Top, from left to right: David Nekula USA (RacinFurniture.com), Steve Nico Schweinzer AUT (ArtofCart.com / SiteX.at / kcm.at), Jaime Hernandez COL (Durotech Racing), Werner Truegler (ArtofCart.com / Kartsport.at / kcm.at), Ian Pierce JAM (TMS-Racing.com), Marcio Arcoverde BRA (Topkart.com.br), Pedro Washington BRA (Topkart.com.br), Brad Godfrey USA (RacinFurniture.com).
Bottom, from left to right: Thiago Costa BRA (Topkart.com.br), Juan Martinez COL (Sophro Racing A), Alexander Gumpenberger AUT (Plus-City.at), Filipe Jorge BRA (Topkart.com.br), Sebastiaan Circkens NED (Plus-City.at).
Its non-stop, close, thrilling action, with karts going 2 and 3 wide at 50mph into the "Big U" turn, the fastest sector of the F1 Race Factory race track!
2005 World Champion Werner Truegler (ArtofCart.com / Kartsport.at / kcm.at) was not a favorite after the first day of competition. With a 3rd and a 7th as results from the first two races, Truegler would have to win the next two races and hope for some bad luck to fall upon his main rivals. The Austrian wins races 3 and 4, and close rivals Gumpenberger, Pierce, Washington, and Schweinzer encountered problems during the Final GP, finishing 8th, 10th, 21st, & 25th, respectively, in the 1.5 hour final race.
Pedro Washington sits on the pole-position for the 2005 IKWC final, and gets some last minute pace-warm-up laps instructions from race director Jared Wilcox. Twenty-five drivers qualified for the final race. Fifteen other did not make it and had to watch from the sidelines.
Dico Oliveira was the only Brazilian driver who did not qualify for the final. However, the disappointing result was beneficial to the team, as it allowed the Brazilian drivers to have a team member to pass important information to them during the final.
With approximately 50 drivers competing in a combined total of 8 races and 9 hours of racing, great battles were plenty during the IKWC. However, amazingly enough, there was not a single red flag or even full course yellow situation during the entire event. Congratulations to all drivers and to F1 Race Factory staff for a great show!
Drivers Pedro Washington (topkart.com.br) from Brazil and Juan Martinez (Sophro Racing A) from Colombia celebrate in the podium. Martinez, 46 years old, and Washington, 16 years old, are a good representation of the broad spectrum of IKWC drivers' ages.
Austrian driver Steve Nico Schewinzer (ArtofCart.com / SiteX.at / kcm.at) started the Final GP in the front row, and, as 2nd in points, but an early engine problem ended any hopes for a top result in the race. Scheinzer's eventual retirement from the race resulted in a drop to 8th position in the World Championship final standings.
Racer Magazine writer, and all-around racer, Efrain Olivares took to the IKWC challenge. Used to racing at the Dromo 1 track in the Los Angeles area, Olivares was no stranger to indoor karting, but was impressed with the level of competition, as well as the intensity of the physical challenge in the IKWC: "The 90 minute final has given me blisters in my hands, and extremely sore neck, and a limp. It all hurts real good! It feels like I just finished a Grand Prix, specially with so many different languages being spoken around me."
Brazilian driver Filipe Jorge (Topkart.com.br) leads a line of drivers waiting to be let on the track for the warm-up and formation laps that precede each race.
