TRAK RACE 7 – SATURDAY SCHEDULE
TRAK RACE 7 – RACE ORDER
Daniel Demaras is a lifelong Ferrari fan. No matter how the F1 season is going, there’s only one team he cheers for. He’s what you call Tifosi.
With Ontario moving ahead to Stage 3 in the ‘Road to Recovery’ places like Toronto Motorsports Park at Cayuga are re-opening to offer exotic car ‘thrill rides’ to speed freaks like the Demaras family. Chris and Daniel were there on Day 1!
The team at TMP are extremely friendly and made the Demaras duo feel right at home, playfully teasing by asking if they wanted to drive the Porsche instead of the Ferrari.
After s driver’s briefing to help everyone understand how to operate the paddle-shifters, what rev range to keep the cars within and the rules of the road, the participants headed out on track.
For Daniel, the sight of a ‘rosso corsa’ red Ferrari F430 in the parking lot brought childhood memories rushing back; he’d be driving the same car as Michael Schumacher’s cameo appearance in Pixar’s Cars movie.
Technically speaking, Daniel doesn’t have a driver’s license. He’s been racing karts since he was little, and he’s driven his mom’s Mini Cooper S, but only has a learner’s permit. Since the track is a closed course, Daniel’s G2 was sufficient. Young Demaras jumped into the Ferrari’s driver seat ready to hit the track under the guidance of his TMP instructor Chris in the passenger seat.
Pushing the big red button, Daniel fired up the Italian V8, engaged first gear, then headed out on track. At Chris’ instruction, Daniel gave it full throttle and accelerated along the pit lane, grabbing gears at redline as the speedometer approached 200 km/h.
Daniel hammered out 10 laps in the Ferrari. Afterwards he commented that more surprising than the power from the Italian supercar was the amount of grip the car can produce in the corners. The drive was just astounding.
Once father and son had taken their turns at the wheel of the F430, Daniel was already asking when he could come back to Toronto Motorsports Park to drive their F-2000 car in anger…and maybe even a few more laps in the Ferrari.
Thanks to Toronto Motorports Park for providing the Demaras Racing family their first drive in a Ferrari.
TRAK Race 7 up next. Back to the standard Long Track Configuration as we use the same layout as next week’s big event, the KartStars Canada National Championship! The racing action at our Club Level continues to impress and we just wanted to send a THANK YOU to all of our participants who continue to see the value in our programs. We are looking forward to another great event! Click HERE for full TRAK Race 7 Details
TRAK RACE 7:
NOTES:
Drivers must pre-register for practice sessions, and be sure to include a signed waiver when submitting.
Friday July 31 was a very long day at the track for Chris Demaras. He arrived at Goodwood with his son Daniel just before 8:00 am to prepare the No. 412 New Speed Motorsports kart for practice in advance of TRAK Race 6. Engine issues interfered with Daniel’s preparation for the new track layout. Seven hours later, Chris sent young Daniel home to rest up for Saturday’s the big race. Chris got his race suit on for CRKC Race 4, and before qualifying, worked on replacing the race motor in the No. 412 kart.
Chris put down his wrenches and went on track for practice. Demaras had his hands full as the “reverse-track” layout Daniel practiced on was changed to “mid-track” configuration. Chris had never seen this layout used in his previous years in CRKC. Everyone would be starting from scratch figuring out eh double-apex left hander.
Demaras effectively used the draft behind Race 3 winner Ramees Khaja to take pole position with a 42.20 second lap. Starting out front, Demaras knew he would be a target on the opening lap, and planned a defensive line through the first few corners until he could build a gap and return to the normal racing line. That was the plan, anyway.
Chris’ little friend ‘The Migster’ raced in CRKC Race 4. In fact, the whole Montano family hung out with Chris, Rocco and Santiago under the NSM tent while Demaras continued wrenching on the No. 412. Miggy adapted quickly to the new track layout, and qualified P2.
Unfortunately for The Migster, the timing of his pass for the lead was outside the rules of CRKC (where Lap 1, Turn 1 passes are forbidden) and he was black flagged from the lead of the race which he would surely have won.
The Migster was disappointed, and needed a rapid infusion of ice-cream to console himself. Demaras’ NSM teammates Rocco and Santiago went home to get some sleep. Chris focused on the task at hand; win the race
Pole position can be a lonely place.
Not being able to see which competitors have lined up behind allows a racer to focus, but it’s an isolating feeling. Demaras was glad that his friend Trevor Reeve (of Reeve Webster Racing) had arrived at the track early enough to see the race. Chad Webster was out on track, flagging Turns 7A and 7B. Demaras giggled a little inside when he remembered that he was wearing a “Drive it Like You Stole It” Chad Webster T-shirt on under his race suit.
When the race started, Demaras attacked the track and never looked back. He lead the race from green flag to checkered flag, and never saw another competitor until the podium.
Chris was so excited at his second win of the year, he unzipped his race suit to show off his Reeve Webster Racing shirt to Chad when passing his post on the cool down lap.
More than 12 hours after arriving at the track, Chris climbed on the podium for the fourth straight time in 2020, including his second win from pole position. The podium wasn’t so lonely after all.
New Speed Motorsports is celebrating immediate success during its inaugural year of competition. Having achieved a podium at each of the first two rounds of the Kart Stars Canada series, New Speed Motorsports is off to a great start and looks to continue building on these early results.
With each driver achieving several podiums during the start of the competitive TRAK season, New Speed Motorsports drivers used the start of the club season to prepare for the highly-competitive Kart Stars Canada series.
In round one at Goodwood Kartways, achieving a third-place finish in Mini ROK through Santiago Ramirez, every driver placed the top-10 in all classes entered, including a mega-drive for Elijah Joshi in his first year of karting, finishing in eighth place after starting from 22nd in Briggs Cadet.
Moving into round two of Kart Stars at Innisfil Indy, the young team furthered its program with a stellar performance from Briggs Masters driver Daniel Demaras with a double third-place finish and a first-place finish for rising star Rocco Simone in Mini-Briggs. Santiago Ramirez crossed the line in fourth with speed to contend for the win but unfortunately suffered an on-track incident losing his battery and coming across just one pound underweight.
“We couldn’t be more proud of each and every driver under the tent,” remarks Team Driver Coach and Co-owner, Max Preston. “Our focus is about growing young Canadian karting talent and passing the torch to new drivers who are just entering the sport. I’m so proud of how Daniel, Elijah, Rocco, and Santiago have developed in such a short time, and achieving great results early in their career, and ours as new team owners.”
Focusing on creating a small team environment that is built for growth and learning, New Speed Motorsports brings together a wealth of racing experience to grow the next generation of drivers. With additional karting expertise provided through long-time kart racers Leonard D’Arrigo and Enzo Chiovotti Jr., New Speed Motorsports provides decades of professional racing experience at an extremely focused and affordable environment.
“We’re here to put a smile on the face of our drivers and their families, and ultimately to continue giving back to the sport that has given us years of experience and friendship,” comments Preston. “It feels great to achieve success so early with such a young roster. It’s going to be a really exciting journey for Anthony Simone, myself and the rest of the team.”
Next up for New Speed Motorsports is a return to TRAK club race at Goodwood Kartways, helping best prepare the team for round three of the Kart Stars Canada Championship.
After back-to-back regional races, club racing returned at Goodwood Kartways for TRAK Race 6. On an all new layout, reverse long track with chicane, drivers had to adapt to the challenging circuit.
Friday practice was difficult for Daniel. Despite feeling comfortable on the new track layout, the No. 412 had stubborn issues with the motor cutting out, an issue which persisted despite cleaning the carburetor, replacing the fuel pump and adjusting the valves. After practice, and before his CRKC race started, Chris decided to switch out the race motor, replacing Uniqua with her twin Skyler, as a preventive measure.
Daniel topped morning practice, but curiously wasn’t as fast as he had been on Friday.
While inspecting the kart before qualifying, driving coach / team mechanic Enzo Chiovitti Jr. found a massive crack on the side of the seat. After installing a new fiberglass IMAF seat, the team bolted on a fresh set of Vega qualifying tires, and sent Daniel on track. Demaras set pole position by four tenths of a second ahead of his nearest rival.
Daniel warded off an attack in the start of the pre-final race and stretched his lead to a 6.272 second gap by consistently setting lap times half a second faster than anyone else on track, leading from flag to flag comfortably.
In the final race, Daniel once again maintained his lead off the start, and grew the gap. The race was not problem free. Daniel’s dad Chris had over-filled the gas tank (to make sure the kart reached minimum weight) but the excess fuel sprayed out the overflow hose, soaking Daniel’s right arm in the process. Daniel was worried he had a fuel leak before determining the issue would not sideline him. He mentally noted that as long as the gas absorbed into his race suit, he’d make weight.
A slight bobble over the curbs and a missed apex due to dirt on the track did little to slow Demaras down, and Daniel took his first win in Briggs & Stratton club racing.
A great day all around for New Speed Motorsports as the team took pole positions and wins in all three classes it competed in. Santiago Ramirez took the win in Mini Rok while Elijah Joshi earned his first win of the season by edging out teammate Rocco Simone in Briggs Cadet.
For Daniel, finally taking a win was a long time coming. He spent a year in Briggs Jr and two years in Briggs Sr, only finishing in the Top 10 at the club level. The move to Briggs Masters allowed Daniel to show how fast and competitive he is. With support from the whole NSM team, Daniel had a dominant race, and looks to repeat his success next weekend.
Daniel thanks Anthony, Leonard, Enzo, Max, Cale, Liam and the team at NSM for the support, Darryl and Curtis at PRO for the race winning engines, and James Treadwell at VRS for his unwavering belief and support.
This weekend is the biggest club race in karting, the 4th annual Battle at the Brickyard. Last year over 300 entries competed in the “Greatest Spectacle in Karting”.In 2020, the Will Power Kart will be competing!
Great social media post from Team Penske driver Will Power promoting his new kart brand at the big race. Almost makes you want to go out and buy one!
TRAK RACE 6 – PRACTICE AVAILABILITY
TRAK RACE 6 – SATURDAY SCHEDULE
TRAK RACE 6 – RACE ORDER
TRAK RACE 6 – NOTES
~ by Daniel Demaras ~
Two months ago, I hadn’t even met Leonard. I knew he wrenched his way to the Karting World Championships with my friend Andrew Waring back when Waring still was racing karts. Now, after working with Leonard for the first few races of the season, I got to watch him race.
After a long race weekend at Innisfil, I went to Goodwood to watch the first Moradness race of 2020. The paddock was filled with people, some from club racing, others from arrive and drive, and others who’d never raced before.
Leonard’s Team MoRad Than You took pole positionahead of Team Backmarkers.
The field did a pace lap and then got ready on the grid for a standing start. The green flag flew and 16 arrive and drive karts roared off the start. Team MoRad Than You set great pace off the start, taking off from the pack, while the drivers behind fought tooth and nail.
After building up a healthy lead, the first pit stops rolled around. Leonard swapped into the kart. After pushing hard to stay ahead of the competition while exiting the pits, he smashed the exit kerb in turn 5 and sent the outside wheels into the air. After getting better settled into the kart, Leonard began increasing the gap behind and working his way through lapped karts.
Team MoRad Than You dominated the race, despite picking up some penalties along the way.
After almost two hours of chaotic racing, Team MoRad Than You took the checkered flag, completing 159 laps around Goodwood Kartways/
The Moradness Karting Championship got off to a crazy start, but Leonard and Team MoRad Than You weathered the storm to take a dominant victory.
After a few great weeks of racing in conjunction with KartStars Canada, action resumes this Saturday at Goodwood Kartways with TRAK Race Six.
New track configuration this week as for the first time this year we run the reverse direction (clockwise) and just to add in a bit more fun we have added the bus stop (chicane) as well. Long Track Reverse w/ Chicane is always a crowd favourite! We are looking forward to another great event!
