The Madman Writes - 4th April 2009

Ever had one of those days that you would rather forget? That was me last week as I don’t think I saw a single crash all night. There certainly were a lower percentage of crashes than usual but none in my view. Can’t wait to get my hands on the DVD’s of Eddie Paterson and Alistair Miller to relive what I missed. The biggest one of the night came in the Stock Rod final where Darren McAlpine and Grant McGowan came croppers in a big way at the end of the back straight. With the latter’s car looking as if it was written off which after the hours that it took to build is a shame especially as it is supposed to be a non-contact formula.

The drive of the night had to come from Alan Kirkcaldy in the F2’s as he strolled to two heat wins and a final from his first meeting starting at the front of the grid. Apart from having the pleasure of stealing three kisses from Miss Starter, Adrienne Greig, he shown that he will be a force to be reckoned with in the formula for the rest of 2009. Tonight will be his sternest test as he starts from the yellow grade as the F2 rules dictate that any lower grade driver that wins a final must race from one grade higher the next week. There is no reason to believe that he cannot win from there but it is a big learning curve in F2’s however much talent you have and it will be interesting to see how he gets on from there. A new precedent could have been set last week when Barry Folan won his third Grand National in a row. I don’t know if the feat has ever been achieved before but no doubt someone with all the statistics to hand such as my fellow scribe, Jim Turner, will be able to rhyme off at least half a dozen drivers who have matched Barry’s achievement. You have to fell sorry for him though as he has headed round the track on his lap of honour when everyone except his family and friends have gone home meaning that he never gets the recognition he deserves.

It was oldies night in the Saloons last week as Alan Ainslie, Lindsay Wilson, and Stuart Drobinski all won races leaving the young guns trailing in their wake. Probably these guys aren’t that old but they have been racing for years and all three struggled somewhat last year for any sort of consistency. I know that the last time I was talking to Stuart, the Racewall was not his favourite track and he therefore his win was all the sweeter. Stuart had a tremendous record at Knockhill and it is a shame that the Saloons will not be part of a great summer of racing over there which all kicks off next month.

Tomorrow sees the start of the racing season up at Crimond which gives the F2’s in particular the opportunity to score some points close to home on a Sunday rather than having to go across the border for racing. If you have never been up there it is well worth a visit with around 25 races crammed into around 4 and a half hours. The action starts at 1 pm. GMP could have easily broken that record last week with 14 races in three hours. The track had been swept during the week and perhaps that is the answer every week as drivers seemed to be more in control of their cars especially when they were out towards the wall where grip is usually at a minimum.

I was speaking to Dave Richardson during the week and he was pleased with the amount of material he had amassed for the programme being put together for motors TV. The profile of the sport has increased locally as well with plenty of coverage on Real Radio as DJ’s Lynne Hoggan and Paul Harper were driven at high speed round Knockhill by James Jamieson and John Sibbald. The fact that Lynne and James won was neither here nor there as there was good feedback on the radio and there are plenty of pictures to look at on both the Real Radio and GMP Scotland websites.

Tonight sees the return of the Prostox to the track plus the last chance to see the Saloons in action for 5 weeks. The way that the fixtures have panned out down south and over in Ireland means that the formula has limited appearances in the first half of the season so better make the most of it tonight. Hopefully see you up at Crimond tomorrow, if not back here next week. Now sit back and let the action commence.