IT had appeared that Mother Nature had decided to give everyone at HRP Lochgelly Raceway somewhat of a reprieve this past Saturday as drivers, teams and fans gathered at Scotland’s premier stock car racing venue but it was not to be as the rain began as the clock wound down towards the 5:30pm start time and stayed on pretty much throughout the evening, writes our Raceway reporter Les Waller!

Five formulas were once again on hand to battle it out over fifteen races to keep the crowd entertained with the 1300 Stock Cars, Stock Rods, ProStocks, National Hot Rods and Junior bangers all gathering in the pits ahead of the first race of the night.

First on track were the ProStocks who had enjoyed an incident-packed, if rather controversial night the last time out and most of the same protagonists were on hand to do battle once more. National Points leader Paul Barron was one of the drivers who had fallen foul of the steward last time out and the ProStocks drivers were gathered together ahead of their first race for an open and honest exchange of views prior to heat one.

After the usual sorting out in the early laps; it was Bob Hamilton who led the way and, for all intents and purposes, looked to have the win in the bag until Barron arrived on the scene with a brilliantly-timed hit to move Hamilton wide and claim another victory.

Hamilton managed to go one better in heat two as he claimed his first win of the season as he stayed far enough ahead of Barron to negate the last-bend challenge.

The feature final was another frenetic race with the unfortunate Fraser Duncan’s car coming to a halt before it could even take up its grid position. The green flag dropped; and the battle started among the top drivers in the formula as Barron, Jason McAlpine, Ian Christie and Scott Gordon among others got in the mix.

All this time, Hamilton was striding ahead of the chasing pack who were arguably slowing one another down and it was Hamilton who held on for his second victory of the night ahead of old sparring partners Barron and McAlpine to round off a good night of ProStocks action.

The National Hot Rods were back in action for the final time ahead of the Dechmont Forklift Trucks European Championship here on April 21 and 22 and it was an important evening of racing as it was the final HRP Qualifying Round for the World Championship in July.

With Ian Donaldson sadly side-lined for the moment, what was bubbling away to a crescendo with four drivers battling it out for three spots has somewhat subsided with the top three well ahead of the rest. As it was, eight cars arrived to contest the evening’s action with Robert McDonald going on to take a faultless hat-trick of wins with veteran Ian McGuigan coming home second every time to maintain his high standing in the points too.

Gordon Ogilvie was back for more in his VW Corrado and is certainly looking quicker every time. McDonald has been a class apart this season and he will be keen to utilise his increased experience of the HRP Lochgelly Raceway oval with victory in the European in just over a week.

After numerous requests over the last few years, the promoters at HRP Lochgelly Raceway finally relented and added two Junior Banger dates to the 2018 fixture list. With their Scottish Championship event still to come on September 8th; it was rather disappointing to see only five cars show up – including two English visitors.

The first heat saw the experience of the English drivers coming firmly into play as Dan Waddingham lapped the entire field at a ferocious pace with only second placed Dylan Lauder avoiding being passed by the flying Englishman. The second heat was a different story as Tamzin Gordon (who had spent a large portion of heat one spinning out in the corners) decided to get well and truly involved as she spun out Waddingham and his English counterpart Joe Wilson during a chaotic race that saw a Scottish winner in the shape of Dylan Lauder.

The feature final for the Juniors saw Gordon attempt to get involved again but Waddingham was too clever to be caught out twice and he romped home to another victory with Wilson second and Lauder third. The drivers on show deserve credit for the entertainment they provided, and it is hoped they will be joined by a substantial number of their fellow racers for the Scottish Championship fixture.

The Stock Rods had enjoyed a busy Easter weekend with drivers racing in Northern Ireland as well as Hednesford Hills Raceway in the midlands during the Bank Holiday weekend.

A good field of cars arrived this past Saturday at HRP Lochgelly Raceway including the debuting Alan King in a very smart Corsa C and long-distance visitor Daniel Rea who always seems to make a habit of travelling early in the season for some track time. Rea will no doubt return in June for the British Championship.

Heat One set the standard for the night with some cracking driving throughout the field in tricky conditions. Yellow-graded Jordan Wright made quick work of the white tops in front of him and surged into a huge lead; but this was whittled down as the drivers lapped the circuit as National Champion Siobhan Martin cut the gap down but ran out of laps which handed the on-form Wright the win.

Heat Two saw Martin go one better as she claimed the win after eventually catching and passing Wright.

The feature final was another fantastic exhibition from the very best Stock Rod drivers in the business as a fantastic battle ensued between some of the blue and red graded drivers for the minor places. All this time, Wright was continuing on his merry way and he should rightly be delighted with a heat and final winning double that will now see him start at blue for the next meeting. Gary Nicholls came home in second with Gary Dean in third to bring an end to a great night of Stock Rod racing.

The 1300 Stock Cars were the final formula on show and it was great to see Jason Cutler make his return to the track after a while away. Cutler was using his own car which had been taken to victory lane last time out in the feature final by Aaron Alexander – so no pressure! The first heat set the standard for what the fans would enjoy during the evening as the bumpers were used to good effect with Craig Haxton, Andrew Mathieson, Dean McGill and Paul Ford all heavily involved.

McGill eventually made his way to the front and it looked like a victory was signed, sealed and delivered for the former Scottish Champion before the on-form Craig Haxton came calling with a last-ditch lunge at McGill which saw Haxton take the win but only just with McGill crossing the line in second only to be docked two places for jumping the initial start.

Heat Two followed a similar pattern as heat one but Jason Cutler had made a great getaway as the rest of the pack battled amongst themselves. However, McGill was not to be denied as he eventually caught and passed Cutler with another last-minute effort that thrilled those in attendance.

The feature final was another good race from the bumper brigade with Cutler making the running once again and it looked like he would take the car to its second final win in as many meetings until Andrew Mathieson came on the scene to relegate Cutler to second spot with Haxton taking third. Mathieson will be happier with his car’s performance this time out after an engine blow-up at the first meeting. The 1300 Stock Cars return this Friday at HRP Lochgelly Raceway.

A cracking night of action with plenty to enjoy for all tastes. The next slice of stock car action comes to HRP Lochgelly Raceway this Friday April 13th and features the 1300 Stock Cars, ProStocks, CC Rods and Ministox in a fantastic Friday night event from 7pm at Scotland’s premier stock car venue HRP Lochgelly Raceway (KY5 9HG)