DOVER Raceway meets are often criticised as a two-man show. But there’s no doubt as to the influence of Doug Gore and David Summerbell Jr at the circuit.

At Monday’s Heroes of Speed meet, both men stepped out of their customary classes.

For Gore — whose race car is still in Germany being repaired after a crash at Dover in May — he opted for the beginner Bracket 45 class in an Audi S5 Sportback.

Summerbell Jr, in a bid to amass points, drove his daughter’s Honda Civic in the Bracket 32.

“It was hard, but that’s the fun of it all,” Gore told Auto.

“The S5 was a lot better than I expected. We put in some fresh brakes and added some higher-performance track tyres for a larger safety margin. To take a car like that to the track, I think a lot more people should come and take advantage of B45,”

he continued.

The Bracket 45 class’s mandatory one-minute 45-second maximum lap time went out the window when Gore moved to the front of the pack with the field in hot pursuit.

Sebastien Rae, newly crowned driver’s champion and B32 competitor, feels it is a move that more top drivers should make.

“In our class, there’s way more competition and it’s more about driving skill and patience than flat out speed.”

Natasha Chang said she was surprised after finding out it was Summerbell Jr after the first race.

“I didn’t know it was him. I just kept wondering how come Samantha [Summerbell] was so close to me. It wasn’t until after I found out it was her dad,” David Chang said.

“He kept me honest all through the race, because there were just certain lines I had to take to keep him behind. After the race, he came over and congratulated me, which was the highlight of the day for me,” she continued.