Photo by Brian Carless
Doug 'Hollywood' Gore (left) is all smiles, having won MP Convoy Race #2. With him is Auto Source's Chressmore White.

Mario James, Sunday Gleaner Writer

In days of old, when men were bold,
And TV not yet invented,
They took their spears
And fought like bears,
For there were no DVDs to be rented.

THE MECHANICAL joust at Dover, St Ann, two Sundays ago drew no blood, but the thunder emanating from the hooves of these mechanical beasts added to the spectacle that Dover has become. The sight of the immaculately prepared cars and the smell of Sunoco permeated the air as egos and highly strung metal clashed together in bouts of fury, drivers and mounts daring to push themselves to 101 per cent for the glory of it all.

IP stands for improved production. There are four actual brackets that are categorised by the quickest times that that car has posted. For example, if your car's fastest time around Dover is 1 min 28 seconds, then the car belongs to bracket IP27. The other classes are IP33 and IP37.

Because the fields are numerically small for each individual bracket, the organisers lump everybody together and call it a convoy, which is actually three races in one. The other convoy race is the Modified Production (MP) class. MP1 is for cars with engines 1800 cc or less; MP2 for vehicles with a displacement between 1801 and 3000 cc, MP3 for race cars with lumps bigger than three litres.

Thundersport

Rotary engine'd racers with a 1300 cc 13B are automatically placed in MP3, because a rotary is actually closer to the two stroke model than the four stroke, and produces more power per revolution. Thundersport (formerly known as GTS) has no such displacement restrictions; they are governed by weight according to the size engine they run. So the more cubic centimetres they displace, the heavier the car. Turbo cars also have weight restrictions, if they are in TS.

The other class is a beginner series called IP45. These drivers race alone because they are relatively inexperienced and are just learning the track, but being an IP class, they have to lap slower than a minute 45, and there are no pass zones around the track that they have to obey while racing. The cars are stock; racing apparel is all that is required (a helmet and Nomex suit).

The first race of the day was the Convoy IP 27, 33, 37 Class. These cars are worthy of recognition, but it really is hard to follow the action if there are three races stuffed into one. Only the diehard fans can interpret the fun.

Motorcycling was next, and Stefan Chin and Adrian Blake warmed up things a bit, but without Halquin Rodney the spark just wasn't there. They droned around the track for five laps; this was slightly more interesting than the IP Convoy race only because you always knew where the leader was. There was no one to challenge Chin, and he took top honours in this tussle.

Modified Production was another matter. Big boys play in this field, and their toys can get real expensive. And recalcitrant! But most of the players made it to the grid, although the 1:19 Summerbell hot lap must have hung over the MP3 contingent's heads like the sword of Damocles. True to form, 'Flow Master' Summerbell stormed to the front at the drop of the flag and never looked back. After a while it looked as if he was sandbagging, it got so bad.

On an off day with mediocre equipment, Summerbell is a very formidable foe. Giving him close to 600 horsepower is like giving a nuke to Rambo. Very predictably, he won MP3. On the trot. With Gore huffing into second place and Guy Fraser taking the final podium spot. MP2 was won by Tedroy Burton in his hopped up turbo Civic, which was also a foregone conclusion. MP1 was won by Paul Lee.

Big guns

Thundersport, the fastest class at the hallowed grounds, was temporarily without its stars, as none of the big guns started the first race (with the exception of Peter Rae, who started from the pits, almost a lap down from the front runners). Gary Williams is becoming a force to be reckoned with in this class, as he is consistent and talented. Second went to Heath Causewell.

A few races stood out; the second MP Convoy was a humdinger because of a cloudburst. Gore, who had been listening to the weatherman, had brought rain tyres and started the race on them. The damp track wasn't too forgiving, as Summerbell found out. Even the most gentlemanly of prods with the right foot was enough to provoke prodigious wheel spin. That is not to say that Doug wasn't suffering as well, but the all-conquering AMS power was useless this time around; after being neck and neck through Goodyear, Gore's steed bit and shot down the straight to Tyre Warehouse, back end sashaying to and fro between the AMS and the infield.

Honed skills

By Pinky's bluff the pass was complete, and Gore began to employ well his honed skills to stretch the distance between himself and his counterparts. It was one of the best displays of wet weather driving skill that this reporter has seen in Jamaica. So fine had Gore cut it that his Evo died as it crossed the finish, succumbing to a head gasket malady. Summerbell was second and Peter Rae third.

The motorcycle race that had Hilary Jhardine hoarse was almost cancelled because it was thought that Dover was too challenging a track when damp. But after the Hoovers (the MP Convoy) had dried the surface, it was deemed safe to continue. What followed next was some of the most scintillating motor racing ever seen locally. Stefan Chin's mount was on fire, but Halquin Rodney had shown up, and made things quite interesting.

It started rather tamely, the riders using the first lap to warm their tyres. After a couple of circuits, their tyres nicely scrubbed in, the handle bars like magic in their hands, Dover patrons woke up to the realisation that they were finally getting their money's worth! It was David vs Goliath all over again. Chin's mount was untouchable on the straights; teeming with raw, unbridled horsepower, he could be seen fighting to keep the front on the ground. Rodney's ride, on the other hand, was impeccably balanced, and was out-braking him into Pinky's, around the Dupont curve and into Carib Cement.

On one of the laps, he had so much momentum that he was actually hitting his stride much earlier than Chin on the start/finish straight; only by deftly closing the door on the transition from the esses unto the straight could Chin keep his lead. The lines that this young talent took into Pinky's Bluff and Carib Cement, if he had made the passes stick, would be the stuff of legend. It was worth the price of admission just to see this race.

And then there was the finale: Thundersport II. Peter Rae, unbeknownst to a lot of fans, had cracked off an unofficial hand timed 1:22 lap after eight that morning. Hearing the ol' codger shift that crate in early practice indicated that he was in exceptional form, and that he was here to joust! His new experimental intake manifold seemed to deliver the goods early on, but the carburetion on the 13B was still a problem, and the fine edge on the space frame RX7 went off as the motor got hot. Summerbell made the grid for TS, but started at the back of the grid. Gore's head gasket woes meant that he could not start the race. So it was Christopher Campbell, Ferdinand Anderson, Mike Causewell, Sebastian Rae, Peter and Summerbell Junior. Five Mitsubishis against the lonely Zoom Zoom.

Rolling start

Dover employs a rolling start for its races; to be successful here, one has to be a master of timing the start so that position is maintained when the flag drops but the engine is at peak rpm. With a naturally aspirated rotary, the task is even harder as no 'undrugged' 13B likes low revs, and if you are caught holding the bag, you are going to keep holding it for a very long time.

On this occasion, Peter Rae had one of those starts that drivers dream about, experienced personnel intimated how spectacular his form was going into Goodyear, phenomenal, as a word just doesn't do it justice. Rae positively leapt to the left of Campbell from behind the Manchester man and made it four wide going into Goodyear! Having the inside line usually means that more speed has to be scrubbed off to make the curve as it arrives sooner and is usually tighter to negotiate. But, somehow, Rae made it stick and he carried more exit speed out of the corner than the other three. Amazing! Maybe you don't have to teach old dogs new tricks, especially if the tricks this one has are still bringing home the bacon!

By now the Rotary fans were climactic. Rae thundered down to Tyre Warehouse, his Hewland box shifting oh-so-sweet, punctuating the banshee wail of the 13B, the chassis flexing around Pinky's bluff under the commands of a master. Soon he had pulled out five, six lengths; the wily veteran was in his element.

He kept this up for two laps; meanwhile, the 'Flow Master' had been deftly bagging competitors and is breathing down the tailpipe of Campbell, in second place. Through the chicane, round the Carib Cement corner and into the esses Rae goes, and then Murphy's law sets in. The 13B hiccoughs coming up the start/finish straight, and Campbell is now pouncing where Rae is most vulnerable, as his mount comes 'off the cam' going up the hill, and is struggling to make power. But his lead is considerable, and gives the engine some time develop thrust.

Damage

But the damage is done; Campbell's Evo is now too close for comfort; even the experience of Rae can't combat Mitsubishi's all-conquering Evo at full chat with malfunctioning equipment. Campbell takes first spot on the way down to Tyre Warehouse, the rotary noticeably off song as it struggles through the Federal Corner. Summerbell, scything his way through the field is not past Rae until the entrance of the chicane.

By this Campbell has developed quite a lead but the 'Flow Master' chips away at it, bringing all 500+ Clydesdales to bear on this particular problem. Drifting closer to the limits at each apex, Summerbell whittles away at Campbell's lead until Goodyear, where they're almost side by side. He passes Campbell on the bit of straight before Pinky's Bluff, the Evo darting to the inside and dispatching Campbell with consummate ease. It is in that order that they finish; Summerbell first, Campbell second, and Rae adrift in third. A fitting end to one of the best staged meets of all time!

Freedom of speed race VIDEO on-line at http://gleanerblogs.com/motorsports

Email: mario.james@gleanerjm.com