Snow chance of stopping drivers at Cowdenbeath Racewall

The drivers and fans of the Cowdenbeath Racewall woke up on Saturday morning to be greeted to snow but luckily it soon turned to rain and that helped to clear the track.
East Wemyss driver Dean McGill  in action at the Cowdenbeath Racewall.East Wemyss driver Dean McGill  in action at the Cowdenbeath Racewall.
East Wemyss driver Dean McGill in action at the Cowdenbeath Racewall.

On the downside there were quite a few drivers who called off due to the weather conditions in their area.

The diehard fans that turned up were treated to some interesting and exciting racing with the drivers struggling to find the best racing line.

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Stephen Gilmore and Daniel Rodgers brought their cars over from Northern Ireland whilst Ant Riley and Dave Waterhouse came from the North of England.

Scott Lindsell had a meeting to remember in the 1300 Saloons winning all four races whilst in the Formula IIs Liam Rennie won both of the heats as well as the final.

The ORCi Stock Rods were dominated by the McGills with Dean winning both of the heats with Liam coming out on top in the final. Graeme Shevill won two races in the 2 Litre Saloons whilst Robert McDonald did likewise in the National Hot Rods.

The Formula IIs were hit by call offs but Riley and Waterhouse were welcome visitors whilst Craig Wallace was having his first outing of the season.

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Local drivers on the grid included Paul and Craig Reid (Cowdenbeath) and Gordon Moodie (Windygates).

Liam Rennie went through to win the opening heat from Dennis Middler and Moodie with P Reid sixth and C. Reid seventh.

Rennie again made light of the conditions to pick up his second win where he again led home Middler and Euan Millar with Moodie fifth, C. Reid seventh and P. Reid ninth.

Craig Reid led the field away when the final started but then lost out to Daniel Scrimgeour. It took Rennie quite a few laps to get ahead of Middler but once he did he then reeled in the leader.

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Once Rennie forged ahead he eased away from the field with Millar coming through to grab second on the penultimate lap from Middler with Moodie sixth and C Reid in eighth and ahead of P. Reid.

Millar then won the Grand National from Craig Wallace and Scrimgeour with Rennie in sixth place from his lap handicap with P. Reid seventh and C. Reid eighth.

The 2 Litre Saloon drivers were again in good form although there numbers were down from the previous week. Local drivers were Ross Watters (Leven) and Euan Mathieson (Lochgelly).

Tam Rutherford Jnr was soon through into the lead when heat one started but towards the end Barry Russell forced his way through into the lead.

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Russell went on to win but Rutherford Jnr has to fend off a challenge on the penultimate lap from Aaryn Triggs to snatch second with Willie Mitchell finishing in third, with Watters sixth and Mathieson tenth.

The second heat saw Rutherford Jnr again take an early lead but he tangled with a back marker and spun. Triggs took over the lead but Graeme Shevill was making good progress and he went on to win from Russell and Barry Glen.

Rutherford Jnr led the cars away when the final started and again it went down to almost the last bend before the race was decided.

Euan Mathieson slotted into second but lost out to James Letford. However Shevill worked his way quickly through the red graders and then set off after the leaders.

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Towards the end of the race Shevill caught up with the leader and then forced his way through into the lead before taking the chequer from Rutherford Jnr and Triggs with Watters fifth and Mathieson seventh.

There were 19 1300 Saloons at the track including local drivers Lee Wilson (Comrie), Gary Paterson (Saline) Kyle Hegg (Glenrothes), Arron Hastie (Ceres), Scott Lindsell (Cowdenbeath), Andrew Wightman (Kelty), Callum Sturrock (Saline) and Connor Whyte (Cowdenbeath).

The first race was a “Young Guns” race for drivers under 25 years of age and it ended with Lindsell going through to win from Charlie Folan, Hastie and Wilson with Paterson sixth and Sturrock seventh.

The first heat saw Folan lead the field away but he soon had Lindsell in close order and they ran in this order for a few laps.

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Lindsell though found the inside line and he went through to win from Dougie Ford and Folan with Wilson fifth, Paterson sixth and Sturrock tenth.

In heat two Folan led initially but then lost out to Lindsell who went on to win from Ford and Folan with Wilson fifth.

Lindsell had been moved back to the yellow grade as a result of his two wins with Ford the initial leader from Folan.

Lindsell soon caught up with the white graders and soon emerged in third. Fraser Clark and Peter Low were making progress through the field although they were swapping places from time to time. When Lindsell caught up with the leaders a three way dice for the lead was soon in full swing.

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Lindsell dived inside to move alongside Ford and they ran side by side for a few laps before Lindsell took the lead.

Hegg became involved with Wilson’s late charge saw him catch the leading group. Lindsell had eased away to pick up his fourth win of the night leading home Ford and Wilson with Paterson sixth, Hastie seventh and Sturrock ninth.

There was another good turnout of ORCi Stock Rods with Daniel Rodgers over from Northern Ireland and Euan Robertson and Kris Simpson having their debuts.

The track was wet and greasy which isn’t the best for non contact racing. Local drivers were Lee McGill (Kirkcaldy), Stuart Wedderburn (Leven), Kris Simpson (Methil), Steve Gunby (Cupar), Liam McGill (Dysart), David Dignan (Leven), Dean McGill (East Wemyss) and Michael Bethune (Kirkcaldy).

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McGill made light of the conditions going through for an easy win in heat one where he led home Cameron Doak, James Gray, Wedderburn and Bethune with Gunby ninth and Dignan tenth.

It turned out to be another easy win for D. McGill in heat two but it turned out to be McGills in the first three places with Liam McGill leading home Lee McGill and Wedderburn with Bethune seventh, Dignan eighth, and Gunby tenth.

With D. McGill moved back a grade after his two wins it was Liam McGill who went straight into the lead but within a couple of laps D. McGill was through into second place. James Gray, Doak and Michael Bethune were making inroads through the field and running in close order.

D. McGill began to close the gap to Liam McGill as the laps dwindled and over the closing laps were running nose to tail.

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However there was no way through and Liam McGill held on to win from Dean McGill with Doak bringing his car home in third place. Wedderburn was fourth with Bethune sixth, Lee McGill seventh and Gunby tenth.

The National Hot Rods were taking part in one of their World Championship qualifying rounds and amongst those in action were Billy Bonnar (Ballingry), Gordon Alexander and John Maver.

Maver’s part in the proceedings proved to be minimal and after a spin he was collected and sustained sufficient damage to have to retire from the meeting. Ian McGuigan was another who had to retire.

Roy Anderson went through to win the opening heat from Robert McDonald, Alexander and Bonnar. In heat two McDonald went around the outside of a couple of cars before moving into the lead and winning from Anderson, Alexander and Bonnar.

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Ross McWilliam led the cars away when the final started but was caught early on by Anderson. McDonald had a spirited dice before getting ahead of Billy Bonnar and Alexander and then set of after the leaders.

He caught and passed McWilliam but it wasn’t until the penultimate lap before he got ahead of Anderson to win with Bonnar finishing in third place.

This Saturday the BriSCA Formula II and 2 Litre Saloon drivers will again be in action and this time they will see the Prostock Basic and Micro Banger drivers have their first outing of the season.

As usual the meeting will start at 6pm.