A DRY evening greeted drivers, teams and fans as they gathered at HRP Lochgelly Raceway this past Friday from all corners of the UK for the latest slice of stock car action presented by Hardie Race Promotions, writes Raceway reporter Les Waller.

A busy programme of events saw four formulas in action during an evening featuring thirteen races.

The Ninja Karts were first on track for their traditional whites and yellows race which featured Northern Irish visitor Lauren Berry in the ranks but it was relative newcomer Connor Frame who surged straight into a lead that he did relinquish as he took the chequered flag ahead of Kyle Johnstone and Demi Ritchie.

The first heat saw the drivers with higher points join the grid including Bailey Millar who was racing for the first time from superstar plus Northern Irish visitors Curtis McConkey, Sam Percy and Daniel Stewart in a big field of karts.

The expected chaos did not take long to materialize and that chaos allowed those starting near the rear of the grid ample time to catch those in front of them and it was new Superstar Bailey Millar who came out on top but only just as Lennon Grant battled him all the way to the chequered flag with European and British Champion Robbie Armit coming home in third.

The second heat saw an even more chaotic race with Millar, plus Scottish and National Points Champion Charlie Hardie, who had been making rapid progress through the field.

At the end of the race, it was Robbie Armit who had come through to take the win from Sam Percy and a resurgent Callum Beaton.

The final heat of the evening was another cracking race despite the track being in less than ideal condition due to earlier fluid spillages and some drizzle but Charlie Hardie leapt back to form as he took the win ahead of Beaton and Harry Robertson.

Following their exploits on the Friday night; Robbie Armit, Kyle Johnstone, Demi Ritchie and Harry Robertson made the long trip south to Swaffham in Norfolk to race in the English Championship.

All drivers acquitted themselves well and Robbie Armit became the first Scot to win the English Championship to add another title to his CV – well done Robbie!

The ProStocks were next on track and it seemed that a number of drivers were caught in traffic as only eight cars lined up for the first heat but World Cup Holder, Leonard Dunn, was in that group having made the trip over from Northern Ireland.

With the highly-capable Astra normally used by Tam Melrose under him and a favourable white grade starting slot, Ross Stewart went on to take the win in heat one despite a huge lunge by Paul Barron in the closing stages with Stewart using his Banger experience to fend off the national points leader.

The second heat saw a considerably larger grid with around double the number of cars as heat one and Barron made no mistakes in the race as he overhauled Stewart in the closing stages to take the win from Ian Christie with Stewart coming home in third.

The feature final was another fast-paced race with Stewart shooting into an early lead while the likes of Barron, Christie, Dunn and Jason McAlpine battled among themselves over the right to lead the challenge to the flying white top.

However, it was not to be as Stewart romped home to his second win of the night ahead of Barron and Christie to complete a dream night for the 182 driver.

The Ministox saw a huge influx of drivers from south of the border as some clever fixture planning enabled the English drivers who are still on holiday to take in the Friday night event.

No less than seven drivers from England were in the pits for the first race plus the usual large Scottish entry. Among the English entrants were former British Champion Charlie Morphey, David Shearing and current British Champion Charlie Santry.

Ben Creanor made the early running in heat one before Lewis Gilchrist picked up the mantle and he looked like he was on his way to another win at his home track before the flying blue tops closed the gap with the likes of Harley Soper and Gary Paterson battling it out for the lead with Soper claiming the first win of the night for England ahead of Paterson while Gilchrist held on for a fine third place finish.

Heat Two saw the blue tops on form once again and this time it was another South-West visitor in the form of Warren Darby who managed to eventually overhaul fellow English driver Jamie-Lee Thomson to take the win with Thomson holding on for second ahead of Paterson who was enjoying his best set of results at HRP Lochgelly Raceway if late.

The feature final was another brilliant race run under the HRP floodlights with the drivers flying into every corner and places changing more quickly than most eyes could keep up with but it was long-time heat two leader Jamie-Lee Thomson who held her nerve to take an excellent win ahead of fellow lady racers Taylor Borthwick and Terri Linden to compete a South West hat-trick of wins on the night in the Ministox.

The final formula on show were the Superstox who, once again, arrived in good numbers for another Friday night event. Former Ministox racer Dean Johnstone has enjoyed a mixed bag of results since graduating to the Superstox but he drove brilliantly in heat one to lead the race for the majority of the twenty laps until the flying quarter of Chris Miller, current points champion Stuart Gilchrist and the two drivers contesting this year’s points title David Frame and Scottish Champion Bryan Forrest overhauled the youngster as they flew around the tight confines of HRP Lochgelly Raceway.

Frame looked absolutely rapid and took the win ahead of Miller, Gilchrist and Forrest with Johnstone holding on for a fine fifth. The second heat was another fast-paced race with the bumpers flying in, particularly among the star drivers, and it was Frame who came through to take his second win of the night with Miller again in second ahead of Forrest.

Both Miller and Forrest had shown tremendous pace in the previous two meetings in the wet and were now displaying similar credentials in the dry!

The feature final was the most brutal race of the night with plenty going on throughout the grid while Jordan Black continued on his merry way at the front of the field but he was eventually caught and passed by Stuart Gilchrist and double heat winner David Frame before the end of the twenty-five-lap race and it was Gilchrist who took the win ahead of Frame and Black to round off a great night of action.

With the British Drift Championship being held at Driftland this week; the next slice of Stock Car action at HRP Lochgelly Raceway will come your way on Saturday September 2nd and features a HUGE Scottish Championship double-header with the 1300 Stock Cars and ProStocks battling it out for their Scottish titles while the Back to Basics Bangers make their debut which will include a RAMP RACE and DD plus the Stock Rods and CC Rods in action on a packed night. The event will starts at 6pm.