Circuit Racing: Doug ‘Hollywood’ Gore confiscates the crown! Part 5

Like a prisoner chasing freedom, I leapt from the truck and raced in the direction of the spectator stands adjoining the overhead bridge. I could not hear my thoughts. Pandemonium was rampant. Colorful, biased expressions being transported by various vehicles collided with my ears. When I climbed the steps and finally saw the machines, it all made sense.

TA-1, like a knife brandishing 1000 degrees celsius and at odds with butter, was dismantling the grid! Opponents were non-existent. The machine was being driven by a reincarnated member of a Samurai clan – it was violently slicing its way to P1! It was a euphoric display. The fans –  intoxicated and locked in an adrenalin- inspired drunken stupor – were on the verge of a speed overdose!

David Summerbell Jr. outfoxed the ignorant, muscled by the weak and sped past machines, which, prior to Race 2, were considered ‘fast’! Where was the DTM Audi TT-R? Sherlock Holmes was not needed. There was no mystery.

When TA-1 claimed P1, Dover was a party-ship about to capsize – fans were rocking with jubilation! Doug Gore was trapped behind lesser machines. The chase was on. The smarter and significantly more astute,Doug Gore, appeared for duty on the 19th. TA-1 attempted a magician’s ace in the deck – the disappearing act. It did not materialise. Doug Gore, like Garry Kasparov, was calmly executing clinical moves, as he made his way, almost nonchalantly, forward. TA-1 apppeared stationary. Doug was advancing.

Summerbell

The bacchanal-types notes from the crowd spoke the tale. Doug Gore was immediately behind David Summerbell Jr! The Dover Olympics was in full swing! Fans and drivers participated willingly in track and field events – running from end to end of the spectator stands and jumping at times inorder to capture all of the frantic action.

Summerbell and TA-1 were resilient. Doug Gore and the DTM Audi TT-R were patient. Through each corner and along each straight, as the machines fought gear for gear, turbo vs V8, the fans, like nomads, were lost in senseless, opinion-driven debates, countless conversations and some even offered – shouted – words of advice to drivers who could not hear! Some felt it was inevitable, some hoped not. But, it was evident that Doug Gore was stalking the prey. Knowledgeable fans spoke about the Audi’s superiority, but they were not certain if it was enough. The reaction of the appreciative crowd was now at fever pitch.

David Bell

David Bell, hiding below his headset appeared pensive. We spoke briefly. We agreed on what Doug had to do inorder to overtake Summerbell – “That is what I have been telling him” he said. Summerbell summoned AMS’s massive wharehouse for more power, speed, better handling and improved brakes, but, deaf ears could not trigger the appropriate response. Where TA-1 was fast, the TT-R was faster. Where TA-1 appeared unstable, the TT-R was like mahogany, firmly planted. When TA-1 employed AP’s finest (brakes), the TT-R had no concept of deceleration. TA-1 – P1, TT-R – P2 – the laps were winding down.

Horsepower wars are usually settled along the start-finish straight, but, the astute racer will tell you that approaching corner 1 your ability to slaughter speed, long after your opponent has slowed, may very well determine if you will drink champagne or Cal’s bag-juice! TA-1 rocketed towards corner 1. The TT-R’s V8-driven choir, sang the chase song. Summerbell chose to brake as late as his children would allow. TA-1 responded with a nervous retort. It was evident why.

Doug who has grown remarkably proficient in his German attire, abandoned the middle pedal, filled the space TA-1 left on the inside, grabbed a second or two of brakes and turned in. Both machines drove through corner 1 as conjoined twins! An indescribable scene erupted at Dover Raceway!

Fans were infected with astronomical levels of deep-seated joy. The race that they dreamt about and journeyed from all of the cardinal points to witness, was approaching a mammoth climax. They (fans) were disoriented, their state of normalcy was being reorganized by ecstasy!

Two machines entered corner 1 and it was not clear which machine would exit ahead. I saw Stephen Gunter. TT-R on the inside. TA-1 on the outside

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer