AFTER all the excitement of the BriSCA Formula I meeting of last week then it was a bit natural that this week’s offering was going to be a bit of a let down at the Cowdenbeath Racewall, writes Racewall scribe Jim Turner. However, on a warm and sunny Saturday evening there was plenty of entertaining racing although the pits were a bit quieter than they had been the previous week.

The new BriSCA Formula II grading list has been announced and Adam Blacklock, who has hit a purple patch recently, has as a result moved up to the red grade for the first time.

Adam celebrated with a couple of wins and is looking forward to the challenge from the back of the grid.

There were 15 of the 1300 Saloon cars at the track including George Hendry, who was having a run in the Colin Bruce car whilst Craig Connelly was all set for his debut only to seize his engine in practice and was left to spectate.

Ian Christie came out on top in the Prostock formula winning a heat and the final.

The Bangers were thin on the ground and there were even less when Scott Russell was sent crashing into the infield Armco and wrecking his car.

There were a couple of late call offs in the formula IIs with Pete Davidson encountering a late problem whilst Ryan Farquhar had a tyre blow out on his trailer and had to limp back home.

Local drivers in action were Craig and Paul Reid (Cowdenbeath) and Ian Thompson (Kennoway).

The opening heat saw C. Reid for a couple of laps before Blacklock took over and soon had a big lead.

However, a few laps later Liam Rennie moved into second spot and slowly began to cut back his lead only to run out of laps and Blacklock picked up his first win with Ian Thompson in third and P. Reid seventh.

P. Reid was the first to show when heat two started but soon had Blacklock in close order. On lap three Blacklock was through into the lead but this time Chris Burgoyne worked his way through into second place.

Again the gap between first and second began to close but again Burgoyne was just too far adrift allowing Blacklock to pick up his second win of the night with Thompson third whilst P. Reid was eighth.

When the final started C. Reid led the cars away whilst P. Reid was running ahead of Blacklock although both were closing in on the leader. Thompson was leading the chase from the back of the grid but soon had C. Burgoyne running in close order. Blacklock was soon through into the lead whilst C. Burgoyne got ahead of Thompson and then began to eat into Blacklock’s lead.

On lap 12 C. Burgoyne was ahead and he eased away to win. Blacklock was caught and dropped down the order with Thompson claiming second and Craig Wallace third whilst P. Reid was eighth and C. Reid tenth.

Rennie went through to win the Grand National from Thompson and Wallace with C. Burgoyne coming through into seventh place from his lap handicap whilst P. Reid was eighth and C. Reid ninth.

There was a good turnout of 1300 Saloon cars and as a result there was some close and fast racing with quite a bit of contact thrown in for good measure. Local drivers on the grid included Lee Wilson (Comrie), Jeff Cosans (Dunfermline), James Ellis (Cowdenbeath), Alan Robertson (Glenrothes), Colin Wotherspoon (Kelty), Gordon Myers (Dunfermline) and Arron Hastie (Ceres)

The opening heat saw Robertson go straight into the lead and was soon clear of the pack. Myers held second but then lost out to Wotherspoon who then began to close the gap and with only a couple of laps remaining took the lead and through to win from Grant McGowan and Ellis with Robertson finishing in fifth, Wilson seventh and just ahead of Cosans and Myers.

In heat two Robertson led the pack away soon building up a big lead. Lisa Freebairn tangled with Hendry and spun but then restarted. However Robertson was well clear of the pack and he ended up winning from Wotherspoon and Ellis with Hastie in eighth and Myers tenth.

The final was hectic especially during the closing stages. Robertson led the cars away with Cameron Milne in second but further back Ellis had made a good start and was soon clawing his way through the field. Just adrift of him Craigie Millar, McGowan and Fraser Clark were running nose to tail. On lap 11 Robertson retired and was clipped by Millar and Aaron Hastie suspending the race.

The field lined up behind Ellis and whilst he got away well Milne was sent wide as Clark and McGowan slipped through. Ellis began to ease away as McGowan moved ahead of Clark and then Tommy Walls was clipped by the spinning Hendry who was then collected by a couple of cars that were in close order stopping the race. Ellis was declared the winner from McGowan and Clark with Hastie sixth and ahead of Wotherspoon, and Wilson with Cosans in tenth place.

There was a healthy turn out of Prostock drivers and whilst their racing was fast there was no shortage of contact. Local drivers on the grid included Paul Barron (Cowdenbeath), Graeme Fleming (Kirkcaldy), George Barr (Leven), Mark Boyle (Kelty) and Ian Christie (Cowdenbeath).

Boyle led the opening heat right to the end, even through a race suspension but was pipped on the run up to the flag by Scott Wilson with Barron in third with Christie in seventh place. In heat two Boyle again made a good start from Kevin Muir but as the race progressed Barron with Christie in close order burst through into the lead places. Christie managed to get Barron wide, dived inside and through to win from Barron and John Taylor with Boyle sixth and Barr seventh..

Boyle was the first to show when the final started but Alexander Hamilton and Wilson tangled with the former having to retire. The race was suspended when Dean Abercrombie’s car came to a halt on the back straight. Boyle led the cars away but then ended up against the turnstile bend wall. Christie took over the lead and then went through to pick up his second win of the night, leading Barron and Wilson home with Barr in fifth place.

The Banger drivers were scarce on the ground and even more so after Sean McConnachie drove Scott Russell into the infield Armco barrier wrecking his car in the process. Liam Glendinning led only for his car to slow and after Ryan Thompson had ended up in the wall McConnachie ended up as the winner. Scott Lindsell then came out on top in heat two where he led for the complete race.

Four cars made it onto the grid for the final where Glendinning won from Lindsell and Thompson with the cars then going straight into the Destruction Derby. Lindsell was sent spinning but when hit hard by McConnachie his car burst into life and he ended up as the last car running.

This Saturday is the last prior to the holiday break and features the 1300 saloons, ORCi Stock Rods, Prostock Basics, Ministox and MicroF2s. The meeting will start at 6.00pm but there is no access to the stadium until 5.00pm