHER gloriously sunny afternoon gave way to a dry evening as drivers, teams and fans gathered at HRP Lochgelly Raceway this past Saturday for the latest slice of stock car action presented by Hardie Race Promotions. Five great formulas were on the bill with Superstox, Stock Rods, ProStocks, Ministox and Junior Productions set to entertain at Scotland’s premier stock car venue.

The Junior Productions were first on track and it was great to see three debutants in the fledgling formula with Jack Berresford and Lia Heeps taking to the track for the first time while Ministox pilot Ciaran Adams also raced as he used the car that will be driven by current Ninja Kart World Champion Charlie Hardie after his 10th birthday. The first heat got underway in the late evening sunshine with Lennon Grant and Koddi Greenwood battling it out for supremacy in the early stages.

Grant lost out in this battle as Greenwood held the lead while Adams and Scottish Champion Cameron Willacy pursued the leading pair eventually overhauling Grant to move into second and third, with Willacy then moving past Adams.

However, the fast-moving duo ran out of laps to mount a challenge on race leader Greenwood who went on to take a fine win from Willacy and Adams.

The second heat saw Grant taking the early initiative but Willacy was on a mission this time round and, having made an excellent start, he eventually caught and passed Grant to take the win ahead of Grant and Adams. The feature final for the Junior Productions saw Willacy in imperious form as he once again stormed to the win with Adams picking up his third podium finish in second and Grant taking a fine third after a good night of racing in the Junior Productions with more drivers expected soon to add to the entertainment.

It was a busy night for Ciaran Adams who, as well as racing in the Junior Productions, would also be taking part in the Ministox racing during the evening along with a good number of cars which were on hand to do battle.

The usual Ministox chaos ensued almost immediately on the drop of the green flag as the drivers had their usual early lap sort-out with Ryan Borthwick among those coming a cropper in the early stages of the race. Kai Gilmour was leading from the start and held on beyond halfway before his challenge came to an abrupt end as the fast-moving blue tops Gary Paterson, Mitchell Gold and Ciaran Adams arrived on the scene.

Paterson led briefly before Mitchell Gold took over to take a lead that he was not to relinquish as he took a fine win ahead of Adams and Scott Allardyce. The second heat followed a similar pattern to the first with Gilmour leading the early part of the race before some of the higher graded drivers made it to the sharp end of the pack. Gold once again came through to take the win with Allardyce taking second but huge credit must go to young Kai Gilmour who held his nerve as the pressure increased to take a fine third place and a trophy!

The feature final was another great race from the Ministox who are truly at their best around HRP Lochgelly Raceway but spare a thought for Kai Gilmour whose car refused to fire up on the starting grid.

The question on everyone’s lips was whether Mitchell Gold could take a hat-trick of wins and Gold hit the front early as he led within the first few laps, however, Gold was in the thick of a battle and Barry Scott briefly took over the lead just after halfway before Gold re-took the position and held on to complete his hat-trick with Ciaran Adams scooping another trophy with a runners-up finish while Scott Allardyce continued to underline his potential with an excellent third place.

The ProStocks had seen an action-packed meeting last time out at HRP Lochgelly Raceway with a few drivers now sitting on the naughty step for a period to cool off after some actions not fit for the track.

Nevertheless, a decent number of cars arrived with George Barr and Aaron Cuthill Jr both debuting very tidy machines while Grady Ross returned for his first meeting of 2018.

The first race was decided early on as National Points Champion Paul Barron executed a fine move to push his fellow star graders wide on turn two to move several places up the grid at one time. George Barr led for the first few laps, but Barron’s early moves saw him claim the lead before lap five and he went on to win although Ian Christie did keep him honest and almost managed the last bend push to take the win, but it was not to be this time round.

The second heat saw Barr leading once more but that man Barron was on another tear and he romped home with National Points leader Ian Christie having to settle for second once more. The feature final was another frenetic race with Lochgelly lad Grady Ross making an excellent start from an arguably favourable yellow starting position for the former star man, but he still had to contend with the chaos on track.

Ross held on to take the win ahead of Barron who missed out on his hat-trick and Christie who completed a trio of podium finishes.

The Stock Rods were back on track for the final time before their European Championship, which will be held at HRP Lochgelly Raceway on June 9 and 10 and another good grid of cars arrived in the non-contact class.

The first heat saw Stuart Bannatyne shoot straight into the lead with fellow white grader Alan King struggling with handling issues. Bannatyne held on to the lead for the first half of the race before Bob Low took over for a few laps before European and British Champion Chris Lattka hit the front to take a fine win ahead of National Champion Siobhan Martin and Ricky White.

The second heat began as a carbon copy of heat one with Bannatyne again taking the lead while King’s car slid wide.

Bannatyne held on for a quarter of the race before the Nova-mounted Doug McLean hit the front and remained there until the chequered flag to take an excellent win with Lattka coming home in second and Connar Venters third.

The feature final was another excellent race highlighting all that is good about the Stock Rods at HRP Lochgelly Raceway. Alan King had finally gotten to grips with his car’s handling issues and took the lead early on and held on for more than the first half of the race before a rapid Ricky White took over at the front. White held on to his lead all the way to the chequered flag despite immense pressure from Chris Lattka to take the win from Lattka and Gary Dean to conclude an excellent night of Stock Rod racing – next stop the European!

The Superstox were also back on track for the second time in seven days and another good grid of cars arrived including Allan Greig for his first appearance of 2018 in Scotland’s top open-wheel stock car class.

The first heat saw Jordan Black take the early lead before Ryan McGill arrived on the scene to take up the running. It wasn’t long though before Scottish Champion Bryan Forrest hit the front and looked odds-on to take the win until his car appeared to suffer mechanical gremlins which allowed National Points Champion David Frame to catch and pass Forrest to take the most unlikely of wins. The second heat was another cracking race with Rafael Donofrio making the early running before a flying Ryan McGill hit the front and remained there to take his first win in the formula with Frame having to settle for second and Forrest third.

The feature final was the last race of the night and produced another classic with the drivers trading paint and places throughout the twenty-five laps.

Mark Brady led the early stages following a great attle with Ryan McGill before Brady’s big hit on McGill saw Chris Hay nip through to take up the running.

Hay drove a controlled race to stay ahead of the chaos behind him to take what may well be his first ever final win while all hell broke loose behind him with star duo Frame and Forrest completing the podium once again. Brady ended up 6th after a titanic struggle with World Champion Barry Stephen resulted in Brady almost rolling over on the infield having already crossed the finish line!

The next slice of stock car action at Scotland’s premier stock car venue comes your way this Saturday May 26 and features 1300 Stock Cars, 2.0 Hot Rods, ProStocks, CC Rods and Junior Productions at HRP Lochgelly Raceway from 5:30pm.