In 2019, then 16-year-old Daniel Demaras teamed up with ‘Racing to End Alzheimer’s’ to help their fundraising campaign. The R2ENDALZ team was racing an Audi in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge series. Daniel was impressed by how the team used the ‘rolling billboard’ which is their race car, to promote their charity. Demaras then organized a charity go-kart race to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s research…and over four thousand dollars!
The R2ENDALZ team now competes in the Pirelli GT4 America Series under the USAC sanctioning body. The series has not raced in Canada since 2019, so we won’t be seeing the iconic purple BMW soon. But R2ENDALZ continues to fight the good fight.
Here’s an update on the R2ENDALZ team.
R2ENDALZ: Season’s End at Indy
With the final double-header of the season upon them, The Racing to End Alzheimer’s / BimmerWorld team descended upon the storied Indianapolis Motor Speedway, intent on ending the series on a high note.
For the team, and indeed for all of us who love racing, this legendary track holds particular significance. Some of motorsports’ most historic races have taken place here, and there’s no better way to honor that tradition than to tear across Indy’s asphalt and its historic yard of bricks in hot pursuit of a perfect lap, a brilliant pass, a podium finish.
During the qualifying lap for race one, driver James Clay was in peak form. He put in a stunning lap time and was able to secure the #1 spot in class, 4th overall on the grid. The prime positioning meant that Clay would start Thursday ahead of the pack, giving the #36 BMW M4 GT4 a serious chance at the podium.
At the start of race 1, positioning paid off, and Clay pounced on the entry into turn 7 and picked up 2 spots, settling into a promising 2nd on the grid. Still holding strong halfway into the hour-long race, Clay pulled into the pits and handed off the car to Nick Galante.
A slow pit exit put Galante back onto the track right in front of the 3rd place car – and into an immediate and intense battle for position. At the same time, a familiar mechanical problem returned to haunt the #36 BMW. The rear of the car loosened and began to slip from what the team would later discover was a broken sway bar. Despite those hurdles, Galante was able to fight his way to a 7th place finish.
To read the full race report, visit R2ENDALZ.ORG
