A BEAUTIFULLY sunny early summer’s afternoon greeted drivers, teams and fans as they gathered at HRP Lochgelly Raceway this past Saturday for the latest slice of stock car action presented by Hardie Race Promotions, writes our Raceway reporter Les Waller.

As is always the case when they are scheduled to appear; the Ninja Karts were the first formula to take to the track in competitive action on Saturday and it was their traditional whites and yellows race which got things underway.

It was great to see several new drivers taking their first tentative steps in their racing careers and all of these youngsters can be proud of the way they race and conduct themselves.

Saline’s Jay Paterson took full advantage of his downgrading to yellow after a run of bad luck to take victory in the whites and yellows race ahead of debutant Logan Tweedie and a fast-moving Jase Walle.

The first heat proper saw the blue and red graded drivers make their first appearance of the evening and this also gave fans the first opportunity to see the newly-crowned British Champion Charlie Hardie in action – complete with freshly painted roof wing.

Hardie was moving quickly but spun out around halfway through the race but still managed to come home in eighth place, however, nobody had an answer for Paterson who took his second win of the night ahead of West Lothian duo Robbie Armit and Ethan Doull.

The second heat saw Hardie make no mistakes as he stormed to what has become his customary win as he beat European Champion Declan Honeyman and Armit to victory lane. The final heat of the evening was another fast-paced race with the top drivers coming to the fore as European Champion Honeyman and British Champion Hardie battled their way to the front scything through the field as they went. As the chequered flag dropped it was Honeyman who was ahead of Hardie to claim his first win of the night in only his second race as a late arrival had meant he missed out on competing in heat one! Hardie came home in second with Scott Allardyce underlining his recent upturn in form with a fine third place to round off yet another great evening of Ninja Kart racing.

The second formula on show was something a little different and possibly a first for Scottish stock car racing as Banger Chained Pairs made their HRP Lochgelly Raceway debut. Sadly, several drivers called off at the last minute but there were ample cars to produce plenty of action – but not many laps!!!

Drivers would have their car chained to that of their partner’s side by side and they would have to work together to beat the opposition. The drivers got stuck in from the very outset and produced some thrills and spills for the crowd before Halbeath’s William Stawiarski and Jack Moore claimed the win to the applause of the large crowd in attendance.

With a few cars now suffering terminal issues, the decision was taken to run the rest of the meeting as normal Bangers which saw every man for themselves! Again, this race did not last long as it was more like a demolition derby with Stawiarski managing to take the win as he was the only car left running. The night was rounded off by a scheduled Demolition Derby which saw some spectacular hits before Dennis Dubickas claimed victory as the last man standing – great stuff and the chained pairs experiment may well be tried again!

The ProStocks were back after several weeks’ absence but this did not appear to help in terms of car numbers with several regulars missing from a formula which is already struggling for numbers in Scotland. So far, the 2016 season has been dominated by current National Points and Scottish Champion Tam Melrose and Ricky White. It was Thornton’s White who drew first blood on Saturday night as he claimed victory in heat one with Dalkeith’s Melrose coming home in second ahead of Lochgelly’s own Grady Ross. The second heat was a mirror image of the first as the same three drivers filled the same three finishing positions. The meeting final was another fast race and, with so few cars on track, it wasn’t long before White and Melrose resumed their battle at the head of the field with White managing to stay ahead of Melrose to take a faultless hat-trick of wins.

The CC Rods made a welcome return to HRP Lochgelly Raceway this past Saturday night following a few weeks’ absence and they put on their usual good display of action. Going into the meeting Methil’s Ian Walle and Lanarkshire’s Ian Donaldson were locked together at the top of the national points chart with Stirling’s Paul Muir just five points in arrears. The first heat saw Walle take the win ahead of Muir but Donaldson’s night came to an end as he parked up with mechanical issues which could not be fixed that evening. The second heat saw another Fife victor as Kirkcaldy’s Kevin Hutchison took a fine win ahead of Walle and fellow Kirkcaldy pilot Brandon Gourlay. The final was one of those races where the drivers were giving it their all with some great action. No quarter was asked for and none taken as the drivers fought out the battle for supremacy but it was Midlothian’s David McFarlane who managed to stay ahead of a fast-charging Ian Walle to take an excellent win.

The Superstox were the fifth and final formula on show and most notable among the hard hits being dished out in heat one was a spectacular lunge from Scottish Champion Stuart Gilchrist as he dived at the rear bumper of David Frame going into turn three; a move which saw both drivers’ challenge end for that particular race as they were disabled against the fence for the remaining laps. Carronshore’s Tony Lattka has shown some good form of late and underlined that upturn in form with victory as he stayed ahead of Aaron Riddell and Bryan Forrest.

The second heat saw more great bumper-work as the drivers flew around the dry track and it was great to see recent Ministox graduate Lewis Willacy take what may well be his first victory in the formula home to Peebleshire as beat Steven Ballantine and a fast-moving Stuart Gilchrist to the flag. The feature final was another one of those races where it was impossible to keep up with all of the action but, but Willacy and Ballantine took advantage of their yellow-grade starting positions. With an extra five laps to run in the final, this played into Gilchrist’s hands as he coolly narrowed the gap on the leading duo in the closing stages to overtake both drivers to claim his first win of the night ahead of heat one winner Lattka who had also managed to get ahead of third-placed Ballantine with David Frame and young Willacy rounding out the top five on another great night of Superstox action.

This weekend sees HRP Lochgelly Raceway host one of the biggest racing weekends of the year as the David Philp Commercials 2.0 Hot Rod British Championship will see the cream of Britain’s non-contact racers in attendance while the 1300 Stock car European Championship will also be defended by Adam O’Dell against a large field of drivers from all corners of the short oval world-Saturday June 11 from 4:30pm and Sunday June 12 from 12:30pm.