THERE was a minute's silence at the start to the stock car meeting at the Racewall, Cowdenbeath, as officials paid their respects to David Brewster who died suddenly on Friday, writes our Racewall scribe Jim Turner.

Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.

The drizzle started just as the cars trundled into the pits on Saturday and they did in their numbers, 100 in all, with the pits being the busiest that they have been for sometime.

It turned out to be yet another damp meeting at The Racewall but there was plenty of action with Scott Rankin rolling his car during the Prostock Basic Final after coming across another car sitting across the track.

It was a night of triples with Ministox driver Logan Bruce winning all three races, Fife drivers winning all three of the ORCi Stock Rod and 1300 Saloon races whilst the Borderers dominated the Prostock Basics races.

The 1300 Saloons were at the start of their Gold roof series and there was a healthy turn of cars including Steven Gold, Stuart Wedderburn, Michael Moyes and Lee Buchan who were having their first outings of the season.

Local drivers on the grid included Lee Wilson (Comrie), Michael Byers (Methil), Michael Moyes (Cowdenbeath), Lee Buchan (Glenrothes), Stevie Gold (Cowdenbeath), James Ellis (Cowdenbeath), Gordon Myers (Dunfermline), Dale Burt (Lochgelly) and Arron Hastie (Ceres).

The opening heat saw Hastie pick up an easy win from Craigie Millar and Fraser Clark with Wilson fifth, Byers eighth and Burt in ninth place. Hastie was soon leading heat two and this time his win was much closer as Ellis pressurised him over the closing laps but he held on to win with Clark third, Wilson sixth and Byers in ninth place.

Hastie’s double success saw him have to start the final from the blue grade and again the race proved to be exciting with contact sending Hastie out of the race.

Lisa Freebairn got the final underway but next time around Hastie was leading although he was soon under pressure from Ellis. With the racing line being close to the wall overtaking was at a premium and soon Ellis was joined by Clark and Millar. Hastie fended off the challenges from Ellis but he was eventually sent spinning out of the lead.

Clark and Millar were running nose to tail fighting for second but they lost touch with Ellis when lapping a back marker. In the end Ellis held on to win the Wilson Auto Repairs sponsored final from Clark and Millar with Wilson in fifth, Burt seventh and a recovering Hastie in ninth place..

There was another healthy turn out of ORCi Stock Rod drivers with Ross Finlay (Glenrothes) making his debut whilst Stuart McKinnon (Kincardine) and Mark Blackie returned to the scene – the latter after a few years absence. The wet and greasy track surface was the best suited for non contact racing but the drivers served up some exciting racing. Local drivers also included James Matson (Glenrothes), Lee McGill (Glenrothes), Stuart Wedderburn (Leven), Steven Gunby (Cupar) and Michael Bethune (Kirkcaldy).

Matson moved into the lead during the early stages of the race before picking up an easy win from Bethune, with Wedderburn sixth. Bethune then won heat two where he crossed the line ahead of Wedderburn, Cameron Doak, Matson and McKinnon

The final was sponsored by ASD Welding Services, in Glenrothes, and whilst it wasn’t raining it made little difference to the track surface. Paul Prentice led the cars away but within three laps McGill was ahead from Wedderburn and Doak.

McGill soon had a clear lead but Wedderburn and Doak fought over second whilst further back Leon Stewart had his hands full trying to keep James Gray at bay. Bethune was making progress through the pack but McGill was lapping back markers and as he went through to win Doak got ahead of Wedderburn on the last lap to snatch second spot with Matson fourth and ahead of Bethune in what had been an exciting race with quite a few race long dices taking place.

There was a big field of Ministox drivers at the track with Lia Heeps and Kai Gilmour having their first Racewall outing whilst Danny Elbourn and Abbie McGuiness were up from Essex.

The ministox drivers were in good form and there was no shortage of action in all of their races. Local drivers included Gary and Jay Paterson (Saline), Scott Allardyce (Anstruther), Mitch Gold (Leven), Jamie Stewart (Glenrothes) and Michael Mitchell (Lochgelly).

Their first race of the night was a white/yellow challenge heat which Gilmour went through to win from Stewart and Allardyce with J. Paterson in fifth place.

The first heat was dominated by Logan Bruce who went through for a comfortable win over Mitchell and Elbourn with G. Paterson finishing in seventh place. Heat two saw Bruce again the man to beat and once he took the lead went on to win from G. Paterson and Allardyce with Mitchell in fifth and Gold in seventh place.

The final turned into another Bruce demonstration of how to drive in the wet. Taylor Borthwick was an early retiree with Allardyce leading and just ahead of Barry Scott. Ryan Borthwick was spun and then the leaders were to be caught by Bruce but then there was a race suspension after Heeps crashed into a marker tyre.

Bruce led the field away before pulling away as Allardyce retired. Scott looked to be heading for second only to be teeboned by Gold on the pit bend. Bruce went on for his third win of the night crossing the line with Mitchell coming through into second and McCallum third.

There was a big turn out of the Prostock Basic drivers with Joanne Hilditch, Brian Galloway, Cameron Whitley (Buckhaven), Michael Stafford (Methil), Michael Ritchie and Nicole Russell all making their debut. Blair Robertson was having a run in the charity car and they joined regular local drivers on the grid Connor Jones (Cowdenbeath) and Jordan Dignan (Leven),

Heat one saw Dougie Ford make light work of driving through the field to win from John Rankin and Scott Rankin to make it a Border 1-2-3 with Jones in eighth. Ford was caught up in a shunt at the start to heat two and this time it was Craig Oliver who led from start to finish to win from Ford and S. Rankin with Stafford in eighth.

Oliver went straight into the lead from Ryan Burden but further back S. Rankin was being caught by J. Rankin. Oliver had a good lead but then it disappeared when S. Rankin came across a stationary car on the main straight and ended up rolling. The race was suspended and once the track was cleared Oliver went on to win from J. Rankin and Jones with Stafford again in eighth.

As usual the youngsters in their MicroF2s turned up in their numbers but their antics were curtailed by a wet and greasy track. Apex Sheds and Garden Furniture were the sponsors of their races with the drivers receiving mementos of the occasion. Connor St Aubyn (Glenrothes), Nicole Allardyce (Anstruther) and Lennon Cuthill (Glenrothes) were the local youngsters in action

Charlie Burgoyne won the opening heat from Ross McLaughlin and Jamie Dawson with St. Aubyn in fifth whilst Callan Walker won heat two from Dean Heeps and David Philp Jnr. Their third heat had a close finish with Burgoyne and Kara Russell dead heating with Dawson in third place and Allardyce in eight place.

The Saturday its Banger night with the Unlimited Banger drivers contesting the World Cup. There are over 60 drivers booked in to date and it looks like it’s going to be quite a night. The 2 Litre National Saloons are in action along with the Junior Bangers with the meeting starting at 5.00pm

*Chris Burgoyne (Airth) won the British Formula II Championship on the shale at Mildenhall on Saturday night with Gordon Moodie (Windygates) in fourth place and the defending champion Craig Wallace (Tranent) fourteenth.