MEDIA INFORMATION
Teenage race car driver, Damani Marcano, approaches first test-drive in VW Golf GTiR
- Damani signed to Team HARD driver development programme -
16 year old racing car driver Damani Marcano is approaching his first test-day at Brands Hatch, driving a Volkswagen Racing Cup specification Golf GTiR with Team HARD. After only two years of racing on the karting circuit Damani has progressed at great speed and is now moving into race cars in the VW Racing Cup, with the goal of later racing in the British Touring Car Championships (BTCC) and beyond. On 1st February 2015 Damani will be putting his new 150mph car through its paces for the first time. Damani has only twice been behind the wheel of a car on a track and this will be his first time where he will experience the extra grip and G-forces that come with specially made tires used in higher tiers of motor racing.
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Damani, who recently passed his racing license test, is not old enough to drive on roads but will be mastering speeds that most will never encounter. Supported by two race engineers and under the guidance of racing veteran Tony Gilham, Damani will be learning the ropes and building up lap times. Pushing the car and himself to the limits Damani is training to race with drivers years ahead of him in terms of experience.
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Team HARD driver Damani Marcano comments: “I feel really excited and can’t wait to get out there and learn about the car. Of course at first I’m going to make sure everything is alright with the car as this will be its first time being driven. Then I’m going to take my time to get used to it as I’ve never driven anything like this before. I’m not expecting to be really fast on my first day. I’m going to focus on consistency and then build up my pace gradually. ”
With up to 30 other cars on the track Damani will not only be driving at great speeds but with other cars around him, much more like actual racing. Everything Damani has learnt so far in training, his previous experience of karting, and in the build-up to his racing license test will be put into motion to develop his knowledge and skill in driving the Team HARD VW Golf GTiR Cup Car.
This is the first of several test-days in the build up to Damani’s first race event on the 4th – 6th April at Oulten Park.
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Tony Gilham of Team HARD comments: “We’re looking forward to seeing Damani out on the track in a race environment, this is exactly why we brought him on board, whilst he may be inexperienced now, we have every confidence that he will become one of the top drivers at Team HARD. We pride ourselves on spotting the potential of up-and-coming drivers whilst they’re still young and we offer a rigorous training schedule as part of our driver development programme. We’re excited for what Damani has to offer and we’re looking forward to this first step on 1st February.”
Watch Damani’s karting story, “A Drive to Drive”, on YouTube; a video used to support his racing career crowd-funding campaign: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ8ALt9AyMI
You can see Damani’s first time in a car on a race circuit while he was only 15 years old here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qw1CZoZdInA
See Damani’s on-track preparation and examination for his racing license here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWqfM7T-MK0
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 press@damanimarcano.com
Visit the Media Information page for additional background and resources, including more high-resolution images.
Damani will pilot 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.
“Testing” is when a driver test-drives a car for both practice and to identify changes to make to the set-up of the car to get the maximum performance from it. It is also an opportunity for a driver to learn what effect adjustments to the car have. A driver spends as much time as possible trying different adjustments to things like suspension and gears to find the best set-up for their personal driving style, the track and for varying weather conditions where possible.
Team HARD Racing is a racing team with drivers in multiple racing series, including the British Touring Car Championships & the VW Racing Cup. Team owner, Tony Gilham, is a racing driver himself with years of experience in sports and touring cars.
For more background on Damani, please see: www.damanimarcano.com
You can follow Damani’s journey
On Twitter: @DKMRacing
On Facebook www.facebook.com/DKMRacing
On YouTube www.youtube.com/DKMRacingTV
2015, Car Racing, Motorsport, press, Team-HARD, Touring Car Racing, VW Racing Cup
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