Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter

Less than 24-hours after experiencing an engine scare during practice session, Peter 'Bull' Thompson shrugged off the disappointment and bounced back to make a clean sweep of the GTS Class, at the 'Independence of Speed' race meet, held at the Dover raceway, St. Ann, on Monday.

"My engine blew up on me during practising and I had to just draw for my spare engine," said Thomspon, who spoke with The Gleaner about 90 minutes before his first race.

Before slumping into the driver's seat of the blue and white May Pen Ice RX7 Mazda, Thompson reminded his younger colleagues that at age 55, he should not be negotiating the challenging corners better than them, or even leading them in the race.

But 'Bull' as he is affectionately called, made a mockery of the race, easily defeating Douglas 'Holly-wood' Gore and his brightly-painted yellow and blue Mitsubishi Evo-lution 8 race car.

"The races were very good and the spectator support was excellent. Everything went according to plan and it was a well-organised race meet," said a smiling Gore, who took the checkered flag in the Modified Production Class 3 event and twice in the Improved Production (IP) 29 Class.

With the over 4,000 spectators screaming their heads off, Teddy Burton, David Summerbell and Gore clashed in what was an exciting showdown in the first race. The three cars raced bumper to bumper as Summerbell, who was in third position, made several attempts to overtake Burton.

The excitement ended with a lap to go after a minor accident between Burton and Summerbell. Both drivers were later called to the Tower where the matter was discussed with meet officials.

THRILLING VICTORY

In the meantime, Gore believes that of his three wins, the sweet victory in the second IP event was the most enjoyable. It was a thrilling affair, which saw himself and Summerbell locked in a ding dong battle, dicing for position and overtaking each other on every other lap until Gore sped away on the final lap.

The races were keenly contested. But it was one of the worst race meet for the consistent Summerbell and Peter Rae, who both suffered from mechanical problems.

Also sharing the limelight was the big man, 'Bull' Thompson, who looks unbeatable in the GTS Class with his May Pen Ice RX7 Mazda.

At the previous meet, Thompson dominated and made a clean sweep of the GTS events.