THE racing returned to Lochgelly Raceway with a bang on Saturday in front of a huge crowd, writes Raceway scribe Kevin McQueen.

We had a coupe car race to start the night off and set the mood for the evening. Around 25 cars took to the track and provided excitement around the Raceway, with smiles for the kids and adults!

As part of this event that was for charity, we raised funds for a couple of great causes – Fords Care – the stock car drivers charity- and Forth One Cash For Kids, with each charity getting around £400.

The Unlimited Bangers returned to Lochgelly Raceway for the first time in a few years as they battled for the Scottish Championship and did their utmost to put on a show.

Just over 20 cars attended the event with local driver Josh Heeps drawing pole position for the main race. As the green flag dropped it took no time for the drivers to get stuck in, with the bumpers going in on the opening laps with cars spinning off around the raceway and at times, you didn’t know where to look.

It was Ayrshire’s Neil Naismith who kept his head down and raced a solid race to take victory in the 2019 Scottish Championship, with northern based Brian Youngson and Colin Riddell completing the top three.

The following races for the bangers were won by Nathan Wren, from Cumbria, taking a double heat win, before also winning an excellent demolition derby, making his visit north all the more worthwhile!

The Superstox were in action, and with only a few meetings left before they compete for the World Championship here at Lochgelly Raceway at the end of August, a few visitors made the trip to Lochgelly to get a little practice in.

Dan Roots, Chris Roots and World Champion Neil Davison joined our Scottish based drivers in what was an excellent night of racing for the formula.

Dan Roots took the opening heat win with Bryan Forrest and Stuart Gilchrist having a good battle throughout the field as they battled for 2nd and 3rd places.

The 2nd race of the night looked to be going to Aaron Riddell, who has had a string of bad luck so far in 2019, however, his luck didn’t change here as he pulled off with a few laps to go whilst leading, allowing Roots to come through to take a 2nd win of the evening, with Gilchrist and Forrest again completing the top three in a reverse of heat 1 though.

The meeting final saw Roots upgraded to red roof and was immediately caught out at the start as the bumpers went in as the green flag dropped with Roots spinning out of contention before rejoining almost a lap adrift. Gichrist and Forrest exchanged blows over a number of laps before Forrest eventually got a bit of breathing space. Up front though, it was Riddell and Adam Low that were streaking clear at the front. Riddell pulled out a comfortable lead and was back to his best as he took the flag, with Low finishing 2nd and Forrest not too far behind in third place.

The National Hot Rods competed in round 1 of the 2019/20 World Qualifying Series with John Sibbald returning to action. Gordon Alexander and Kenny Purdie are competing in the first full season in the formula now, and will be looking to make there mark as the campaign goes on. Ian Donaldson Jnr made his full debut in the class as the numbers seem to be looking good for the year ahead in the premier oval formula.

Stalwart Ian McGuigan is again competing in the series. Ian Donaldson made a sensational start to the campaign though, taking a hat trick of race wins on the night that will do his chances of topping the points chart no harm at all. McGuigan got a couple of 2nd places in the heats before finishing in 6th in the final.

The meeting final saw a sensational race for 2nd place as Gordon Alexander held on with a pack of 5 cars battling it out behind him for that 2nd place.

As the laps wore on, the pack got tighter and tighter with drivers swapping positions as each of them tried to find away past the 71 car, as Donaldson raced to a comfortable race win. Alexander managed to hold his nerve though, and took that 2nd place, with Graeme McWilliam completing the top three.

The all action Ministox were back in action, and a couple of newcomers came into the formula over the summer break including Ninja Kart stars, Rachel Kidd and Charlie Hardie.

Kidd opted to start from the back of the grid in her first meeting as she bids to find her confidence, whilst Hardie started from the front and raced to a hat trick of race wins and also setting the fastest lap of the evening.

Visiting driver Aaron Richards was again with us at Lochgelly Raceway as he battles for the track championship, and went away with a good haul of points to extend his lead over Taylor Borthwick.

Lauren Ford had an excellent meeting, getting a couple of third place finishes in her heats. Another former Ninja Kart driver is beginning to look the part from red grade now, is Robbie Armit. After an excellent start to the season, Robbie was elevated to red grade where the points haul slowed down somewhat, however is now showing great consistency in the formula from the back of the grid, which seen him get a 2nd place in a heat, and 3rd place in the meeting final on Saturday night.

We are back in action this coming Saturday as the Ninja Karts, Junior Productions, 1300 Stock Cars, Stock Rods and CC Rods take to the track. Ensure you join us then for our first race at 6pm.