The annual Goodwood Night Race. It’s a favourite at Demaras Racing bcause it’s such a unique event. Race day starts at noon, rather than 7:30 am, which is luxurious by racing standards.
The PRO tent was at capacity as racers from Mosport and Goodwood lined up their karts for the last big event of the year.
In FP1, Daniel ran a 47.519 sec. lap, as the track was green from overnight rains. His times improved to 46.748 sec. in FP2 and down to 46.586 sec in final practice, shaving nearly a second off his times.
In qualifying, Daniel struggled to get a clean lap without traffic. As drivers pushed hard, some spun, bringing out yellow flags. But Demaras set a personal best time of 46.580 sec.
The pre-final was one of those “what could have been” moments for the No.12 kart. Light rain had fallen, making the track slick and treacherous; conditions Daniel thrives in. While he started 17th, Demaras was up to 13th place by the end of the first lap, made up another position on lap two, and was running in 10th at the start of lap three.
The collision on the final lap went unnoticed by officials, but Daniel was furious. Briggs racing is pack racing, and getting pushed wide by someone dive-bombing the apex often results in a train of karts following past. Daniel finished the race a frustrated 17th.
As daylight disappeared, Chris Demaras strapped the LED lights to Daniel’s kart, preparing the No.12 PRO racing machine for battle in the darkness.
Starting from so far down the pack, Daniel felt relived. It couldn’t possibly get any worse. But the racing gods have a sick sense of humour, and despite PRO mechanic Chritopher Proietto’s insistence to Daniel to warm up the tires on the outlap, cold temperatures caught Daniel out. Trying to avoid the customery collission at Turn 4 of the opening lap, Daniel went off track, spun, and found himself last.
But there’s no giving up in this young racer.
Daniel put on a recover drive, catching the pack, making a number of passes, including an epic move going into the slick chicane. He ended the day in 15th position against some of the toughest racers and most difficult conditions of the season.
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