Back at Cayuga for the second week in a row. With so few sunny days left before the crew at TMP pack it in for the season, every session counts.
This week Daniel would be joined by Max, a kart racer from PRO, Daniel’s old team from 2018-19.Vallis Motor Sport brought the jet-black No. 27 for Daniel and its yellow stablemate, the No. 38, for Max.
Seeing the two F1200 cars on track gave a chance to compare and contrast. Each driver had sections of the track where they looked strong, and other sectors that needed improvement. But this is all part of the learning process, and Cayuga is the right place for it.
Team principal Bill Vallis and lead mechanic Bill Davis observed the drivers as they hustled the BRD Formula 1200 cars around the track. The team made recommendations of different racing lines, delayed upshifts, and generally more consistency from lap to lap. But at this point, driver like Daniel simply need as much seat time as possible.
Some fuel, fresh oil, and a check of the lug nuts with the torque wrench was completed rapidly.
Even Chris jumped in to lend a hand, although it’s unknown what services he performed.
The greatest challenge on ‘open lapping’ days at TMP is the traffic. Everything from tricked out Miatas to bone stock BRZs share the track with open wheel cars. The Radicals that were at the track in the morning session had already existed the facility, but as the afternoon wore on, locals leaving work early arrived at the track to get in some laps.
The sight of a Honda Civic looming large in the rear view mirrors is nerve-wracking for F1200 rookies. The sheer size and weight of road cars, compared to these race cars, is quite surprising. The F1200s always lose the drag race on the straightaways, but make up so much ground in the corners, sometimes even Mustangs have to just give way.
It was a productive day, with Daniel getting faster and feeling more comfortable every session.
Always a team player, Daniel stuck around with the two Bills until the very end of the day, hosing off the mud and grass that somehow found its way onto the No. 27.
Although the weather reports show few warm days left in the year, and next week it will be November (well past the end of the racing season) Demaras hopes to make one last trip to Toronto Motorsports Park to try the F1200 car…in the rain!
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