JRDC: Victory and damage for Doug Gore and ATL TT-R at Heroes of Speed in Jamaica

By Johan Laubscher

The Heroes of Speed was hosted in Jamaica on Monday, 21 October. It was the scene for the return of Doug Gore and the ATL Automotive ABT-Audi TT-R.

The Dover circuit in Jamaica hosted the Heroes of Speed race meeting. This event was held over the long public holiday Heroes Day weekend and featured the final round of the Jamaica Race Drivers Club (JRDC) 2013 Circuit Racing Championship.

It was the scene for the long-awaited return of Doug Gore and the ABT-Audi TT-R. The team had competed in the Jamaican and Caribbean series earlier this year, before they withdrew from recent Dover events due to a protest made by the team. The protest was regarding tyre allocation regulations, specifically the number of tyres allowed to be used during a race meeting. Despite the absence at the previous event, the ATL team was back on Monday and aimed to continue their unbeaten run in 2013. Doug Gore was entered in the Thundersport Two (TS2) and Modified Production Four (MP4) classes.

All of the main Jamaican motorsport protagonists were present, including Doug Gore in the Audi facing off against David Summerbell’s Mitsubishi, an ex-Time Attack car, and Peter Rae’s Mazda. Much excitement and press surrounded the duo of Gore and Summerbell, as it was the first time in months that these two giants of Jamaican motorsport were on track together again. Both were aiming for victory and the Dover lap record.

Qualifying got the day’s proceedings underway early on Monday morning. Doug Gore took pole position in the MP4 and TS2 classes, with a fastest time of 1:18.095, just under two seconds faster than David Summerbell.

Summerbell suffered a turbo failure during qualifying, but the car was repaired in time for the first MP4 race, starting from pitlane. Doug Gore led at the front, whilst Summerbell had recovered up to fourth, before suffering another mechanical issue. Up front Doug Gore dominated the MP4 race and took his first victory of the day. Both Gore and Summerbell were not on the grid for the second MP4 race, which was won by Andre Anderson. They opted to focus on the Thundersport race, which was the finale at the end of the race day.

The Thundersport race was held late on Monday afternoon and both Gore and Summerbell were on track. With ever decreasing light the race got underway. Gore led from the front, perused by a fast charging Summerbell, who had progressed well through the field. Summerbell managed to pass Gore into the first corner during the fourth lap and then the brief chase began. Gore was pushing very hard and clipped a wall on his left in the “Pinky's Bluff” section of the circuit, just a few corners later, causing a puncture and a subsequent spin, resulting in damage to the left rear of the Audi. The race was red flagged after only three completed laps and Doug Gore was classified in first place, as he had led the penultimate lap before the red flag. A video of the incident has been included below:

This meeting concluded the 2013 Dover track action for the competitors. The next race meeting for ATL Automotive and their ABT-Audi TT-R has been mentioned to be at the third and final round of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC), which will be held in Guyana in November.

Special thanks to Jamaican Tuner who provided great coverage and updates from the event. Thanks as well to Jamaican Tuner admin member and photographer, Donavan Montague, for the great photos.

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Photo credit: D_MONTii Motography N More (Donavan Montague) / Jamaican Tuner

CMRC: Doug Gore dominates Dover with his ABT-Audi TT-R

By Johan Laubscher

The Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) got underway at Dover in Jamaica last weekend. Two Audi race cars were entered in the event: The ATL Automotive ABT-Audi TT-R driven by Doug Gore and the extensively modified Audi A4 STW driven by Doug Maloney.

Dover is Jamaica’s premiere race circuit and Doug Gore has been unbeaten so far this year, within all the Jamaican events. Gore competes for the Team Jamaica squad within the CMRC competitors, listed by their Caribbean country of origin. It is the second season that the ABT-Audi TT-R has been allowed in the CMRC. The car arrived in the Caribbean during 2011 but was disallowed to compete in the CMRC, due to being underweight. 

The ATL Audi was finally allowed to compete during 2012, but misfortune struck the team at this very round last year, the CMRC season opener of 2012. Doug Gore was involved in a first-corner crash during the very first race of the season. The resulting damage ended the ATL Automotive team’s season, as the car needed to be returned to ABT Sportsline in Germany for serious repairs. The ATL ABT-Audi TT-R was eventually repaired and returned to Jamaica at the beginning of 2013, and has since been unbeaten all year.

The second Audi is that of Doug Maloney, an ex-Super Touring Audi A4 STW. His car arrived in Barbados during 2007 and has been modified by the Maloney Racing Team. He has competed in the Barbadian BARL series and the CMRC since the car’s arrival in 2007. Maloney competes for Team Barbados within the CMRC.

The 2013 season opener at Dover was set to be another clash between all the big names in Jamaica: Gore (Audi) vs Summerbell (Mitsubishi) vs Rae (Mazda), all competing within Group 4 of the CMRC. The weekend got off to a good start as Doug Gore dominated the proceedings by taking pole position, whilst Maloney qualified his A4 in eighth.

Doug Gore continued his dominant form as he went on to make it three from three on the day, taking all three CMRC race victories. Admittedly Gore’s biggest opposition, David Summerbell in the Mitsubishi, unfortunately retired from race one with gearbox issues, which put him out for the rest of the day. Doug Maloney also performed very well with his Audi A4 STW, as he finished on the podium in all three races. Maloney finished third in races one and three, and he finished second behind Gore for an Audi 1-2 in race two.

It was a great day for the ATL Automotive team, who remain unbeaten in Jamaica this year.  

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Photo credit: D_MONTii Motography N More (Donavan Montague) / Jamaican Tuner