JUST like many other race car drivers, the mighty Douglas ‘Hollywood’ Gore, started from very humble beginnings in his Opel Corsa at the dawn of his racing career.

This little car that could gave Gore the experience needed to later explode on the circuit as one of the Caribbean’s most accomplished drivers, winning everything in motor racing both in Jamaica and the Caribbean.

Gore has raced in Mexico, Barbados, Trinidad, Guyana and Barbados, and has won numerous races at Morelands, Badda Badda, Spot Valley and Dover Raceways in Jamaica.

“I have won everything as it relates to racing in Jamaica and the Caribbean. I just really enjoy getting together and race, I love the camaraderie and the Team MoBay drivers really make it a good racing experience. That’s what it’s about for me and I enjoy that aspect of racing,” Gore told Auto.

Team MoBay speed sensation Gore, is one of the drivers slated to represent Jamaica in the final leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championships (CMRC) this weekend in Guyana.

He has spent 15 solid years in motor racing, and has been through almost as many cars on his sojourn to greatness. These fifteen years have seen Gore go ‘gear to gear’ with local and international rivals, through the curves and turns of the chicane, through different stages of the rally course and around the tarmac of various raceways. According to the driving sensation, the years have gone by so quickly recalling a blow by blow description is almost impossible.

Having cut his teeth in the Corsa, Gore later moved on to a four-wheel drive 1600 Mitsubishi Colt and destroyed the 1600 Rally class as he continued to race in fine style.

After some encouragement from a close friend, he decided to take on the big boys in the Rally and bought his first big juice race car, an Evolution 2.

Feeling invincible in his new racing machine, Gore won everything that he entered including the Rally, JMMC Drivers Championship and Circuit Racing; he then he sold that car in Barbados.

Not being to keep his hands off a brand that gave him much prominence in the motor racing fraternity, Gore bought an Evolution 1, in which he honed his craft to perfection and continued to make a name in the motor sports locally.

Fulfilling the need for speed he moved up to an Evolution 4, then to an Evolution 6 and later bought an Evolution 8, in which he won the CMRC in 2007.

Gore’s fortunes would turn, however, when he sold the Evolution 8 and bought two cars, the Evolution 5 and Evolution 10.

Aiming to dominate both Rally and Circuit Racing, the Team MoBay member dedicated the Evolution 10 to Rally Racing and the Evolution 5 to match revs with his arch-rival David Summerbell Jr on the circuit.

Unfortunately, the Subaru WRC cars proved far superior to the Evolution 10 and the races were impenetrable. “I just couldn’t compete with the Subaru WRC cars as they were just far more superior. The money being spent on those cars was far more than the money I was spending on the Evo 10 and even with the money I was spending, it just couldn’t compete,” said Doug.

Not be beaten, Gore found another strategy and switched the focus for the Evolution 10 on circuit racing. Unfortunately, as the car was still new to the racing arena, the parts were difficult to replace once damaged, and the car struggled on the circuit, much to the disappointment of the fans who would travel miles to see the now famous Evolution 10 in action. “I came out of rally with the 10, and went into circuit racing with it, but it didn’t transform well into a circuit racing car because we couldn’t get modified racing parts for the car so it didn’t compete well. I parked the 10 and began to focus on the Evolution 5 and decided I had to find a way to beat David with the 5” said Gore.

Hollywood did in fact find a way to beat Summerbell Jr in the first Modified Production race at the Heroes of Speed race meet in October at Dover Raceway in St Ann, driving the Evolution 5. “We knew that the 5 could do it, we just thought the 10 could do it too at first, but I definitely drove the 5 to earn the win in that race” said Gore. The Evolution 5 also gave Gore his fastest lap time at Dover, 1.19.8 seconds; the track record stands at 1.18 and is held by Summerbell Jr.

Members of Team MoBay — Gary Williams, Guy Fraser, Matthew Gore, Neil Gore, Dean Corrodus and Oliver Townsend — have all supported ‘Hollywood’ Gore on his journey although they might be physically out of racing action at times.

“Some of the guys have been missing for a bit, Gary moved to Negril and Guy is in Canada but they still support me and they’ll all be back next season stronger than ever,” said Gore. “Oliver is bringing a new Honda Civic two wheel drive car to really create some misery on the track for all those two-wheel drive racers, Jaggon and Burton,” he added.

At home, Hollywood is happily married and is a proud father of two children, thirteen-year-old Sabrina and five-year old Tommi. He beams that he has already started grooming Tommi to become an excellent race car driver like dad.

“The next couple years we will enter Tommi into Go Karting, in fact he can drive already. We have a Go Kart at home with a roll cage and everything and I have to put a huge pillow behind him so he can reach the steering and he drives”.

While Tommi learns the motor racing ropes, Daddy Gore hopes to help to build the motor racing industry so that Tommi and others can enjoy it.

“Rally has basically died; the arrival of the WRC cars to Jamaica basically destroyed the sport as it discourages the competition because the other cars just really can’t compete against these WRC cars. I want to see the competition in the races continue so that the racing isn’t destroyed; I believe the competition is good and I plan to continue that so that motor racing can live on. Thanks to the Jamaica Race Drivers Club (JRDC) circuit racing has really opened up and that has allowed really close racing these days so that the fans can continue to enjoy it,” Gore commented.