Fife stock car star Ryan McGill fulfilling his dream by driving in Formula II races

There I bumped into stock car driver Ryan McGill, a sales director of Dysart who has just completed his debut Formula II season in 2023.

He said: “It had been my dream to race Formula IIs since watching my dad Billy and his brother Tony race when they were often referred to as ‘the crash brothers’ although I can’t put my finger on why - let’s just say they were entertainers!

“As a family we all went to the racing at the Cowdenbeath Racewall every Saturday night and we shared a common love for the sport.”

That era heralded the birth of McGill Motorsport in 2005, with Billy striking good deals with manufacturers during working trips to the USA.

Ryan added: “After briefly racing karts my first taste of stock cars was in 2006 when I was given a run in my cousin Dean’s Ministox and much to my surprise and delight won the Turner Trophy.

“I made my debut in Formula IIs in 2023, starting as a white grade driver and finishing runner-up in my opening race after leading until the closing stages.

"I was soon leading the final and held on to win – what a dream start but the downside was that I had to start my next meeting as a yellow grade driver.”

Ryan won the opening heat at his next meeting before coming second in the final after leading a considerable part of the race.

That March, he recovered from retiring in the opening heat to win both heat two and the final, meaning another roof colour change, this time to blue.

A fine run of results later that spring saw Ryan upgraded to a red roof, but a change of tyre supplier in the formula saw him fail to adjust properly and he dropped down to the blue grade.

After failing to secure a point in his first British Championship event at the Racewall, Ryan then suffered a gearbox problem at the Scottish Championship, missing his heat but coming fourth in the consolation heat.

He said: “I didn’t get to race as often as I would have liked after that but still managed to get a win from the blue grade.

"The Champion of Champions race at the end of October then turned out to be a disaster.

"On the opening lap a few of us crashed heavily into the turnstile bend wall and my car seemed to take the brunt of the impact.

"In the pits we had a lot of work to do to the car to get it back out and I managed a sixth in the first heat and then a fifth in the Grand National.

“In my first year I decided to concentrate on racing at my home track but intend to do as much travelling as I can in 2024. I do quite a bit of work on the car myself but do get help from my friends as well. Liam Buchanan, Aidan Scrimgeour, Peter Alexander, Lee, Liam, Ross, Midge, Dean and my auld man Billy are my team, along with my sponsor ST Racing Products.”

The holiday stock car meeting takes place at the Cowdenbeath Racewall this Sunday, 1pm start, with van bangers, Rookie Bangers, Prostock Basics and Micro Banger Team cars all racing.