The Return of the “Black Flag Racing Team”
Chris Demaras used to have a bad reputation at the track. A combination of over-aggressive driving and a lack of racecraft. He got penalized so often in 2019 that he facetiously founded the Black Flag Racing Team.
But in 2020, the ‘new’ Chris has been on the podium four weeks in a row in the 2020 CRKC series without any on-track incidents. Two wins from pole position filled Demaras with confidence.
This week’s track configuration at Goodwood added in the ‘bus-stop’ chicane on the front straight. While it is a tricky corner, Chris was lucky enough to receive private coaching from ROK racer Matte Ferrari. Demaras had a lot to be happy about!
Demaras qualified P3 and was not pleased at all. Chris was convinced he’d improved his times during quali, but the MyChron on his kart was not functioning, so lap times from previous practice sessions had to be used to determine his starting position.
Demaras sat alone under the NSM tent…and something just snapped inside.
At the green flag, Demaras tucked into the draft for Turns 1, 2 & 3. At Turn 4, Chris took the normal racing line, expecting his rival Mark K to take a defensive line. Instead the door was open, so Chris made an aggressive passing attempt. Whether his rival ‘closed the door’ by diving for the apex in response to Chris’ move, or whether Chris drifted wide, the result was the same. Contact, spin, back to last place. Mark shook his fist in anger. Chris tried to clear the red mist from his eyes, and attached the track. Demaras attempted to a pass at Turn 2 but had to escape to the grass on two consecutive laps. After dispatching one rival, Demaras made a double overtake at the chicane, then used the draft to catch and pass his friend Damiano to move up to and finish in fourth place, earning 5 points in the 2020 CRKC Championship.
After the race, there was a lot of angry voices as Chris’ rivals shouted at him, angered by Demaras over-aggressive behavior. Luckily the situation did not devolve into a Cale Yarborough vs Donnie Allison NASCAR fight.
Demaras did not get a penalty, but the Black Flag Racing Team had definitely returned to Goodwood.
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