WITH Total Summerbell Racing (TSR) drivers Kyle Gregg and David Summerbell Jr in contention for the 2012 circuit racing championship, it was surprising that neither of them would claim that title at Monday’s Heroes of Speed meet at Dover Raceway in St Ann. That pleasure went to Sebastien Rae.

“We’re a small team, underdogs, but our consistency paid off,” Rae told Auto.

It was all to play for as Summerbell Jr and Gregg jostled for the few remaining points in their respective classes. However, it was Gregg who came out guns blazing as he set a new front-wheel drive lap record of 1:23.661 seconds during qualifying. By late afternoon, Summerbell — using his daughter Samantha’s Honda Civic in Bracket 32 competition — tried to amass extra points for his title hopes.

The strategy was short-lived as Summerbell’s Lancer Evolution VIII would limp to a fifth-place finish in the second Modified Production class four race due to a flat left rear tyre. Then in the day’s final race — Thundersport — his vehicle ground to a halt, giving Peter Rae the win.

“Something happened to the gearbox, maybe the housing,” said Summerbell Jr.

Earlier in that same race, Gregg would also drop out in a trail of smoke trying to keep up with rival Alan Chen.

The two TSR dropouts elevated Rae to the 2012 driver’s title.

In the B45 race, Doug Gore brought some long overdue excitement. The combination of the Audi S5 and his natural instincts for speed saw him going faster than the allotted lap time of 1:45 seconds leaving race one to Cardo Dawkins and race two to Kirby Smallhorne.

Samantha Summerbell and Spencer Whittingham took a B38 race win each. Despite being hit, George Bayley recovered in the B27 race one to place fifth while winning race two to secure his class championship title.

In the motorcycle events, Andre Norman claimed two out of three wins, while Robert McDonald completed a clean sweep of class B.