A RELATIVELY pleasant afternoon greeted drivers, teams and fans as they gathered at HRP Lochgelly Raceway this past Saturday for the first evening of Championship Fever, writes Raceway reporter Les Waller!

Every Saturday night event at Scotland’s most-modern short oval motorsports facility between now and the end of November will see at least one championship contested as the season kicks into high gear.

The first night of Championship fever saw Bryan Forrest defending the Superstox Scottish Championship.

Twenty-Five Superstox arrived to do battle for the right to wear the St Andrews Cross for the next 12 months with the defending champion declaring his desire for rain to fall as he felt his car was very much on the pace in the wet. Forrest’s wish was granted, and then some, as one of the wettest nights of recent memory.

The Junior Productions saw two cars in demonstration action with Chelsey-Lee Kirton claiming a hat-trick of wins.

The Ninja Karts were the first of the main formulas on show and Kaitlyn Smart made the early running in this event before a rapid Toby Tyson came on the scene to claim a dominant win.

The first heat saw the blues and reds join proceedings but that did not deter Tyson who had obviously been buoyed by his whites and yellows win and he went on to claim an excellent heat one victory.

Heat Two saw the lower graders make the break once more in the early stages with Demi Ritchie leading after the sort-out during the early laps. Demi continued to hold her own at the front all the way to the chequered flag and an excellent win.

The last heat of the evening saw a similar pattern as the yellow-graded drivers flew into an early lead with the likes of Tyson, Ritchie and Day all involved at the sharp end of the pack while the star drivers scythed their way through the field. However, it was not to be this time as the stars led by Lennon Grant came through for the lead with Grant just missing out on the last lap as European and British Champion Robbie Armit pipped him on the line. The Ninja Kart drivers drove brilliantly in terrible conditions.

The 2.0 Hot Rods were back for their first meeting since the summer break and the Scottish drivers had enjoyed a fantastic summer with William Hardie claiming the National Championship while, just six days earlier, Gordon Alexander became Scotland’s first-ever Hot Rod World Champion as he claimed the 2017 title. Gordon was given a lap of honour and was well-received by those in attendance despite the pouring rain!

Gordon then lined up with his fellow racers for the first heat of the night which saw Gary Black leading for most of the race until just before a caution period for a stricken Kevin Stewart. At the time of the yellow flag, Alex Wilson had just claimed the lead from Black and he went on to claim the first win of the night ahead of fellow blue-top Gill Anderson and Gary Black. The second heat saw Black and fellow white-grader Paul Carruthers having a great battle in the early stages as they contested the lead but this allowed the pack to slowly but surely catch up with them. Wilson was rapid once again and he sliced his way through to claim his second win of the night for an immediate return to red grade for the feature final.

The feature final was run in horrendous conditions as all hot rod races had been and the respect and control of the 2.0 Hot Rod drivers was fantastic to watch as they put on a great display despite the weather. The increased number of laps in the feature final saw the higher graded drivers come into play but it was blue-grader Gill Anderson who claimed an excellent win ahead of Hardie and Wilson.

The ProStocks were back in action at HRP Lochgelly Raceway this past Saturday and it was fantastic to see National Points and Scottish Champion Tam Melrose back on track in a grid of fourteen cars. The first heat was held before the rain came but it was memorable in its own way! As the cars circulated the track; Jason McAlpine’s engine expired in a big way to leave a huge oil slick going into turn one which saw half the field eliminated as they collided with the fence and each other!

Tam Melrose showed he had lost none of his ability as he came through to take the win ahead of Scott Gordon and Paul Barron.

The rain had well and truly arrived by the time of the ProStocks second heat but that did not deter Melrose who went on to take his second win of the night with Gordon and Barron repeating their early finishing places. The feature final was another wet race and it saw Kevin Muir hit the fence hard in turn four.

Nobody had any answer for Melrose though as he flew to his third win of a highly successful comeback evening.

The final formula on show was the Superstox and it was a big night for Scotland’s top open-wheel formula as they contested their Scottish Championship.

The random grid draw saw Tony Lattka and Paul Dunn on the front row with Ryan McGill and defending champion Bryan Forrest on row two.

Former champions Stuart Gilchrist Colin Frame gridded up in positions 11 and 19 respectively with 2017 Open Scottish Champion David Frame on grid 23 while Aaron Riddell lined up at the rear of the grid in a stunning new car for his first meeting of 2017.

Once the grid was lined up, the pace car led the 25-car field around the saturated circuit before peeling off on the back straight.

The green flag fell and Tony Lattka shot into the lead with Forrest soon slotting in behind him – the battle was on! Both drivers were lapping at virtually the same speed with defending champion Forrest able to make contact with the rear bumper of Lattka but not sufficiently to move him wide.

This changed several laps into the race as Forrest made the decisive move when he whacked Lattka into the Armco safety barrier to bring an end to Lattka’s challenge. Forrest circulated at great pace and lapped every driver up to fifth in a dominant display which saw him retain his Scottish Championship. Stuart Gilchrist had made his way into second spot before an accidental coming-together with the spinning Lee Clark saw David Frame pounce to move into the runners-up spot which he held on to until the end with Gilchrist taking third in a race of attrition.

Following the Scottish Championship, two further heats were held which saw Forrest confirm his liking for the rain as he claimed a faultless hat-trick on a cracking night of Superstox action.

The next slice of stock car action takes place THIS FRIDAY August 4 at HRP Lochgelly Raceway and features the Superstox, 2.0 Hot Rods, CC Rods and Ministox in a 12 race programme from 7pm. A great way to kick off your weekend.