THE Carnival of Speed Dover Easter Race Meet was a wet affair that saw drivers spinning, some crashing and others shooting to victory amidst the wet conditions.

As patrons poured into the venue under what could be described as showers of blessing for some drivers, the conditions proved less than favourable for others.

Doug ‘Hollywood’ Gore in his ATL-sponsored Audi TT (foreground) on his way to victory in the MP4 race ahead of David Summerbell Jr in his Total-sponsored Evolution 8 during the Carnival of Speed Dover Easter Race Meet on Monday. (Photo: Naphtali Junior) 1/1

Doug ‘Hollywood’ Gore, Sebastian Rae, Dean Shaw, Dwight Spence and Neilon Barnett reaped the most success, while David Summerbell Jr, Christopher Campbell and, Andre Anderson experienced rain related problems.

The MP4 race saw mixed results as Gore’s ATL-sponsored Audi TT crossed the finishing line before ‘King’ David in the first rain affected race, while Summerbell grabbed the checkered flag in the second dry MP4, after the WATAmarked four-ringed race car spiralled off the track after suffering a blow to the back rear rim, damaging the control arm.

The much anticipated Thundersport 2 race was comfortably won by Gore in his Petcom-sponsored Audi TT, while Summerbell Jr’s Total-sponsored Evolution 8 remained in the paddock due to a blown head gasket. Christopher Campbell crashed his BMW M3 in this race, after placing second and third in the MP4 races.

“The bolt in the control arm was broken when I was hit and I spun out when the bolt fell out. We fixed the problem for the TS2 race but something was still wrong as there are major vibrations to the rear of the car. The MP4 race 1 win was very good for me, just a pity we didn’t have the “race at the end,” explained Doug.

Summerbell expressed his disappointment at missing out on the TS2 race. “I wished we could have raced, I think we had a better than fair chance of winning the last race so we were very disappointed. We are happy with the speed of the car now, but we didn’t have the right tyres to combat the rainy conditions,” said Summerbell.

The Alan Chen vs Kyle Gregg encounter heated significantly in the cool Dover hills as both drivers went head-tohead in a knockout battle, which rendered Alan’s Toyota Starlet and Kyle’s Total-sponsored Honda Civic incapable of completing the second MP2 race. Gregg, who overtook lapped traffic on the inside, collided into Chen, who was in the lead.

“In pursuit of me, Kyle made an unwise aggressive move that resulted in the accident. The front end and chasis, rear differential and both rims were damaged in the accident,” said Chen.

Gregg, who won the first MP2 rainaffected race, explained that his move was not malicious. “The accident was an unfortunate racing incident, I did nothing wrong. I accidentally touched the front of the VW (lapped traffic) and it caused me to flip in the air, sending me right into Alan,” said Gregg.

Andre Anderson, a talented young driver, had significant spinning challenges on race day, as his Totalsponsored Mitsubishi Mivec wasn’t racing on rain tyres in the rain declared race. “I am disappointed, but I will come back stronger for the next meet,” said Anderson.

Sebastian Rae, in his Mitsubishi Mirage Mivec, had a super Carnival of Speed after winning both B32 races, as well as the second MP2 race. Rae’s race day performance was superb and has consistently maintained his dominance at Dover.

George Bayley, although taking home a crashed Evolution 8, placed first and third in the both B27 races. Charles Maxwell won the second race.

The first Thundersport race was won by Dean Shaw in his Pro Challenge Truck and he also enjoyed victory in the second MP3 race, ahead of Team Browns Town’s Nigel Edwards, whose VW Golf brought him victory in the first MP3 race. “I am happy about the victory, the car is new so I really put in the work to seal the victory. Next race meet look out for even more from me,” said Edwards.

Spencer Whittingham and Kirk Diaz won first place honours in the B38 races, while Neilon Barnett and Dwight Spence won both B45T and B45N races, respectively. Patrick Gore, cousin to Doug and Matthew Gore, won the first MP1 race in his Toyota Corrolla SR5, while Sheldon Morgan won the second race in a Mitsubishi Mivec.

In the only motorcycle race, due to the wet track, Adrian Blake won the A class race on his Honda CBR-RR, ahead on Dennis Chin-Quee and Randy Dyer in second and third, while Robert McDonald won the B Class race on his Yamaha R6, ahead of Jason Troy and Caswell Lewis.