Last weekend we blew up an engine. Not grenade-style BOOM kind of blowing up. Just massive oil leak out of the engine block kind of blown up. Probably could have run the engine for the rest of the year, and just keep feeding it oil, but since had the spare Briggs & Stratton LO206 #B20150722081 from last year, a quick switch meant the kart would run smoothly all weekend.
No Curtis, no Darryl and no mechanic Christopher this time. Just Daniel Demaras driving and Chris Demaras wrenching. The usual cast of characters were there, like Matte Ferrari, Chad Webster, Kyle Litherland and Anthony Garofalo with his Red Camel #93. New kid Stephano Picerno arrived under the PRO tent with a complete Ferrari F1 decal kit on his kart and a Massa replica helmet on his melon. He’ll fit in just fine.
Morning practice was successful, as Daniel set quick times and kept pace with the front runners. Random starting positions for the heat races had Daniel starting mid-field.
In Heat Race 1, Daniel ended up off track after a late braking move on Antonio Trabuco (and a hit from the racer behind). Despite finding himself in last place, Demaras made a series of passes, all at the high speed sections of the track, to make up 5 positions.
Heat race 2 saw Daniel perform well, holding his position against quick rivals, and driving a clean race.
During the lunch break before the final, everything seemed right. The gear was correct, the pressures were right, the engine was strong. Daniel made some complaints about the brakes not feeling right, but nobody listened to him. Those were fresh pads, and the fluid was bled only a week earlier.
On lap 4 of the final, Daniel was making an inside pass on teammate Tim at turn 9 when Daniel’s suffered complete brake failure at nearly 90 km/h. A ruptured master cylinder diaphragm caused a complete loss of brake pressure. Without any stopping power, or runoff area (Daniel was making an inside pass) Demaras rammed teammate Kyle’s sidepod, ending both their races on the spot. Daniel was furious with his team at not checking the brakes he’d complained of earlier in the day.
Hours later, Daniel was found on the roof of the team garage with friends Nico, Francesca and Matte just cooling out…trying to forget a lost opportunity.
