A peaceful night in the hotel, plus an early breakfast prepared the NSM team for Friday practice at a brand new track. None of the current drivers have ever seen Point Pelee before, but team tuner Glenn Butler ran there back in the day. To eliminate any ‘home track advantage’ the event organizers arranged to run the track clockwise, opposite to every other race weekend.
Established 25 years ago, Point Pelee has a distinctly old school feeling to it. The place looks friendly with it’s landscaping, racing flags and rental karts. It’s perfect for people vacationing at the nearby National Park. But this weekend would be serious business.
Six controlled-practice took place between 8:00 am and 6:00 pm, giving racers the chance to familiarize themselves with the layout. The reversed configuration, plus some miscommunication, created near-misses at the pit entry as racers slowed down off line, then cut across the front straight. Jeepers!
With some coaching from NSM boss Anthony, under the watchful eye of event organizer Dan Di Leo, Demaras got up to speed quickly. The challenges of racing Stehle, Beaudin, Yanko and other KartStars podium finishers lay ahead.
Once the sessions were over, the young lions had some fun with a four-wheeler. Rocco got a chance to hit the jumps, while Leo got a double-ride with one of the older kids. After a while, the boys realized they could go faster by cutting the corners, and running through the grass.
At the end of a productive day, Daniel took the rural atmosphere to heart by riding in the back of Anthony’s pickup truck on the way back to the hotel. Once the helmets were put away, it seemed like being on vacation again.
