With a rare weekend off from karting, Daniel Demaras and Chris Demaras took the weekend to enjoy the IMSA race at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park.
With plenty of racing over three days, there was no shortage of eye candy. But the highlight of the weekend was watching friend of the family, and professional race car driver James Vance, piloting his #23 Audi around the grand prix circuit.
Vance is a total class act. Once the race was over, he welcomed his young protégé Daniel into the paddock, introducing him to team management, and even letting Daniel sit in his “office”.
With Daniel Demaras on summer vacation from school, and the arrival of actual summer weather, he’s taking every opportunity to be at the track to run practice laps, shaving tenths of a second off his lap times.
With the Demaras family ready for another camping excursion this weekend, Chris and Daniel made one last stop at Goodwood. The track was reasonably busy with a mix of 2-stroke, 4-stroke, and arrive & drive karts. There was even a young fellow turning his first laps in kart No 88, He was all helmet and heart as the ‘big boys’ zipped past him.
Special thanks to Eric “The Champ” Gerrits who jumped in to help on short notice. Eric put Daniel through his paces, providing exceptional insights into Demaras’ racing line, helping turn the young racer into…a better racer.
At the Demaras house, every day is about racing in one way or another. Even during exams for Daniel, or the workweek for Chris, they find time for motorsports.
Saturday:
TRAK Race at Goodwood
Daniel competed in round 6 of the TRAK series at Goodwood Kartways, with Chris pitching in on wrenching duties.
Sunday:
Monster Trucks!
Karts and monster trucks are opposite sides of the motorsports spectrum. But Demaras Racing never misses a chance to see controlled chaos when it comes to town.
Monday:
Indoor Karting at K1 Speed
Crappy weather? No problem at K1 Speed. Chris and Daniel dropped by to turn some laps and try to set new fast times.
Wednesday:
Practice at Goodwood
No school, no rain and no ‘arrive & drive’ events meant Daniel had the track to himself for 75 laps, before being joined by Santiago in the No. 33 cadet kart.
Friday:
CRKC
Chris Demaras heads out on track in search of speed and his first podium of the season.
Saturday:
Camping
Camping at Mussleman’s Lake has advantages. Demaras Racing’s garage K-12 at Goodwood is only 4 minutes away. But when Daniel Demaras found the team’s air tank empty, he had to suffer the embarrassment of carrying his little sisters inflatable turtle across the parking lot, where Big Brian held back his laughter long enough to fill up the pool toy.
Sunday:
Watching IMSA at the Campsite
A projector pointed at the tent, and a good wireless internet connection, allowed the Demaras family to watch their friend James Vance compete in the IMSA race at Watkins Glen. The week is complete!
After a few quiet weekends, action returned at Goodwood Kartways with a big event, the second round of the Inter-Club Challenge (the race was also TRAK Race 6). Drivers from TRAK and MIKA battling it out on track, starting with practice sessions.
The No. 12 PRO Intrepid Briggs & Stratton kart didn’t make it out on track Friday due to issued with the axle, caught early on by Curtis Fox. The team worked hard to fix the problem, and had the race kart ready for morning practice on Saturday.
Daniel went only 14th quickest, but after a debrief with data analysis Cole Hooton, Demaras was ready to go for qualifying.
Quali was a disappointing session, as Daniel tried to implement the changes his team recommended, but ending up 17th. Daniel went out for the pre-final with nothing to lose, starting way back in the pack. After making up four places off the start, Daniel had to go through the grass in Turn 4 to avoid spinning karts, costing him a few positions. Demaras drove on and made some solid passes, finishing 11th.
With some quick drivers out of position at the back of the pack to start the final, Daniel dropped a few positions, and never really found himself in a fight, finishing 13th in a quiet final.
“It wasn’t a great day, but it did feel good to go wheel to wheel, and to be making passes. It’s always a downer when people are getting around you, so being able to truly fight made the day an overall positive. On top of that, we didn’t break anything, so you’ve got to smile.”
Daniel Demaras No 12 PRO
Off track, the best part of the weekend was seeing old friends. Steve Diamant dropped by the PRO paddock before his Saturday Night CRKC race, and old sparring partner Anthony Garofalo provided Daniel with some words of wisdom: FULL SEND IT!
With Race 1 of the re-established InterClub Challenge completed earlier this month, Goodwood Kartways plays host to Race 2 this Saturday.
Regulars from TRAK and MIKA will be in attendance as they look to score points for their individual championships and visitors from all ASN sanctioned clubs are sure to join and always welcomed. Joining two of Canada’s strongest clubs creates a great foundation for karters to prepare themselves for bigger events down the road.
The track was wet from the overnight rains, and Daniel is always strong in the rain.
But as the skies cleared, and the track dried up, Daniel fell back further in the grid. Daniel’s old friend Matte Ferrari put aside his own misfortune (someone wrecked him in the esses) to help keep Daniel’s spirits up.
“It was definitely a challenging day at the track. The No. 12 PRO Intrepid kart ran well in the wet, but I just couldn’t find the pace in the dry afternoon. The PRO boys did everything they could to give me a fighting chance, and my crew chief Andrew made all the right calls, but sometimes things just don’t work out. There’s still a lot of races to run this year, and I will try to maximize my results in the next round at Goodwood Kartways. Thanks to my sponsors K1 Speed, Scarboro Subaru, Nostalgia, KPMG and Kenya Brand Coffee Company for all their support.“
Daniel Demaras No. 12 PRO Intrepid Briggs & Stratton SR
