PETER Rae won in the final event — Thundersport race — of the 2012 circuit-racing season dubbed Heroes of Speed held at Dover Raceway, St Ann on Monday.

“Mission accomplished,” Rae told Auto. “It’s great to be back in the winner’s circle and an excellent way to end the season.”

The event saw Tarik Minott’s Suzuki Ignis spinning in corner three which sent the mid-pack scattering.

David Summerbell Jr, who was expected to win the event, held an early lead. He left second place to be fought over by Peter Rae and Matthew Gore, with Rae getting the better of his younger rival for track position.

“The clutch was starting to go,” said Gore at the end of the race. “I couldn’t keep him behind me because of the way the Evolution X functions under these conditions. I just couldn’t get traction through the whole corner.”

The first ‘retirement’ of the race came from 2011 Driver’s Champion Kyle Gregg. His Honda Civic, after breaking the front-wheel lap record earlier in the day with a 1:23.661 seconds during qualifying, started to smoke while chasing Alan Chen’s Toyota Starlet. With points on the line, Gregg took the Civic to its end-of-season grave.

“An oil fitting came loose,” said Gregg’s father, Gary.

With Kyle out, Summerbell Jr’s chances for claiming the 2012 Driver’s title looked good. However, his Evolution VIII came to a shocking halt exiting Turn Two.

“I think the clutch might have exploded and damaged the gearbox housing,” Summerbell Jr told Auto back in

the pit.

Minott was next into ‘retirement’, stopping his burning vehicle in front of Summerbell’s stationary Evolution.

Up front, the only flames present were the ones from the exhaust of Rae’s methanol-burning turbo-charged Rotary-powered RX-7 as it crossed the line in first place. Gore would take second.

Rae’s Mazda heads off to Guyana today for the final leg of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship.