THE 1300cc Saloon Stock Cars had their drivers’ meeting and whilst there a few minor changes it was mostly just a general tidy up of the rules, writes Racewall reporter Jim Turner.

There were a few new faces there along with the current crop of drivers and things look pretty good for 2019.

Lindsay Wilson commented “Brian Hastie and I decided to get more involved in the 1300s at Cowdenbeath when our sons Aaron and Lee took an interest in racing them. "We want them run and disciplined properly so we decided to take the reins ourselves. Things seem to be working – we have gone from four drivers to over 30 in four years!”

“One of the things I appeared to have taught Lee is how to roll his car. When he does roll, I just shake my head and try not to think about the damage I will have to repair – although he is yet to damage a roof fin!"

“I work for Fife Council,” Lee, who lives in Comrie, told me.

“I started my racing career in the Prostocks and spent four years in them. In my time I got from white roof to red roof.

“When the 1300 Saloons started at Cowdenbeath I moved into them with a Corsa B. There weren’t too many cars around at first which allowed me to get used to them. This season I started in the same Corsa B that I had last year but in June I acquired a Corsa C and a new engine to boot which has made a real difference to my results.

“I drew pole position for the Scottish Championship in September. I dropped down to third by the time I got settled although unfortunately the fuel pump packed in and I had to retire.

“Later that month the first Gold Roof Championship was held. I had qualified second in the points over the season and would line up on the front row beside Fraser Clark.

"When the green flag dropped I slotted in behind Fraser but James Ellis came up the inside of me and we tangled dropping us both right down the order. By the end of the race, I had worked my way back up the pack to third although I was a bit behind the leaders. I remember the final of that meeting particularly well – James Ellis and Bryan Lindsay tangled in front of me leading to Bryan rolling – I nipped up the inside for third!”

He added: “The last weekend of the season was for the Superbowl and Cock O’ The North Championships. In the first heat on the Saturday I got tangled up with Andrew Webster and ending up barrel rolling the length of the back straight. "I was ok but unfortunately the car was not and I missed the second heat trying to fix it. Because I had not scored any points I started as the last car on the grid for the Superbowl race. The race itself was chaotic – once I had picked my way through the other drivers that hadn’t scored I was in about eighth place! After one of the stoppages I got myself into second although I lost out to Peter Low on the last bend and had to settle for third again.

“The last meeting was the next day and the first race was the Cock O’ The North Championship. Fraser Clark got a good start and I decided just to follow him through the pack.

"One of the white tops caused a mini-pileup which helped me get to fourth and I was able to snatch third on the last bend. In the heat race afterwards I got third again after Kyle Hegg messed up a hit on Gary Paterson. "The last race featured a lap leader bonus. I got away with James Ellis and Fraser Clark but just after I got past James, Michael Bethune blew his engine creating an oil slick which everyone slid into. I gained on Fraser a bit and on the last bend Fraser got caught on the oil and I dived through to win.

“The car is currently being rebuilt for next season, my main aim is to win a championship race of some sort.”

When I asked about how the Prostock Basics formula got started Lindsay told me: “The Prostock Basics formula came about after the last Legends Day in 2016 when I noticed how easy it was to get 30 cars on track. I mentioned this to Dave Borthwick and he agreed – even more so than when he came off track with a big cheesy grin on his face! He phoned me the following Monday to get me to make a car race worthy with the plan to start them as a formula the following season. Although there was a slow start with just 3 cars the formula has grown quickly and we now have around 30 cars after just our second season. The idea is to get as many people into stock car racing for as little money as possible. The cars are so standard, they don’t handle well – not like a racing car- and that is how we want to keep them. You take out the seats, glass and that is about it. You have to fit an 'H' frame for the battery and fuel tank and a door plate and literally that is it – you put on your helmet, gloves and helmet and take to the track.”

One driver who is racing is Lindsay’s daughter Megan (Comrie) who is a care assistant in Bandrum Nursing Home. Megan told us: “I went into the Prostock basics because it is the only thing that my dad would let me race. I was presenting the trophies to the stock car winners but I wanted to race! I had wanted to race a mini but my dad said no so that was that.

“I hadn’t passed my driving test when I started in the Prostock Basics. I remember my first race – what a buzz I got from it even although I didn’t get too far. There were only three cars at the first meeting but soon there were two after I hit the turnstile bend wall, over corrected and then wrecked the car against a marker tyre.

“We built a new car and I managed to get up to the yellow grade before the season ended. At last year's holiday meeting I wrecked the car in the second race and I managed to scrounge a battery, an oil filter and an engine strap to make sure that the engine didn’t fall out and get back out racing– it was a great buzz.

“I built the next car mostly by myself, but I didn’t race the first couple of meetings. The first meeting I did I went out and that dropped me back down to the white grade. I used a lot of radiators the first season so we stocked up on them for this season. I only used one! I didn’t have the same feel for this car as I did for the last one.

“The only race I wasn’t happy about was the Scottish Championship event when I drew pole position. It was a public draw and I would have to pick number one. I went for it when the race started but there was a rollover so we all had to do it again! I was happy just to finish and was delighted with my eighth place finish.

“I would like to move into the 1300 saloons but I am only going to do it if my brother Lee changes his number. I am racing under the 246 number – same as my dad – so Lee you have been warned!

“I wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t for my dad. He takes me to the garage, spends time there with me and takes me to the racing. I race in his colours and number and if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be able to race.”