HAVING successfully splashed their way into the new month of August, hopes were quickly dashed that the new month would see an immediate change in weather conditions as yet another rain-filled evening greeted drivers, teams and fans as they gathered at HRP Lochgelly Raceway this past Friday for another night of stock car action presented by Hardie Race Promotions.

A packed programme saw four formulas racing with twelve races scheduled for the evening.

The first formula on track were the CC Rods with another fantastic turnout of cars including a welcome return for Stewart Aitken who had previously held star grade in the formula while ex-ProStock racer Raymond Brown was having a run in the car more commonly used by Colin Wotherspoon from the rear of the grid.

With the rain pouring down once again, as it had done a couple of weeks ago when the CC Rods last raced, no doubt Bob Martin would have fancied his chances of gaining some good results as he had put in a superb performance last time out.

A favourable starting position in the yellow grade enhanced Martin’s chances and he went on to confirm his pre-race favourite status as he took a dominant win ahead of the returning Aitken and a fast-moving Graham Osborne. The second heat saw the same top three make their way to the front in short order with Martin taking his second win of the night ahead of Aitken and Osborne. As a result of his heat-winning double, Martin was promoted to blue grade for the feature final which saw him start alongside Aitken for the first time.

These two made quick work of slicing their way to the front of the pack with Aitken just ahead of Martin and the chequered flag fell on Aitken as he celebrated his return to action with a final victory. Martin was docked two places for contact which saw Osborne promoted to second place and Jamie Brown to third but an appeal may see Martin given his runners-up spot back following a video review.

The second formula on show were the 2.0 Hot Rods who were enjoying their second outing in the space of six days.

Alex Wilson would start in the red grade following his double heat winning outing the previous Saturday alongside Jock Campbell while World Champion Gordon Alexander and British/National Champion William Hardie would start behind them. The previous outing has seen some great drives from white graders Gary Black and Paul Carruthers in the rain and these two drivers were in the mix once again throughout the evening. Indeed, Black took an early lead in heat one and managed to hold on all the way to the chequered flag for an excellent win. The second heat saw white graders Black, Carruthers and Gordon Hendry make a great deal of the running once again but it was Gill Anderson who came through to take the win from the blue grade.

The feature final gave the drivers nearer the rear of the grid an extra five laps to catch the flying whites and yellows but Gordon Hendry was driving superbly as he battled with Carruthers and Black for the lead in the early stages. Hendry was eventually overhauled for the lead by heat two winner Anderson and he went on to emulate Alex Wilson from the week before with his second win of the night.

The Ministox made a welcome return to HRP Lochgelly Raceway and included three visitors among their ranks from the south-west of England in the form of Harrison Bryant, Gemma Robbins and Owen Robbins and all three would feature prominently. Robbins went into an early lead after fellow white grader Ben Creanor’s race came to an end on the first corner with mechanical issues but he was soon chased down by the pack led by Charlie Folan, Alex Robertson and Gary Paterson who soon overhauled the HRP debutant. The star grade were also starting to make their presence felt led by local pilot Danny Whyte and he soon hit the front followed by Harrison Bryant and fellow Lochgelly driver Michael Mitchell and that would be the way that they finished. The second heat saw Bryant go one better as he made the long trip north even more worthwhile as he picked up a fine win ahead of a flying Mitchell.

The feature final saw a big impact for Gemma Robbins as she slammed into the safety fence but with the driver unharmed and her car cleared from the track; the race resumed with the star grade quickly making their way to the front and it would be Bryant who claimed the spoils.

The final formula on show were, like the 2.0 Hot Rods, making their second appearance in six days as the Superstox returned to HRP Lochgelly Raceway. Last time out saw Bryan Forrest take a dominant hat-trick of wins which included a successful defence of his Scottish Championship and, with the rain pouring down as it had done six days earlier, many on the terraces expected more of the same.

Scotland’s top open-wheel formula of 2017 did not earn that reputation as a result of producing boring and predictable racing though and so it proved once again at HRP Lochgelly Raceway.

Paul Dunn led the early stages of heat one before being overhauled by yellow tops Ally Noble and Zak Gilmour and these two were soon joined by Allan Gibson, Chris Miller and Forrest in a five-way battle for supremacy with the bumpers being used at every corner! Eventually, Miller and Forrest made their way to the front and, while many expected Forrest to power past Miller, the 172-pilot had other ideas and drove away from the double Scottish Champion to claim a fantastic win ahead of Noble and Forrest who had to settle for third.

The second heat saw the same five drivers battling it out for the right to go to victory lane and Miller showed great pace and skill to overhaul Noble to take his second win of the night ahead.

The feature final was the last race of a great night of action and, naturally, the rain had eased by this point but the track remained very wet as the rear-wheel drive Superstox lined up for their last race. Noble and Gilmour battled it out between themselves for the lead in the early stages before the flying duo of Miller and Forrest came through with Miller once again leading the way and looking like he was on a mission to take a hat-trick. However, Forrest had other ideas and managed to use the bumper to good effect to move the Miller machine wide to slide through to take his second feature win in six days.

This Saturday sees the eagerly-anticipated CARAVAN CARNAGE 2017 with the annual caravan demolition derby concluding Saturday night’s action which also features the 1300 Stock Cars, Stock Rods, CC Rods and Junior Productions in a cracking night of entertainment starting at 6pm.

BREAKING NEWS

HRP and Scotland’s own Siobhan Martin made history this past Sunday as she claimed the Stock Rod National Championship!