For the first time in 9 months, the Demaras Auto Racing Team traveled east to Mosport Kartways. With Daniel now competing at Goodwood, the opportunity to race a one-off at Mosport came up. No points, no series…no pressure.
Daniel has been training at Goodwood with PRO Team principal Darryl Timmers, putting in hundreds of laps. But a MIKA race provided Daniel with an opportunity to work on racecraft.
Daniel improved by half a second each session, going quicker as conditions improved. Jumping into a competitive series like Briggs SR at MIKA was never going to be easy. For most drivers at the track, this was their fourth round, plus all the practice days.
Daniel made two strong passes; one on the outside lane of the outer bowl (where oddly, he had struggled all day) and another on the inside of treacherous turn two.
A bizarre red flag situation came up after PRO teammate Jen Gray was taken out by a racer, who climbed out of his kart (which was under Jen’s kart) then proceeded to crawl across a live track. The driver, clearly shaken, reached the grass and laid down face-first, then got up and angrily kicked the barriers. The ambulance was on the scene in moments, as the odd behaviour suggested a concussion.
As the racers approached the start/finish line to take the restart, Daniel was caught up in the concertina effect at the driver in front slowed, and the driver behind contacted Daniel’s bumper. As the green flag dropped, Daniel had been spun backward by his overeager competitors. Demaras continued in the Intrepid Briggs #7 PRO kart, making up two positions, finishing 15th.
The restart was a tough lesson for young Demaras, but he didn’t give up, even when a top-ten finish was out of reach. In the end, the Sunday at Mosport was just a tune-up to the big CRFKC race in a few weeks.