THE rain didn’t dampen the efforts of the drivers on Saturday night at Lochgelly Raceway despite thunderstorms throughout the evening that had a lot at stake, including the deciding battle in the race for the Superstox National Points, writes our Raceway scribe Kevin McQueen.

Jock Campbell (26) was participating in both the 2.0 Hot Rods and Classic Hot Rods which saw him quickly jump in and out of different cars between races. Despite the challenges of participating in both formula, Jock not only managed to compete in all six races throughout the night, but also managed to win a remarkable 5 out of 6, only missing out on one after an early spin set him back.

The Junior Productions saw Kyle Rogerson (88) make his debut in the formula in what must have been some of the worst conditions possible to make a first outing.

However, the previous experience in the Micro F2s and regular practice throughout the 2019 season paid dividends as he raced to an opening race heat win.

John Bremner (605) fought his way through to 2nd place in the opening heat, with Jensen Bell (871) rounding off the top three. The 2nd heat of the night saw Koddi Wright (352) regain his dominance in the formula as he has done much of the 2019 season.

Koddi took victory away from Kyle Rogerson in the last couple of laps of the race to deny the newcomer his 2nd win of the evening. Jensen Bell brought his Peugeot home in 3rd place, closely followed by Jack Beresford (5).

The meeting final witnessed another good race with the youngsters, with a tightly bunched pack of cars battling for the final podium places. Koddi Wright was the driver that got the break first and managed to draw some breathing space between himself and the pack behind.

Kyle Rogerson battled to hold onto 2nd place for as long as he could, but was eventually overcome by the pack behind which saw him drop down the order a little.

Jack Beresford brought his car to a 2nd place finish, whilst Jensen Bell completed a hat trick of third positions on the night, with Chloe Baird (112) finishing just outside the top three places.

The Classic Hot Rods are always aesthetically pleasing to watch with the retro style cars powered by modern engines. Martin Balfour (2) made his first appearance in a Classic Hot Rod, borrowing the car owned by Trevor Harris who is having a spell on the sidelines with a wrist injury.

John Campbell (26) was the star of the show in the Classic Hot Rods, romping to a superb hat trick of race wins on the night and showing his dominance in the wet weather conditions. Graeme Callendar (871) showed off his lovely car for the first time at Lochgelly Raceway after missing the meeting earlier in the season and raced it to a trio of 2nd place finishes.

Graham McCabe (247) brought his car out for the opening race and brought it home in 3rd place, but wasn’t to be seen again on the night. Martin Balfour managed an excellent 3rd position in the 2nd heat of the night, whilst Matt McPherson (523) brought his car home to a 3rd position finish in the meeting final.

The 2.0 Bangers were in action for the final round in the HRP series in a fight for a place in the Unlimited Banger World Final, at Ipswich, later in the year. As the event kicked off, it was northern driver Philip Blowers (258) that led the the points chart, with Sean McConnachie (180) and Neil Naismith (880) his closest challengers.

As the green flag dropped for the first time on the night, it was clear to see that Blowers would not have an easy night of it, as a number of the ‘Mob’ banger team set out to put an early end to his evening with Brian Youngson (226) despatching of the Blowers car hard into the wall in the opening laps, causing quite some damage.

Blowers was able to rejoin however, but was then quickly caught by the oncoming Neil Naismith, who again, latched onto Blowers and took him into the wall, with Ryan Martin (3) then coming in on the Blowers car as well which seen an end to the opening race for the 258 pilot.

Youngson took the race win ahead of Lee Kopacz (133) and Sean McConnachie. After the opening round of heats, it was McConnachie who had moved to the top of the points chart with Blowers dropping to 2nd and Naismith 3rd. Heat 2 seen Blowers miss out due to damage, and McConnachie fail to get off the start line as his car gave up on him. This gave Naismith the opportunity close in on the top two in the chart. David Linton (297) won the 2nd heat of the night, Kopacz 2nd and Youngson 3rd, with Naismith finishing in 4th position.

The final race of the evening seen Naismith start as the leader by a few points, and with Blowers making it out on track for the final, everyone was eager to see what would happen. However, in a badly damaged car, Blowers struggled to get away and was collected by Lee Kopacz on the opening lap, which seen both cars stuck together and unable to break free, handing the points series and the place in the world final to Neil Naismith. Brian Youngson won the final race, with Linton 2nd and Ryan Martin 3rd.

The Demolition derby saw Ryan Martin reign success after a couple of head-on attempts with David Linton.

The 2.0 Hot Rods kicked off there 2019-20 National Points campaign at home on day that seen a couple of new drivers take to the track. Wayne Lee (99) brought his car out for the first time in practice, although ran into troubles and didn’t make the evening’s racing as a result.

Scott Devine (169) returned to action for the first time in 2019. Trevor Calvin (323) started the campaign off in the best possible manner – taking his first race win in the formula as well ahead of the new National Points Champion Jim Pitcaithly (91).

As the rain continued to pour down onto the Raceway, the conditions continued to worsen. John Campbell (26) was the one that seemed quickest overall in the wet, and went onto win the 2nd race of the night, with Calvin in 2nd and Pitcaithly 3rd.

The meeting final saw Campbell start from the front row outside Trevor Calvin, with Pitcaithly just behind. Campbell quickly got into the front before Pitcaithly managed to overcome Calvin and put a chase on the Campbell car. As the laps drew in, the gap got closer and closer up front with Pitcaithly eventually challenging Campbell for the lead throughout the closing laps. However, the vastly experience Campbell held his nerve and drove a smooth race to take the victory, narrowly ahead of Pitcaithly, with Kevin Stewart (668) not too far behind in 3rd place.

The Superstox were in action for the final time ahead of their World Championship here at Lochgelly Raceway on August 31 and there was still lots to play for in relation to the quest for silver in the National Points Championship.

As the meeting kicked-off, Bryan Forrest (309) was a few points ahead of Stuart Gilchrist (177) with both drivers looking to win the silver. It was Forrest who drew first blood though as he extended his lead at the top in the opening heat, taking victory with Gilchrist only managing a 3rd, just behind Allan Gibson (196).

With the advantage extended, Gilchrist went for a hit in the opening laps of the 2nd heat to get ahead of Forrest and open up a gap to the 309 car. With Forrest chasing and looking to get as much points as possible, a mistake was made on turn 1, with Forrest spinning out, dropping him back down the order. A recovery drive saw Forrest finish in 5th place behind Gilchrist, Jack Turbitt (217), Dean Johnston (446) and Steven Ballantine (15).

With Gilchrist taking victory, the gap was back down to just 4 points as the drivers started the meeting final. Gilchrist and Forrest were watching each other as the green flag came out, with neither really committing to taking the front foot. It was Forrest though, that took the lead, with Gilchrist dropping in behind. As the cars entered turn 1 and turn 3, over a space of a lap or 2, Gilchrist had stuck the Forrest car a few times. Forrest hung on, and ultimately made contact with a couple of cars in front of him which seen them spin around and Forrest go around the outside, with Gilchrist following suit.

Forrest had opened up a small gap to Gilchrist though now and looked to be on his way to victory. However as he battled for the race lead, a tangle involving Forrest, Gibson and Ballantine seen Forrest spinning on the home straight, with Gilchrist narrowly avoiding it. Gilchrist got to the lead with Kenny McKenzie (453) following just behind for the majority of the race.

Forrest was down in 5th and the points battle looked all but over, however, Forrest managed to get up into the podium places with a few laps to go which as things stood, would have seen the points championship tied!

However, with 2 laps to go, Kenny McKenzie managed to overtake the Stuart Gilchrist car to take victory in the meeting final, with Gilchrist finishing 2nd and Forrest 3rd. The result meant that Bryan Forrest won the National Points championship by only 2 points after a year of racing!

This Friday night (16th), we are back in action with a fantastic four formula line up featuring the Ninja Karts, Ministox, 1300 Stock Cars and Stock Rods! Join us then for a 7pm start!