Saturday morning at the 2024 VARAC Vintage Grand Prix, and the serious stuff is about to start. The grid has been set by Friday’s qualifying sessions. Now it’s time to race for glory. Daniel Demaras in the No. 12 Can-Jam Motorsports F1200 car will roll out P3; outside lane, second row.
No matter how much the team looked for obvious faults with the freshly re-built 1200 cc engine, nothing was jumping out at them. Demaras would have to drive around the problem. Leading the pack was out of the question; the engine would just bog down in clean air and wouldn’t even rev over 4000 RPM. Daniel just stayed in the draft waiting for an opportunity, which happened at the 9 minute mark when the No. 115 and No. 19 touched wheels and spun off track. It was a near miss for Daniel, but it put him on the podium.
During the lunch break, multi-time champ Phil Wang, who now leads the Formula 1200 Drivers Association, raffled off prizes donated be series sponsor Illustrated Tracks. He also presented Daniel with a plaque from VARAC, in honour of Daniel’s 2023 championship in ‘Formula Classic’.
Despite the relaxed atmosphere, the team still had to figure out the mechanical issue with Daniel’s car. Bill Vallis went through his full checklist searching for the problem, but he wouldn’t know if the problem was solved until the next race.
On Saturday afternoon’s Race 2 in the VGP, Daniel would once again start in third place, this time behind the No. 198 of Robert Murray and the No. 36 of Robert Patterson.
It’s tough to watch a talented driver hamstrung by mechanical issues, but that seemed to be the theme for the weekend. The No. 12 just wasn’t fast enough to make a pass, and without the draft, couldn’t even keep up with the pack.
Demaras wouldn’t be alone though, as Robert Murray (who won both races on Saturday) wouldn’t even complete a lap on either of Sunday’s races. A tough weekend in the Formula 1200 paddock.
It’s a pretty cool vantage point where you have the camera. I don’t really understand how cars that are so similar can zip by other cars sometimes. Sounds like a tough weekend when you do your best but the power just isn’t there. I thought he was going to overcome 38 there for a second but alas
Those cars are so evenly matched (same chassis, engine, tires, etc.) that if your car is underperforming or down on power, it’s impossible to compete.
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The cars are also quite aero-sensitive too. The 1200 cc, four-cylinder engines don’t produce a truckload of horsepower, so passing usually involves drafting or slipstreaming.
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https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-24c70ea9582b33f5e4f5609169840e9e-pjlq
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When driving behind another car at speed the low-pressure air pocket behind the leading car allows the trailing car to cut through the air more efficiently with power to spare. When the chasing driver then pops-out of line, the additional speed allows him/her to zip right past.
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We have got to get on top of this engine issue. That’s two races in a row we’re struggling for pace.