Doug Gore stars at Independence meet

Glenroy Sinclair, Assignment Coordinator

After several unsuccessful battles with David Summerbell for supremacy of the Dover race circuit, Doug 'Hollywood' Gore and his team, finally found the right combination with the Audi TT, to deliver a grand performance at Sunday's 'Independence of Speed' race meet.

The lanky Montegonian scored a hat-trick of wins, to register one of his better days at Dover in recent times. Gore even went as far as establishing a new lap record of 1:18.11 in the Thundersport 11 event.

Gore attributes his superb performance to the classy job done by his support team, especially the German Audi expert who was flown in to help with the preparation for the meet.

"My confidence level soared, plus we strategised and came well equipped. This is a proud moment for me," said Gore, who was mobbed by his fans in the pit area, shortly after beating Summerbell in a nail-biting finish, in the second of their encounters.

In that event, Summerbell started fourth on the grid, one car separating him from Gore, who was in front. When the starter, Paul Clayton, waved the flag, the two drivers, within seconds, rounded the field and transformed the event into a two-car race.

The rivalry was fierce, as the two raced bumper to bumper, negotiating the challenging corners. There was thunderous applause while some women screamed, each time Summerbell accelerated and attempted to overtake Gore in the corners.

"I must credit Gore because he really came good, but I had a breaking problem and that kept me out of the battle," said Summerbell, who is preparing to ship his Mitsubishi Evolution 8 to Barbados, for the second leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championships. He is the leader on points.

Peter 'Zoom Zoom' Rae and Chris Campbell, who were expected to challenge both Gore and Summerbell, had mechanical problems and were out of contention.

Motorcyclist Stefan Chin was also in top form, establishing a new lap record. Another outstanding competitor was Kyle Gregg, the man they will have to beat in the near future. Alan Chen, Kirk Diaz, Halquin Rodney and Andre Anderson also gave a good show.