There were unprecedented scenes at Kirkcaldy waterfront on Saturday night as an estimated 2,000 “boy and girl racers” from across Scotland descended on the town’s esplanade to pay tribute to Hollywood actor Paul Walker.
With more than 4,500 car enthusiasts invited via Facebook and more than 1,800 indicating they would definitely or maybe attend, convoys of vehicles travelled from as far afield as Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Edinburgh and Glasgow to pay homage to the Fast and the Furious actor, who died the previous weekend in a car crash in California.
Arranged through social media, the roads and car parks at the esplanade quickly became gridlocked amid a sea of headlights as participants in the commemorative ‘cruise’ slowly revved their way along the waterfront.
The location has been a favourite for many years with so-called “boy and girl racers” although nothing on this scale had ever been seen before.
But despite the remarkable numbers, there was a convivial atmosphere with some drivers, ranging in age from 17 to 80, turning up in fancy dress and curious members of the public gathering along the waterfront in freezing conditions to witness the spectacle.
The tribute culminated with a “mass revving” of engines at 9.30pm.
As word of the unofficial event spread, police had warned ‘cruisers’ in advance that anti-social behaviour and speeding would not be tolerated.
There was a visible police presence on the esplanade amid rumours that some residents were upset at cars turning in residential streets and anecdotal reports of sheltered housing tenants being unnerved by the noise.
However, it seemed as if warnings had been heeded with Police Scotland confirming there had been “no incidents at all” and no arrests.
Co-organiser of the event, James Stephen, 24 a courier driver from Kincardine praised the police for being “nothing but fair”.
Speaking to The Courier at the esplanade on Saturday night during which the police kept in regular touch with him via his mobile phone modified car enthusiast Mr Stephen explained the ethos behind his organisation N/A Nonsense Racing and why the event had been staged.
“N/A stands for Not Applicable or Not Acceptable whatever you want it to be,” he said. “We started over a year ago to make car meets more sociable. Normally we get about 300 but nothing like this.
“This is a tribute to Paul Walker who was one of those guys through the Fast and the Furious films who jumped out at people. We never met him but we loved his films. He connected with car people.
“We had a meet due anyway but due to his sudden death we felt it was only right to make this a remembrance event. Word has spread from there.
“It’s also become a bit of a joint commemoration for Adam Maxwell, the lad who was killed near Cupar a few weeks ago.
“We used to see him at some of the meets. There was a gathering in Lochgelly earlier today.”
Among the spectators was Thomas Campbell, 33, of Ballingry.
He said: “I used to come down here when I was younger to do ‘cruising’. I’ve never seen it like this though. It’s an amazing turnout for one guy that no one has met. People are really proud to show off their cars.”