THE Junior Production formula took centre stage on Saturday, at Lochgelly Raceway, as they contested their 2026 National Championship event, writes Raceway reporter Kevin McQueen.
With drivers from Scotland and Northern Ireland competing, it was always going to be a busy track as the youngsters aimed to showcase their talents.
Some 24 drivers took to the track in the opening heat, but that number soon depleted as an early incident saw a few drivers crash to a halt on the opening lap.
The restart commenced with a few less drivers, and the racing soon got underway with the drivers reminded to keep things clean at the earlier drivers' briefing.
Ryan Berry raced to victory in the opening heat, with Leyton Hughes crossing the line in second, but would be docked a couple of places following a coming together earlier in the race.
This would promote Scottish girl star, Bella Brown, into second place, with Connor St Aubyn moving up into third place as a result.
Heat 2 would see the grid reversed from the opening heat, and there were a couple of stoppages in this race too.
A coming together between 58 and 982 would see the 982 left stricken over the track resulting in a stoppage, before 78, Tamia Aitken, found herself stranded on turn three sitting in a dangerous position and unable to get going.
There were a few incidents reviewed during the course of the stoppages, which saw a number of drivers removed from the race as a result of their involvement in incidents.
The race soon got going again with a few drivers now on the infield, Leyton Hughes found himself up front and raced to a dominant win in heat 2 ahead of Jake Barnett and Louie Hendry.
The points were tallied up from the two qualifying heats to determine the grid for the National Championship race, and with Hughes and Berry tied at the front, a coin toss would determine who would take the pole position.
Ryan Berry won the toss, with Hughes having to start on the outside. As the cars came onto the track, a rain shower materialised, dampening the track for the National Championship race.
The opening laps would see a fantastic battle ensue between Berry and Hughes, with Hughes sticking to around the outside line, whilst Berry tried his best to keep him at bay whilst allowing racing room on a greasy track.
Both drivers 'drove fair' and showcased some of the best of Junior Production racing during this period, whilst Hughes finally got the break and into the lead.
Berry followed on but wouldn’t be able to challenge Hughes up front, with Jack Morrison making a strong drive to come through to finish in third position, ahead of Scotland’s Louie Hendry in fourth. Congratulations to Leyton on defending his title!
The CC Rods were in good form as they raced with the white line markings for the first time this season, and the drivers had to work hard to keep the car within the line when they were challenged.
This allowed for some very good racing and a good number of outside line overtakes. Gavin Ritchie drove solidly in the early races as he held a good inside line in most parts, despite some intense pressure.
Up front in the opening heat, there would be no catching the 267 Steven Adair car, who flew away to a dominating victory, Gregor Whyte finishing 2nd and Ian Donaldson 3rd.
Heat 2 saw another good race with next to no incidents between the drivers, with Gavin Ritchie, Gregor Whyte, Kevin Donaldson and Ian Donaldson all racing hard and fair for long periods during the race.
Donaldson worked hard to make the outside line work, with the pack closing in behind. As the drivers battled, this allowed those starting ahead of them to clear off into the distance and there would be no catching Steven Adair up front, and Alun Gregory in second.
The meeting final saw the grid formed in points order, and Adair was on pole, with Donaldson on his outside and he got the better start and moved into the lead of the race early on, with Adair holding onto second, with Kevin Donaldson, Gregor Whye, Robert Conway etc all in behind.
Ian Donaldson looked to be in control of the race though, soon caught the back marker Gavin Ritchie, with Ritchie seemingly making life difficult for Donaldson and this allowed Adair through into the lead of the race, with the 700 car dropping into second place.
Kevin Donaldson soon caught the recovering 213 car of Ritchie and the pair came together on the back straight with Ritchie running out to the wall into turn 3.
Adair would take the win ahead of Ian Donaldson and Gregor Whyte, with Kevin Donaldson in fourth.
Ritchie would find himself DQ’d from the race as a result of his actions, which will mean he will miss the first race of the next meeting he attend's.
The Superstox welcomed Gary Chisolm once more, with sponsorship from Annette Turner Book Keeping for the meeting final trophies, and we would like to extend our thanks to them for the continued support at HRP Lochgelly Raceway.
Josh Duff debutised his new self built car, and it wasn’t the best of starts, a coming together with 319 Benjamin Erskine saw Duff into retirement early on.
A coming together early in the race between Adam Low and Kenny McKenzie saw McKenzie lose some time as he found himself against the wall in turns one and two.
Bryan Forrest took a race win in the opening heat, with Aaron Riddell finishing in second a few car lengths behind the 309 car.
Heat 2 saw Aaron Riddell claim victory ahead of McKenzie, whist Josh Duff brought his car home in third.
The meeting final once more seen McKenzie and Low come together, this time, it was a role reversal as Low found himself into the wall in turns one and two, whilst McKenzie found his front wheel rubbing against his bumper, also forcing him into retirement.
Up front, Riddell and Forrest had a good race with little between the pair, with Josh Duff in the mix for a few laps before dropping back. There was another strong showing from Mirran Adams as she once more came away with a decent haul of points.
The ORCi Ministox raced in Round 2 of the GA Autos Series, with the meeting final winner coming away with a tyre courtesy of the GA Autos team.
Despite low numbers, there was plenty of good racing, with Corey Mathers and Ollie Sime never far away from each other, and similarly with Ben McLellan and Stuart Shevill.
There was not a lot of good fortune for Shaun Boyle and Lucas Whyte, as both drivers returned three DNF’s.
Ollie Sime took wins in both heats, before being spun out on the last lap of the meeting final, whilst Stuart Shevill took the win ahead of Ben McLellan and Corey Mathers.
The Micro Bangers continued on the quest to World Cup qualification in the Fife Medical Group series. Kurtis McQuade, Jamie Sangster and William Youngson all took race wins on the night, with Sangster also claiming victory in the end of meeting DD.
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