Carnival of Speed – Doug Gore absent but.. (Part 2)

Scenes of jubilation tell an exciting tale of pleasure and unrestrained joy. Early Easter Monday, April 21st, such scenes were revealed by members of  TOTAL Summerbell Racing (TSR) – the David Summerbell branch – who were swimming in a sea of happiness when they got word that that their highly decorated driver had raised the bar even higher by erasing the old lap record and replaced it with a scorching 1:17.557!

The JRDC’s technical regulations for 2014-2016, as discussed earlier, introduced, arguably, revolt enhancing changes. TSR being a rather crafty racing outfit selected options carefully – I am hearing a voice saying “They cant beat me with a rule-book!”. They chose a smaller motor and avoided the addition of weight to an already obese TA1. Yes, TA1 is heavy!

In their quest to stay ahead of the competition, TSR blended the ingredients, acquired perfection and extracted extraordinary performance from TA1. Did the new rules encourage them to reach for the greatness hidden within? Should the new rules be thanked for providing the inspiration which gave rise to a more determined drive to win? Doug Gore was absent but it was obvious that TSR was pressing ahead with their mandate!

Heath Causwell

Incidentally I totally overlooked 2 significant events which unfolded on Sunday, April 20th. Motorsports fans, when asked, will provide myriad reasons why they are at the track. I submit that one of those reasons involves diving in an ocean of dreams. At times we go to the races because it allows us to see, hear and ‘experience’ machines which we can only dream about – our deflated pockets preclude the legal acquisition of those machines so we rely on the vicarious route.

A machine which soars to the fore, which for me, fits the classification, is Mark Maloney’s RX3 when it was in its naturally aspirated – 20B state, before it was castrated by a turbo! There is something magical about a machine emitting disruptive combustion-based melodies, punctuated by a series of hisses, popping and abrupt explosions which evokes inexplicable pleasure!

The Machines Gone Wild Subaru Wrx driven by Heath Causwell is not yet the game-changer that TA1 is, but the machine’s fan-base is growing at a rapid pace. On Sunday, April 20th, Heath with his tuner onboard went out on the track. Nothing to report there – or so I thought! As he made his way at Bracket39 pace along the start-finish straight, we were all jolted into puzzled faces by a demolition expert’s – ‘BOOM’!

Heath’s machine.

My brain’s race-car compass completed the search and locate process and the only machine on the track was Heath’s Subaru. Apparently each time he snapped the gear lever the engine erupted and generated a volcanic boom! Like revelers at the New Mass Camp, fans rushed in the direction of the pulsating sounds, intoxicated by the mating of information and mechanical technology! As the fans secured their viewing spots, the machine went through its tuning process, ejecting soulful melodies as it ate Dover’s 1.6 miles. The speed at which it was traveling was not important – could it upstage TA1 or Chris Campbell’s BMW – we didn’t care. Our only concern at the time was to devise a plan to adopt that which thrilled us and make it our own. You had to hear the machine to appreciate its appeal. Doug Gore was absent but it was obvious that machines were in the building!

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer