I BUMPED into saloon driver Ian McLaughlin, who comes from Auchterarder, in the pits after the Superbowl weekend, the last at the Racewall, and to be honest he wasn’t looking as happy as you would have expected after having one of his best ever seasons, writes our Cowdenbeath Racewall scribe Jim Turner.

He told me: “My car had developed a misfire over the weekend which was so frustrating. There was World Ranking points up for grabs and it started off reasonably well. In the first heat I picked up a win although towards the end of the race I detected a slight miss at the end of the straights.

"My car was going well, doing what it should do and I was the fastest car on the track. We had a quick look at the engine in the pits but couldn’t find anything.

"In my other heat, which was heat three, I got caught up at the start of the race and dropped back but I was soon catching the cars ahead. I managed to get through into fourth place at the end of the race but the misfire was getting worse.

“We had another good look at things in the pits but again there was nothing obvious. We changed the battery and when we started up the car it sounded fine. I was on pole position for the Superbowl with a lot of fast drivers behind me. We did the parade lap and when the green flag dropped I made the better of the starts and went into the lead. Shane Davies was a few car lengths behind but he had a few other drivers behind. My misfire came back big style and I was just a sitting duck. Davies caught and passed me and so too did quite a few more. In the end, whilst I was still in sixth the misfire was getting worse so I had to retire. The car sounded bad and when we looked at it in the daylight that is when we found a bit of the air filter in the carb. We removed it and gave the car a good check over. It sounded fine and we headed back to the Racewall for the Gordon Barclay Memorial Trophy.

“However, on Sunday I was again plagued with the misfire and it was only after we had changed a coil pack did the car run properly. By then of course it was too late – that’s stock car racing!”

Added Ian: “Last year I ended up as the winner of the Superbowl although I hadn’t! Luke Grief had won the race but during the post race scrutineering they found a problem and he was removed from the results. So all told I needed good results on the Saturday night if I wanted to improve my World Ranking points and that didn’t happen.

“It was particularly disappointing in that we only have two, sometimes three World ranking events in Scotland where there can be double that in England so it means you either have to do quite a bit of travelling to get to the tracks down south or score well at home.

“Overall though it had been a really good season for me and I ended up winning the track points championship. From the start of the season it looked as if it was going to be a straight fight between me and Ross Watters. We seemed to always be picking up top three finishes and soon had a substantial lead over the others.

“I started the year with the car that I had brought out in August 2016 and we were quickly picking up good results and soon Ross and I were clear of the field in the points race.

“The other World ranking meetings prior to the World Final in August were the British, European, the UK Championships and I was keen to improve my grid place for the World Final although I had a wedding to attend in Germany so I would miss the UK.

“The British Championship was on the shale at King’s Lynn and I took my old car down for the meeting. I was really looking for World Ranking points especially after Autospeed had decided to bring the World Championship to the Racewall in August. I managed to pick up a seventh and an eighth in the heats to get onto the final grid. Not long after the final started my throttle cable broke and I coasted into the infield and out of the race.”

Ian further reflected: “Mildenhall was the venue for the European Championship and again it was on shale. I managed a tenth place in the last chance qualifying race but wasn’t on the grid for the European so I didn’t get too many points.

“The Nationals were down at Taunton, another long trek from Auchterarder and I had a good qualifying session picking up a 5th and then an 8th in the heats. That meant I would start the final from the inside of row 6. I got a good start but then got caught up in a shunt which lost me time and then after a spin I dropped down the order.

“When the World Championship came around I was tenth in the points but with the drivers from Northern Ireland seeded onto the grid that put me on row 6. Ross was pushed off the grid when a drive shaft broke on the warm up lap.

"I managed to make a good start to the World and caught up with some of the front runners. My car was going well and I was managing to keep up with those ahead. We slowed when a car rolled and lined up in single file on the back straight.

"I think Daniel Parker was in the lead by then and he led us away when the track was cleared. My hopes of a top three finish were given a dent when I got caught up with a couple of cars and dropped a few places but once I got clear I began to make up ground. A couple of drivers who had been ahead of me pulled out and I found myself in fourth place. Before I could catch the cars ahead the laps ran out and I had to settle for fourth place. I was really pleased though. The car ran and handled well so perhaps fourth was the best that I could have hoped for".

“Points wise it was a very good meeting for me and as Ross hadn’t started the World and was then rolled in the next race. On the Sunday we probably ended up with much the same points and whilst I had a sizeable lead it was still all to play for.”

Ian talked about how he got into the sport: “I was first introduced to stock car racing by my parents who were keen spectators and we would go to Cowdenbeath on a weekly basis.

"My dad also mechaniced for my uncles Neil and William McLaughlin who both raced saloons. I always wanted a mini and when I was six told them there were only four more years to wait. That changed each year but when I got to ten the starting age had changed to eleven!

“My first race was at Knockhill but my first run at the Racewall ended after I hit one of the infield posts – that was when they had the infield fence. After that it was decided that I should race at Crimond to build up my confidence. My first win came in a heat at Crimond – I think it was the Munster weekend – but you didn’t get a trophy for winning a heat!”

“The following year I raced at Cowdenbeath and Crimond. I remember one meeting at Crimond, when my dad was away in Sweden on business, and I went there with my Uncle Neil. I was in a shunt and when I said that my back was sore they cut me out of the car! I had a quick trip in an ambulance to the hospitals at Peterhead then down to Aberdeen! Luckily they decided it was whiplash and I was allowed home!

"Neil was panicking quite a bit but my mum was alright. When dad came home he was asking where the car was and when we told him what had happened he was alright. There was talk of me stopping racing but that was never going to happen!"

Looking ahead Ian said: “I am planning to race mostly at the Racewall next year but if possible and time permits I would like to race a bit more often in England. I need to get more competitive on shale and to get as many World ranking points as possible. I am keeping the car I brought out this year and have already stripped it down. I will be hoping to start the rebuilding soon and might be able to add maybe one or two weeks to it.”

“Without the help and encouragement from my mum, Agnes, and dad, John, I couldn’t have raced and really any success that I have achieved wouldn’t have been possible without them. The rest of the team Gary, Fraser, Neil and Victoria; the newest additions to the team, Molly and William; oh and Ross “the boss” McLaughlin of microf2 fame”.

“Sponsorship comes from W. McLaughlin and Sons, RS Coaches, G West Farriers, Griffen Bodyshop, Tullibardine Smithy, Norco, Paul Meldrum Removals, K West hairdressing and A9 Autoservices which is the business I started in 2014. Really without the mechanics and sponsorship I wouldn’t be as competitive as I am – it is really appreciated”.