‒ Damani Marcano achieves 10th at Spa Francorchamps after only 3 months of racing cars ‒
16 year old school boy racing driver, Damani Marcano, finished 10th this weekend in his first ever race abroad at Spa Francorchamps. Competing in the highly competitive VW Racing Cup, Marcano excelled in leaps and bounds, placing in the top-ten for the first time. Marcano, who has only been racing in cars for 3 months and is too young to hold a road driving license, showed skill and determination throughout the weekend, passing drivers with years of experience.
Having never raced at Spa before Damani spent time learning the route to the best of his ability on simulators at Pro Sim, Marcano worked with his coach to learn gear changes and anticipate turns. Confident in his knowledge of the track Damani went into the high-speed Eau Rouge complex with 100% commitment. Damani achieved this despite having no practice between race weekends as he operates on a limited budget while he seeks additional sponsors.
Marcano began the weekend by participating in the driver parade into the town centre of Stavelot, the first time 16 year old Damani had been allowed to drive on public roads.
Team HARD racing driver Damani Marcano comments: “Driving on public roads for the first time was incredible! Obviously the police had closed the roads and at parts we were allowed to drive at the speed limit. There was even an occasional car coming in the opposite direction on the other side of the road. This is something I’m not used to as all my driving experience is on a race track. It was really an amazing feeling.”
Qualifying began on Friday morning and the first race took place on Friday afternoon. During qualifying, Damani was running in a solid 12th, getting faster with each lap. Two laps before the end of the session a throttle sensor issue caused him to return to the pits. Unfortunately due to time in the pits other driver’s increased in speed and Damani’s qualifying position moved to 14th. In race one Damani lost several places on the start and into the first corner dropped from 14th down to 19th, however he fought back to finish a respectable 13th.
Damani suffered a bad start in the second race and dropped down to last place. Although in last place Damani showed talent and skill as he worked his way back through the pack and finished in 10th place to get his first ever top ten finish.
Damani continues: “I’m extremely happy with my first ever top 10 in the Volkswagen Racing Cup. The thing I know I need to work on the most is my clutch control on the starts. One driver was giving me tips and said it was like when you pull away from the lights. I think he forgot that I’m too young to drive on the road! Race starts are the thing you have the least opportunity to practice and because I have very little experience in a car, it’s something I’m going to have to focus on. I am still very happy with my performance and the team’s! A top-ten is a massive step forward!”
Damani is the youngest driver in the Volkswagen Racing Cup, a major UK racing series held as part of the British GT Championship race weekends. He began his first step into racing cars this year with the backing of Team HARD Racing, the largest team in the Volkswagen Racing Cup and a fan favourite in the British Touring Car Championships. Up against experienced adult drivers, Damani is the only competitor in the series who is too young to hold a road driving license.
Tony Gilham, Team Principal of Team HARD comments: “Damani’s performance this weekend has been a fantastic indicator of his innate talent and skill when it comes to motor racing. Spa is renowned for being a tough track even for the most experienced of drivers and for Damani to finish in the top-ten is truly impressive. We hoped that Damani would be achieving top-tens at the end of the season and we’re only halfway through!”
See Damani tackle the notorious Eau Rouge here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wec-mIUoXvA
Watch Damani’s story, “A Drive to Drive”, on YouTube; a video that supports his racing career crowd-funding (http://patreon.com/DKMRacing & http://gofundme.com/DKMRacing) and commercial sponsorship campaigns: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TV_TbaCQuA
For more information, photography or to arrange an interview with Damani please do get in touch.
Ends
Editor’s Notes
Issued on behalf of Damani Marcano by In The Bag PR.
For further information please contact Pippa Gibb on 07970 441 046 or email pippa@inthebagpr.co.uk
Damani pilots a fully race prepared VW Golf GTI R Cup Car in the Volkswagen Racing Cup alongside regular proven and experienced racing drivers. Racing in the VW Cup will be Damani’s first step on a multi-year programme to eventually race in the British Touring Car Championships (BTCC).
VW Golf GTiR Cup Car: a 250 bhp race-prepared hatch-back capable of speeds of up to 150mph. These cars are based on a road car but stripped of all parts, not essential to racing, and fitted with a safety roll-cage meeting safety regulations of the VW Racing Cup. Additional differences are adjustable racing suspension and racing tyres that increase the amount of grip, and therefore cornering speeds that the car is then capable of.
For more background on Damani, please see: damanimarcano.com/about
You can follow Damani’s journey:
On Twitter (@DKMRacing)
On Facebook (www.facebook.com/DKMRacing)
On YouTube (www.youtube.com/DKMRacingTV)
2015, Car Racing, Featured, Motorsport, Team-HARD, VW Racing Cup
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