TRAK Race 9: Night Race

~ by Daniel Demaras ~

One of my favourite events of the entire year, the Goodwood night race is always a highlight of the calendar. The only time we get to race under the floodlights, seeing karts covered in LEDs, and a completely different challenge in driving in the colder conditions. This track layout was forward long-track with chicane.

After a brief rain shower at noon, the track was just dry enough for slicks in free practice 1, where I managed to drive my kart through the tricky conditions to first place. In qualifying, a dry track made my task a bit easier, and at one point I held more than a second advantage over the field. I took pole position by four tenths of a second.

After a well-executed start in the Pre-Final race, I pulled a gap. As the rest of field battled among themselves, I finished first. I came off, brought the kart back to the New Speed Motorsports tent where my dad Chris and our former PRO teammate Trevor were waiting. Then…we waited for nightfall

Once the sun had set and the lights were on, the Briggs Masters field headed out for 14 laps in the darkness. I got off to a good start in the Final and gapped the field by a couple tenths per lap, focusing on being consistent in the tricky conditions, eventually coming home to win the night race on a dominant night.

Few races are as fun to attend as Goodwood’s annual Night Race. Seeing the creativity that the kids in Mini Rok and Briggs Cadet displayed with their rolling light show is super fun, with drivers sporting fully lit-up bumpers, side pods and wheels. The grand finale, Briggs Cadet, was by far the most colourful race of the night, and after the race the field provided a unique backdrop for the podium.

New Speed Motorsports had a mixed bag of results. On top of my victory, Mini Rok’s Santiago Ramirez took yet another win in Mini Rok, and Rocco Simone qualified on the front row for the first time in 2 stroke. Elijah Joshi ran consistently up to fifth in Briggs Cadet, with Rocco having to charge through the field to a Top-10 result after first lap contact.

After a fun and exciting evening at Goodwood Kartways, we now focus our attention to the KartStars Canada series finale at 3-S Go Karts in Sutton, where the whole team will look to bring home top finishes.

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