Fans push British racer to be his best
By Michal Tellos
Sports Editor
August 27, 2008
 The Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix will be a three-day event taking place on Belle Isle from Aug. 29-31, and Indy Racing League driver Darren Manning recently paid a visit to Devonshire Mall.
Manning, originally from England, came a long way to be where he is today, starting from go karts in his garage.
“We started out as a hobby in go karts. And then, after that, it just kind of progressed. Really, it just started in the garage of my old manor as a hobby. Just kind of got involved with a race team, started winning. It just grew and grew and grew into the monster that it is now,” he said.
Manning is also proud of the fact that nothing thus far has been given to him, and that he has worked his way up from the bottom – something which gives him just a bit more drive.
“It just gives me the motivation and the determination that I think the guy who had it handed to him on a silver platter don’t have. Maybe, I know that everyone wants it, and everybody wants to win badly but I believe when you’ve had an upbringing like I have, you want it just that little bit more,” he said.
Manning was on a publicity tour at Devonshire Mall to promote the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, an event in its second year.
The track at Belle Isle is very unique, quite unlike the conventional racetrack, something Manning credits to the league trying to diversify.
“The Indy-car series historically has been mainly oval-based, whereas in the past few years, it’s been trying to become more diverse, from short track ovals to speedways, road courses, street courses. So now that they’ve got that I think next year is going to be more, I think there will be nine road and street courses and nine ovals in short and long track. So at the end of the season there will be a real champion of everything,” he said.
“The Belle Isle Track, as a track, is so individual – obviously on an island. You don’t get many tracks like that,” he said.
“The challenge it brings with the walls, the margin for error is zero. If you make a mistake you’re into a wall, and you break your car. You’ve really got to be on your game,” he added.
Manning later went on to describe the course as fairly well-rounded, despite its uniqueness.
“The Belle Isle Track is a good combination of fast corners, slow corners, and a nice long straightaway good for overtaking, and it’s great,” he said.
Little will change in Manning’s strategy this year, but he will do a few things to improve on his fourth place finish from last year.
“So there may be some parts, some changes to the car on suspension and set-up wise that we can bring over to Detroit to hopefully make the day go faster. And hopefully I’ll know the track better as well,” he said.
Besides placing fourth there last year, one reason Manning loves Belle Isle is the fan base.
“Well here it’s crazy, I think they’re sold out already. There’s even a whole grandstand for Canadians. They’re making a real big effort for the surrounding areas,” he said.
“The fans are what it’s all about for us,” he later added.
The event, which will take place from Aug. 29-31, is not just a race, but a three-day event.
“You hear the noise from the cars, and you can go lay on the beach. It’s quite cool on the parade lap that we do as well. You go down to the waterfront, and there’s thousands of boats that have come out to see you as well. It’s pretty cool,” he said.
Bands will be playing over the course of the weekend, thanks to a partnership with XM Radio, with Sugar Ray headlining on Saturday evening.
A partnership with the City of Windsor has also created unique ticket packages specifically for Canadian residents.
For tickets or more information, feel free to visit http://www.tellusdetroit.com/sports/bigp/index.html.
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