McDonald In European Glory
McDonald In European Glory
Race Results: Saturday 22nd April
Saturday National Hot Rods Heat 1: 9, 72, 175, 39, 944, 71, 20, 23, 524, 54
Heat 2: 70, 174, 17, 305, 54*, 20, 72, 142, 76*, 944
Heat 3: 524, 162, 23, 71, 17*, 76*, 330, 305, 9, 70
DPC European Championship: 17, 9, 524, 70, 54, 20, 71, 162, 23, 39
1300 Stock Cars Heat 1: 188, 22, 672, 126, 648, 668, 501, 638, 59, 835
Heat 2: 501, 411, 126*, 672, 59, 668, 743, 638, 715, 188
Final: 126, 22, 672, 743, 501, 668, 638, 188, 59, 411
Classic Hot Rods Heat 1: 210, 156, 72, 300, 128, 93, 162, 209, 168, 631
Heat 2: 871, 128, 93, 300*, 72, 162, 156, 210, 209, 168
Scottish Open: 300, 72, 128, 871, 156, 93, 209, 254, 162, 70
Stock Rods Heat 1: 25, 60, 248, 27, 700, 170, 555, 252, 11, 18
Heat 2: 252, 25, 11, 555, 261, 60, 700, 27*, 248, 13
Final: 25, 60, 27, 555, 700, 13, 721, 289, 261, 170
Sunday National Hot Rods Scottish Open: 76, 629, 524, 54, 72*, 9, 175, 20, 39, 555
Malcolm Chesher Memorial: 175, 305, 17, 76, 330, 524, 629, 39, 944, 925
Stephen McDiarmid Trophy: 330, 76, 20, 17, 71, 305, 629, 39, 756, 555
Classic Hot Rods Heat 1: 156, 254, 209, 93, 128, 300, 162, 70, 631, 59
Heat 2: 300, 210, 128, 156, 93, 72, 254, 162, 168, 631
Lochwood Designs Malcolm Chesher Memorial: 300, 156, 128, 210, 72, 93, 254, 168, 162, 70
Stock Rods Heat 1: 60, 13, 25, 27, 252, 289, 671, 18, 98*, 700*
Heat 2: 700, 11, 25, 252, 60, 27, 289, 23, 555, 13*
Lochgelly Masters: 25, 27, 60, 252, 289, 671, 555, 11*
Ministox Heat 1: 29, 42, 60, 68, 172, 7, 84, 14, 136, 167
Heat 2: 68, 29, 60, 84, 7, 699, 136, 172, 167, 14
Final: 7, 42, 60, 68, 172, 167, 29, 699, 249, 6
It was the first of our 2023 speed weekends, and it was certainly one to remember! The David Philp Commercials National Hot Rod European Championship took centre stage as the headline attraction, but there were plenty of great racing amongst the ‘support’ formula throughout the weekend.
The National Hot Rods started the evening off with three qualifying heats – two for each driver, pre-determined by an earlier grid draw. The results from these heats would then determine who started where in the main event later in the evening. The opening race of the night seen some great fast racing, with former British Champion, 9, Glenn Bell taking victory ahead of Scotland’s William Hardie 72, and Hayden Ballard 175. Heat two, would see another close race, with a few incidents throughout resulting in a few drivers being docked for various offences throughout the race. Northern Ireland’s Shane Murray, 70, swept to victory ahead of former European Champion Jason Kew, 174, and Scotland’s Robert McDonald, 17. The final qualifying heat of the Saturday night would see English youngster, Perry Cooke, 524, claim victory. Following Perry across the line were the reigning European Champion Carl Waller-Barrett 162, and Aaron Dew, 23. With the results finalized, the computer was put to work to form the grid for the European Championship race, and for the first time, there would be two Scottish drivers on the front row of the grid – World Champion Robert McDonald and William Hardie. Glenn Bell, Perry Cooke and Shane Murray were all also in the front few rows of the grid, which promised to provide a mouthwatering race with many potential winners. As the evening ticked on, it was time for the main event. The cars were pushed to the track by the drivers and teams, as they took their keepsakes from event sponsor, David Philp Commercials on entry to the track. The teams were greeted and cheered on by the masses of spectators in attendance. Once the grid was formed, members of the public were invited onto track to meet the drivers, get photographs with them and get autographs etc, before the race got underway. Once the track was vacated, the drivers got strapped in and did their final preparations for the race. The race would get underway approx. 8.30pm, as dusk drew in and the floodlights illuminated the track. The green flag would drop, and McDonald got away first despite William Hardie’s best efforts to get the squeeze on the world champion. Hardie would find himself on the outside in the opening laps, with Glenn Bell squeezing through into second place, with Perry Cooke close behind as well. A gap appeared behind the Glenn Bell car which Hardie tried to squeeze into, but was tagged by Perry Cooke who already had his nose up the inside – this spent Hardie into a spin knocking him down the order and collected by 305 Billy Wood. As the race resumed, it was McDonald in the lead ahead of Bell and Cooke – and this is how it remained for the remainder of the race, although Perry Cooke had a battle on his hands to hold onto third place with Shane Murray leading the charge for that position, as a delighted Robert McDonald became the first Scotsman to win the European Championship here at Lochgelly Raceway! McDonald duly celebrated his success with an array of celebratory donuts. A few drivers had sustained damage on the Saturday night, and weren’t able to race the Sunday afternoon, resulting in an ‘all in’ format running for the second day of action. 20+ cars took to the track for the Open Scottish Championship race, which lined up in reverse European Championship order. This race provided some great racing as the drivers that qualified at the front of the main event, had to start from the rear and challenge through the field. A wet track provided various different racing lines early in the race, with Hardie charging superbly from the back of the grid. John Sibbald, 629, led the way in the first half of the race, with a charging Adam Maxwell, 76, closing in as the laps wore on. Back marking traffic would come into play, with Sibbald losing the lead of the race whilst lapping a car, as Maxwell swept into the lead of the race. Maxwell would take victory ahead of Sibbald, with William Hardie crossing the line in an excellent third position, though would find himself docked after a coming together during the race, this promoted Perry Cooke up into the podium position for the second day in succession. Hayden Ballard took victory in the much sought after Malcolm Chesher Memorial event, and Scotsman Ross McWilliam, 330, finished off his weekend with a well deserved win in the Stephen McDiarmid Trophy race.
The Classic Hot Rods seen a number of visiting drivers join us for the weekend as they raced for their Scottish Open Championship on the Saturday night, and their Lochwood Designs sponsored Malcolm Chesher Memorial on the Sunday afternoon. An Incarace draw determined the grid for the first heats during the weekend, with them reversed for heat 2 on the respective days. 75 year old Hughie Weaver, 210, would take victory in the first race of the weekend for the Classics, although he had to defend for much of the latter part of the race from 300 John Buchan. Buchan couldn’t make a move stick though, and crossed the line in second place before a docking would drop him down to fourth. Kevin Gooding, 156, and Gary Goodswen, 76, would move up into second and third places respectively. Heat 2 would see the grid reversed, and Scottish driver, Graham Callendar would take a fine victory. Irelands Anthony Morgan, 128, finished in second ahead of Nick Ross, 93. The Scottish Championship race would be lined up based on the points from the two qualifying heats. A great race ensued with some super close racing throughout – most notably the battle for third place as Callendar and Morgan battled for long periods in the race, with nothing between them much of the time. Buchan would come through to take victory, with Gary Goodswen finishing just behind in second place, and Morgan holding on for third. The Sunday would again see two reverse grid heats used to form the grid for the Malcolm Chesher Memorial event. Kevin Gooding would take victory in the first of the two heats, with Buchan taking victory in the other. The grid was formed and the race would get underway. An early coming together between Davie Low, 631, and 209, Andy Lee would see an early caution as the cars were stranded on the exit of turn 2. Buchan would go onto take victory for the second year in succession, with Kevin Gooding and Anthony Morgan completing the top three.
The Stock Rods were with us both days as they raced for the Lochgelly Masters. Daniel Rea made the trip north to be with us, and gain some track time ahead of the World Final in late August, and looked on the pace throughout the weekend, taking a few podium positions away with him for his efforts. National Points Champion Siobhan Martin would take victory in the opening race of the weekend for the formula, before rounding that up with a final win on the Saturday night too. James Robertson took victory in heat 2 on Saturday. The Sunday afternoon would see a further two heats, with race wins going the way of Rea and Ian Donaldson. The points from all races across the weekend would be accumulated to form the grid for the Lochgelly Masters – which was again won by Siobhan Martin, leading home Gary Dean and Daniel Rea.
The 1300 Stock Cars provided great support on Saturday night, with a strong line up of cars taking to the track. National Points Champion Kyle Hegg wouldn’t have it his own way at all, suffering damage in the opening heat, and rolling over in the meeting final too, with a rare pointless meeting for the points leader. Danny Whyte looked in almost unstoppable fashion on the night, as he found his car on rails. Jamie Stewart took victory in the opening heat of the night, with Whyte crossing the line in first in heat 2 before being demoted for a deemed jump start, and Ally Strachan inheriting the race win. The meeting final would see the cars bunched up at the start, and they put on an excellent showing. There was at times 5 cars wide as they entered the corners as they jostled for positions. Danny Whyte would be the driver to come out on top though, as he took a fine race win ahead of Steven Gold and Jason McAlpine.
The youngsters in the Ministox replaced the 1300 Stock Cars as the fourth formula on the Sunday as they raced for the HRP Marshals Shield. David Philp Jnr continued his impressive start to the 2023 season as he took a commanding victory in heat one, with Jake Wilson finishing a few car lenghts behind in second place. Heat two would see Charlie Burgoyne take a fine victory, as he continues to show good form here at Lochgelly Raceway. Philp would finish in second place just ahead of Bailey Millar. The meeting final went the way of Charlie Hardie, who took victory ahead of Jake Wilson and Bailey Millar.
Thank you to all of the drivers, sponsors, officials and spectators that helped ensure that the 2023 National Hot Rod European Championship was one to remember!
We are back at Lochgelly Raceway this Saturday, as the Service Central Ninja Karts take to the track for the final time ahead of their World Championship on May 20th. The Superstox, 2.0 Hot Rods and CC Rods are all with us too. 6pm start time.
View event laptimes on Speedhive
Previous Meeting Results
02/11/24 - Barron In Van Banger Joy25/10/24 - Muirhead at the double19/10/24 - Johnston and Dean In Scottish Glory12/10/24 - Cobb Takes World Glory05/10/24 - Brown Retains Hot Rod Scottish28/09/24 - Stewart claims 1300 Scottish21/09/24 - Smith Wins Super2s Scottish14/09/24 - Cunningham Does The Double07/09/24 - Burns Wins JusBounce Shield30/08/24 - Friday Night Results24/08/24 - 24th August Results17/08/24 - Rae On Top of the World10/08/24 - 10th August Results03/08/24 - Croskell In Scottish Delight27/07/24 - Wilson Claims Ninja Scottish20/07/24 - Dickson on top of the World29/06/24 - Bangers Wreak Havoc22/06/24 - York and Hardie In Championship Success15/06/24 - Chaos at Lochgelly Raceway08/06/24 - Saturday 8th June Results01/06/24 - June Speed Weekend Results25/05/24 - Race Report 25th May18/05/24 - Plenderleith In Ministox Success11/05/24 - McMills in Hot Rod Success04/05/24 - Saturday 4th May Results27/04/24 - 27th April Results20/04/24 - Melrose Treble Delight14/04/24 - Maxwell In Euro Triumph06/04/24 - 1300s Entertain30/03/24 - Philp Takes 3 In Ministox23/03/24 - English Dominate In Ninja Season Debut16/03/24 - Wilson at the Double09/03/24 - Clark Takes Final Win in 1300 Stock Cars02/03/24 - Hat Trick For Deano In Wet Conditions24/02/24 - Jarman Wins In Memorial Event11/11/23 - Brant Wins Memorial In Excellent Night of Racing04/11/23 - Barron Takes Van Scottish27/10/23 - Stewart In Form To Win Mr Gunn Event21/10/23 - Chalmers In Autism Awareness Victory14/10/23 - McConnachie and Hardie Take The Titles07/10/23 - Adams and Dean Claim Scottish Titles30/09/23 - Rae Wins the McNicoll Memorial23/09/23 - Smith Takes Banger Wildcard16/09/23 - Brown Retains Scottish09/09/23 - Cunningham Claims CCR Scottish02/09/23 - Clark Wins 1300 Scottish26/08/23 - World Titles go to Northern Ireland19/08/23 - Wright Retains The Saltire12/08/23 - Shevill Claims Ninja Scottish05/08/23 - Quinn Retains The Scottish29/07/23 - 29th July Results22/07/23 - Green claims the Masters15/07/23 - Murray Takes The British24/06/23 - Unlimiteds Pull The Crowd16/06/23 - Friday 16th June10/06/23 - Livingston at the Treble03/06/23 - 1300s Shine in Euro Championship27/05/23 - Saturday 27th May Results20/05/23 - Carberry On Top of the World12/05/23 - Clark at the Treble06/05/23 - Henry at the double in chaotic 1300 stock cars29/04/23 - 29th April22/04/23 - McDonald In European Glory15/04/23 - Ritchie Takes Hat Trick In Ministox08/04/23 - Results 8th April01/04/23 - Bell Dominates On Final Meeting25/03/23 - Buchan Takes Hat-Trick In Classical Style17/03/23 - Stav Dominates In Wet Conditions11/03/23 - Alexander makes it 2 out of 2 in 202304/03/23 - Cunningham takes a hat-trick25/02/23 - Murdoch Claims Walsh Memorial30/12/22 - Wet and Wild Night12/11/22 - Hegg Claims Freck Memorial05/11/22 - Vans Delight In Destruction Derby28/10/22 - Hegg Retains Gunn Trophy22/10/22 - 22nd Oct Results15/10/22 - Gurney Rocks The World08/10/22 - Brown Takes Hot Rod Scottish01/10/22 - Ina Retains ProStock World24/09/22 - Kidd Takes Glory17/09/22 - New Scottish Champions Crowned10/09/22 - Forrest Retains The Masters03/09/22 - Robertson takes epic Scottish27/08/22 - Johnston Takes the Saltire20/08/22 - Adams takes Gibson Memorial12/08/22 - An Eventful Friday Evening06/08/22 - Korben Takes 1600 Banger Scottish30/07/22 - Rochford takes glory in World Final23/07/22 - Wet and Wild at Lochgelly Raceway16/07/22 - 16th July Results24/06/22 - Friday Night Storms - Results18/06/22 - Eventful Rods 18th June11/06/22 - Roff and Crawford Take Glory03/06/22 - Friday Night Thunder28/05/22 - Bangers Entertain at Lochgelly21/05/22 - Cup Cars Shine at Lochgelly Raceway14/05/22 - 14th May Results30/04/22 - 30th April Results07/05/22 - An Action Packed Evening23/04/22 - Results 23/4/202216/04/22 - Gilmour at the Double 16-0409/04/22 - 9th April 22 - Results02/04/22 - An Epic Weekend of Racing26/03/22 - New Winners In Juniors19/03/22 - Smart Hat Trick12/03/22 - Drama in 1300 Final - 12th March05/03/22 - 5th March Results26/02/22 - Thomson Wins Walsh Memorial13/11/21 - Gilmour Takes Freck Memorial06/11/21 - Huge Crowd Wowed By Van Bangers29/10/21 - English Run Riot In Ministox23/10/21 - Riddell Takes The Scottish16/10/21 - Connor Steals The Show in Ninja Karts09/10/21 - Byram Takes The Glory In World Cup Chaos02/10/21 - Ninja Shine On Drab Night25/09/21 - Walle and Christie Take The Honours10/09/21 - Rae on the double as he returns to action04/09/21 - Pearce Retains Gold In The Race Of The Decade28/08/21 - McAlpine Scoops Scottish21/08/21 - Bomber Wins Memorial14/08/21 - Hegg Dominates As He Claims Scottish Title07/08/21 - Frame Returns To Win Memorial Event30/07/21 - Friday Night Results24/07/21 - Kingsnorth at the Double17/07/21 - McWillam Scoops Hat Trick25/06/21 - Bangers Friday Night Delight19/06/21 - Dillon Wins Shaun Walsh Memorial12/06/21 - Tyson takes dramatic Ninja Euro05/06/21 - Titles Goto Northern Ireland29/05/21 - May Ends With A Bang22/05/21 - Murray Takes Nationals Euro15/05/21 - Ballantine Runs Out Of Luck 15th May 202108/05/21 - Pitcaithly Takes Stock Rod Final01/05/21 - Saturday 1st May Results07/11/20 - Sangster Dominates In Van Scottish31/10/20 - Gourlay Takes CC Scottish With Touching Tribute24/10/20 - Clark Takes The Gunn Trophy17/10/20 - Mackie takes Hot Rod Scottish10/10/20 - Reynolds Takes The Gold03/10/20 - Rapid Racing at Lochgelly26/09/20 - McConnachie Takes The Scottish19/09/20 - Double Scottish Results12/09/20 - Saturday 12th September Results05/09/20 - September Weekend Results29/08/20 - Saturday 29th August Report22/08/20 - Double Rollovers In Stock Car Actions15/08/20 - Bell Takes A Double07/08/20 - Burgoyne Takes The Final As Minis Shine01/08/20 - Kopacz at the double25/07/20 - Back with a Thud!14/03/20 - Ford At The Double In 1300 Stock Cars07/03/20 - Hat Trick of Hat Tricks - 7th March 202029/02/20 - 2020 Season Opener09/11/19 - Van Bangers Delight The Crowd at Season FinaleView Historical Results