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

Another five formula spectacular was billed with a fantastic variety of formulas offering something for race fans of every persuasion!

The Ninja Karts were first on track and, as is traditional, it was the Whites and Yellows race that got the meeting underway as part of HRP’s pre-meeting entertainment.

This race offers the lower graded drivers the chance to gain some race experience without the pressure of the higher-graded youngsters bearing down on them and has been a great addition to the programme of events.

Yellow graded Lucy Millar managed to get ahead of the field as she circulated the track at impressive speed to claim the win ahead of Evie Black and Jase Walle.

Millar stayed on track as heat one for the Ninja Karts was on next and clearly had the bit between her teeth as she went on to take her second win in under half an hour ahead of Josh Bruce and Alex Robertson.

Ryan Borthwick returned to action and took an excellent win in heat two to beat Robbie Armit and Robertson to the line but the final belonged to Robertson who enjoyed an excellent set of results with a fine win in the last heat of the night with Heat Two winner Borthwick in second and Bruce coming home in the top three once again to round off a good night for the youngsters in the Ninja Karts.

The CC Rods were back on track and Ian Donaldson was looking to continue his excellent form of late which has been helped by the continued absence of Scottish Champion Ian Taylor and Stewart Aitken, who has now sold his car. Donaldson did indeed win the first heat but that doesn’t tell the full story as Lochgelly’s own Johnny Bell pushed Donaldson and himself to the limit as he challenged for the lead. Unfortunately for Bell, he pushed the envelope just a little too hard, clipped a marker tyre and crashed heavily into the Armco – the driver was perfectly ok but the car would fail to make the other two races during the evening.

Donaldson took the second heat but only by default as Methil’s Ian Walle was streets ahead on track only for his exhaust to fall off resulting in a technical disqualification for the unlucky driver.

The final saw an excellent race unfurl as Kyle Roy returned after his spectacular rollover a few weeks ago and, after struggling with his handling in the heats, he streaked off into the lead with the rest of the field battling with one another. Roy held on to his lead for the vast majority of the race but would have been able to see Kirkcaldy’s Craig Watson’s car getting larger in his rear-view mirror as the laps wound down.

Watson managed to get ahead of Roy with just a couple of laps to go to take the feature final while Roy held on for a well-earned second place with Donaldson missing out on the hat-trick coming home in third.

The Ministox were back at HRP Lochgelly Raceway and the 11-16 year olds always provide great entertainment. A few new and returning drivers were on show including Jack McCallum and Ninja Kart graduate Mitchell Gold making their HRP debuts while Mika Millar may well have also been making his HRP debut; the same cannot be said for Sean Naismith who impressed many late in 2014 with some great performances and it was pleasing to see the young driver finally get on track again in 2015.

No doubt Naismith was even happier following heat one as he strode to an excellent win ahead of a very on form Euan Millar and the returning Lewis Gilchrist. Naismith went on to take a heat winning double as he held off Scotland’s current top two in the shape of Steven Burgoyne and Millar. With two wins during the evening, Naismith would start the final from the yellow grade and the question was; would this handicap hinder the youngster’s hat-trick hopes. As the race went on, the answer looked to be yes as Bryan Lindsay reeled in Naismith and tracked his every move. Lindsay looked to be in the perfect position to strike as the lap boards went out but Naismith impressively held his nerve to build on his lead and take the chequered flag to claim the feature final and a fantastic hat-trick ahead of Lindsay and Millar!!!

The 2.0 Hot Rods were back on track and one Saxo that was ready for its first outing, although not yet painted, was that of Kelty’s Kenzie Law who had reported that the car was performing well after practice. Midlothian’s Chas Bain was a returnee and he enjoyed a winning return as he took heat one ahead of national points leader Robbie Burgoyne and Alex Wilson.

Bain went on to claim a heat winning double as heat two ended in a repeat of heat one with Bain winning ahead of Burgoyne and Wilson.

As with Sean Naismith in the Ministox, Bain would be upgraded for the final and his hopes of a hat-trick evaporated as he spun out on the exit of turn four as the track had significantly cooled down. Burgoyne drove a supreme race as he won the feature final by a considerable distance from Law and Wilson who can be happy with a hat-trick of podium places.

The Superstox were the fifth and final formula on show and what a show they put on!!! Colin Frame has stated that he is looking to mount a serious challenge for honours in the next year and what a way to announce his intentions.

Despite having his usual steed in the pits, Frame elected to use Colin’s old car during the meeting and it was also pleasing to see Scottish Champion Stuart Gilchrist among the entry of almost twenty cars.

The first heat was arguably the race of the night as the drivers produced a show of ferocious speed and intricate bumper-work with Falkirk’s Paul Dunn surging into an early lead. Dunn held on at the front for much of the race but was eventually overhauled by a flying Lee Livingston who had used his bumper to full effect as he took the win ahead of Bryan Forrest, Gilchrist and early leader Dunn.

Heat Two started in much the same pattern as the first heat with Dunn claiming an early lead; the battle between the likes of Livingston, Gilchrist, Barry Stephen and Gary Nicholls was a sight to behold as some fantastic action ensued with Gilchrist eventually coming out on top as he claimed the win ahead of Livingston and Stephen.

The feature final was another excellent race with the star graded drivers getting well and truly stuck in while Dunn made yet another clean getaway. The race was stopped as Bryan Forrest had a heavy impact with the fence exiting turn four as a few cars got tangled and Dunn was unable to fend off the challenge of Gilchrist as the Scottish Champion took the feature win ahead of Dino Bruce while Dunn held on for an excellent third place to round off a highly entertaining evening.

The next slice of HRP stock car action takes place at HRP Lochgelly Raceway next Saturday October 17th and features the Ninja Karts, ProStocks, HRP 1300 Stock Cars and Under 1600cc National Bangers. But that’s not all as HRP will also be hosting their first ever RAMP ROLLOVER event which will be held at the conclusion of the racing portion of the evening. The action gets underway at 5:30pm this Saturday at HRP Lochgelly Raceway.