The 2006 Racingschools.com Indoor Kart World Championship was once again an Austrian affair, and this time, 23 year old Alex Gumpenberger from Aigen-Schegl, Austria, driving for Team Plus-City.at, was the one able to emerge above all others and clinch the overall driver's Indoor Kart World Championship Title.

Like last year, the 2006 event began about a week before, when the out-of-state and foreign drivers started to appear at the F1 Race Factory track in Phoenix Arizona (USA) to begin praticing. Practice showed that as in 2005, the foreign drivers were again very strong competitors, and were imediately able to put their names at the top of the F1 Race Factory's best lap lists. The top of the lap charts eventually developed a very international flavor, with the best laps in practice being traded between drivers from many different countries. Sebastiaan Circkens from the Netherlands finished the week as the new track record holder for F1 Race Factory's "North Track", and Rodrigo Faulhaber from Brazil is the new track record holder for the "South Track". As in 2005, weights were not allowed during practice, so the heavier drivers would have to wait for the start of the IKWC races to really show their top form. Ballast would again, be the big equalizer. And it was. IKWC 2006 Champion Alex Gumpenberger, who weights 190 lbs. (86 kg.) in full gear (5 lbs / 2.25 kg. above the minimum), was one of the 10 heaviest drivers in the IKWC, and never one of the fastest in practice. At the complete opposite end of the spectrum, and finishing only a mere 2 points behind Gumpenberger in 2nd place, was dutch driver Sebastian Circkens, who at just 134 lbs (60 kg.) was one of the lightest drivers in the 2006 IKWC, and raced with 51 lbs (23 kg.) of ballast on his karts. In 3rd place was a mid-to-light-weight driver, Tony Rolfson from the USA, who weighted in at 156 lbs (71 kg) in full gear.

The change in format of the 2006 IKWC proved to be a big challenge for organizers. The IKWC was a tough competition in 2005, but the much larger number of drivers and the greater number of shorter races in 2006, created a much more competitive scenario. There were dozens of top quality drivers in this competition, all champions and race winners at their home tracks, all of course, with high hopes to finish at the top in their races. However, simple basic mathematics showed that, inevitably, only a few of these top drivers would end up as winners. The majority of those top drivers would not even make it in the Final GP race on Sunday. Its the nature of racing: few win and many lose. The field of 84 drivers was divided into 4 groups of 21 karts for each of the 4 rounds of races. This meant that there would be 16 half hour races to be run on Saturday, resulting in a very tight schedule. The race groups were drawn in such a way that drivers would be competing against different groups of opponents in each of their races to allow each driver to race against a maximum number of opponents. There were about 21-22 drivers in each race, and in each, at least 12 (sometimes more) drivers could easily be the winners. Determining factor weighted greatly on luck with the kart draw, and of course running a focused race, keeping errors to a minimum, and staying clean from suffering any penalties or encountering any other unexpected trouble along the way. A much easier task in theory than in practice, on such a tight track.

Saturday was a very important and decisive day for drivers, as most races in the championship (4 out of 5, or 6) would be run on that day. This was the time to maximize results, to be in a good position to qualify to be one of the top 25 for Sunday's 1.5 hour Final GP, and to, hopefully, be in good position to challenge for one the top 15 spots in the overall IKWC results. As the day went by, desperation began to show in some of the drivers. Some began to realize that their chances for a shot at the title, or even of making it in the Final GP, were evaporating. Frustration grew, the racing began to get more aggressive, and the number of penalties also began to grow. At one point, the level of agressive racing on the track resulted in an specially called drivers meeting to warn all drivers to expect lots more penalties would be accessed, and to try and keep their noses as clean as possible. Again, easier said than done. By the end of the 1st day of racing, 5 different teams had filed a written joint protest against 1 driver, who eventually withdrew from competition, and 4 others were racing on Sunday under "last chance conditions" for various other infractions. Predictable schedule delays were compounded by timing mistakes by race control, which due to a staff scheduling conflict, fell at the hands of controlers that had limited experience on highly competitive events such as the IKWC. As the racing progressed during the night, a new drivers meeting was called to decide on either combining the last 2 Rounds in longer 1 hour races, or to keep the original number of races but make the last rounds shorter in length. The vast majority of drivers voted on the latter option, not to lose a point scoring opportunity. So the last races of the day for all groups were cut to 15 minute sprints with no pitstops required, in order to ensure the first day of competition did not turn into a 24 hour race! Still, the last race scheduled for Saturday was not over untill just after 2AM on Sunday.

The drivers that emerged as winners on Saturday were Thiago Costa (Brazil) from Team TopKart.com.br, Alex Gumpenberger (Austria) from team Plus-City.at, and Mitch Hayden (USA) from TeamGodfrey.com, all 3 drivers with 2 wins each, and also Sebastaiaan Circkerns (Netherlands) from Team GodfreyRacing.com, Tony Rolfson (USA) from Team MotorsportsMania.tv, Ed Cordeiro (Brazil) & Pedro Washington (Brazil) both from Team TopKart.com.br, 2005 World Champion Werner Truegler (Austria) from team Plus-City.at, David Nekula (USA) from Team GodfreyRacing.com, Andres Prieto (Colombia) from Team Colombia, Mike Smith (USA) from Team BSHRacing.com, Rick Apichairuk (Thailand) from Team ChicagoIndoorRacing.com, and Chris Pratl (Austria) from Team Plus-City.at, all with 1 win each.

Other drivers with strong results on Saturday, but no victories yet were: Matthias Hackensellner (Austria) from Team Plus-City.at, Brad Godfrey (USA) from team GodfreyRacing.com, Mike Robertson (USA) from Team Racingschools.com, Jaime Hernandez (Colombia) from Team Colombia, Joseph Smith (USA) & Kevin Bateman (USA) both from Team EnduranceKarting.com 333, Efrain Olivares (USA) & Casey Rising (USA) from Team Dromo1.com, and Steven To (BEL) & Timothy Laporte (BEL) from BlueStar-RacingTeam.be . These drivers, as well as others, were hoping for slightly better luck on Sunday's 1 hour race, to make it into the IKWC 1.5hr Final Grand Prix Race.

The Saturday sprint races were done, and now the IKWC drivers would face a very challenging day of long endurance races. A 1 hour race for the 4 groups would determine which top 25 drivers would be facing another grueling 1.5 hours of racing in the Final. Drivers were tired, hands were blistered, bodies were bruised, and muscles in pain from yesterday's races, but all were ready to face the challenge ahead. Before the Sunday races, all drivers were advised that due to the extreme bumping that had gone on in the Saturday races, the track layout for Sunday would no longer be modified, so drivers could hopefully race cleaner on a track that they were already familiar with. All were also warned that penalties would be strictly enforced. Eric Goodman, F1RF's best and most experienced race controler, was at the helm of the race control tower on Sunday, and it was imediately clear that the schedule and the races would flow a lot smoother than they did on Saturday. Drivers however, continued to race hard, and penalties were plenty on Sunday as well. Staying out of heavier on-track bumping confrontations was key not risk a penalty, as just like in any other sport, there was always the unfortunate chance of falling victim to a bad refereeing call.

Winners of the 1 hour endurance qualifier races on Sunday included: Ed Cordeiro (Brazil) & Thiago Costa (Brazil) from Team TopKart.com.br, Matthias Hackensellner (Austria) from team Plus-City.at, and Jeff Saiani (USA) from team GodfreyRacing.com.

Sunday saw the only medical incident during the IKWC event, when Swedish driver Heinz-Harald Enqvist (Team Fetgo.com) had to be pulled out of his kart during the 1 hour qualifier suffering from extreme heat exaustion. His condition was such that Paramedics had to be called. Heinz-Harald, who collapsed, was innitially treated at the track and then was transported to the local hospital for further treatment and observation. The Swedish driver was however, able to return to the track just before the start of the Final GP, and received a round of applause from all. Fortunately for him, he was not one of the top 25 in points, as he would not have wanted to race another 1.5 hour straight! With no drivers qualified to be in the Final GP, and Heinz-Harald back in one piece, it was "Miller Time" in the Swedish garage!

Also during the break between the last 1 hour qualifier and the Final GP, a serious and important meeting took place to decide on the results of Race 1 Group 1. That race's results had remained unofficial under a formal protest from Austrian driver Werner Truegler. Truegler suffered a significant timing problem on his scoring, which caused him to erroneously be shown 4 laps down at the end results for that race. Officials, scoring staff, race control, as well as the top finishing drivers in Race 1 Group 1 listened to Truegler's arguments for over 30 minutes behind closed doors. Though all agreed that Trugler's 4 lap deficit was an error, all could not agree to credit him more than 3 laps, as the key data that could prove or disprove Truegler's claims (the few laps done before the red flag came out which included a spin and a pitstop by the Austrian) had been deleted from the scoring system. The 2005 World Champion did not agree with the official decision, but had to swallow it in disappointment. Though he still had qualified to be in the Final GP even with this result, it meant the end of his chances of a repeat IKWC Championship victory. Dutch driver Sebastiaan Circkens had also contested a seatbelt-pitstop penalty called on him during his first race, to no avail. Even with the penalty, Circkens still had a good chance at the Title going into the Final GP, but to be the Champion he would have to win the Final. That was his only chance to beat Gumpenberger points, and not to be dependent on anyone else's results.

Still during the break, happier news: the results for the USA Indoor Kart Championship were announced. This competition consisted of the points results up to that point (after the first 5 races), just between the American drivers. Tony Rolfson from Team MotorsportsMania.tv took the USA Championship title, followed by Brad Godfrey in 2nd and David Nekula in 3rd, the last 2 from the GodfreyRacing.com team.

With that settled, It was now time for the big IKWC World Championship Final race, featuring the current top 25 drivers in points. Alex Gumpenberger would start the final as the favorite to clinch the title, as his fantastic performance so far in the previous races granted him an 8 point advantage to his closest rival going into the last race. But the IKWC Final GP would be no easy street for Gumpenberger. The luck of the kart draw put him in a kart of dubious performance for the race, and the Austrian tried very hard to convince race organizers to allow him a kart switch based on mechanical reasons (the rollover bar had broken loose in the picked kart). The kart however, was in running order, and the kart condition did not cause any safety concern, so the Austrian was told that he would have to start the race in that kart and only then, if he wanted, pit for a switch.

The IKWC Final was pure Indoor Kart World Championship racing at its best. A total of 11 drivers who were in last year's final also qualified for this years final, proving that they truly deserved a spot amongst the best in the world. These were Alex Gumpenberger, Sebastiaan Circkens, Tony Rolfson, Pedro Washington, Thiago Costa, Brad Godfrey, Werner Truegler, David Nekula, Ian Pierce, Jim Allen, and Jaime Hernandez. A diverse selection of 14 other top 2006 IKWC drivers completed the Final GP's grid, such as Ed Cordeiro, Shawn Mohatt, Matthias Hackensellner, Dave Singelee, Mike Robertson, Rodrigo Faulhaber, Mitch Hayden, Andres Prieto, Casey Rising, Mike Smith, Jeff Saiani, Rick Apichairuk, Kevin Bateman, and Jack Beaulieu, who inherited the 25th spot from Aaron McMoran, who had to leave early, and consequently was not present to race in the final. A record 8 different nations were represented on the Final GP's grid: USA, Austria, Brazil, Belgium, Colombia, Thailand, Jamaica, and the Netherlands. The stage was set for indoor kart racing's most important race of the year!

Unlike in 2005, the 2006 IKWC Final GP had plenty of yellow flags, red flags, and penalty flags. The race proved to be one of extreme attrition, where drivers ended retiring for various reasons, including: physical (pain or exhaustion), mechanical, disqualification, in protest, due to terminal crash, some even because they had planes to catch at the airport. The final started over 1 hour behind schedule, and lasted well over 2 hours, including all the down time. All that aside, it was one-hell-of-a-race!, and in the end, American driver Shawn Mohatt (Team GodfreyRacing.com), drove the race of his life to take his first and only win in the IKWC, and move up to finish 7th overall in points. Alex Gumpenberger on the other hand, had been right about his kart, and had a miserable race. Unlucky one way, but lucky the other, Gumpenberger's main rivals for the title could not score the needed results to out-point him for the Title race, and the Austrian was able to win the Driver's World Championship with a humble 12th place finish (a 13 pointer): Tony Rolfson placed 8th in the Final GP, Sebastiaan Circkens placed 3rd, and Thiago Costa precipitously retired in protest, after not agreeing with a penalty call against him. Pedro Washington also ended with a disappointing 12 point finish. Rodrigo Faulhaber had a fantastic Final GP race with a 2nd place finish, but two 12 point races on Saturday hurt his final points average, and he had no chance for a shot at the Title during the Final GP. Alex Gumpenberger was now the new 2006 Indoor Kart World Champion, and with 2 race wins in 2005 and 2 in 2006, the Austrian now holds the record for most victories in IKWC competition: 4.

The World Champioship Title amongst teams went to the GodfreyRacing.com team from the USA. The largest team in the IKWC, the GodfreyRacing.com team consisted of 10 local Phoenix drivers, plus dutch ace Sebastiaan Circkens. The team's drivers were able to score a victory at every one of the 6 Rounds except for 1, as well as a 2nd place, and 3 usable fastest laps. Drivers who took victory for the team were: Sebastiaan Circkens, Shawn Mohatt, David Nekula, Mitch Hayden, and Jeff Saiani. During the Final, once Shawn Mohatt took the lead and Circkens was in 3rd, rumors were flying around the pits that Shawn Mohatt would pull a "team orders" move and slow his pace, holding down Rodrigo Faulhaber from Brazil so to give a chance to team mate Sebastiaan Circkens to beat them both and win the Final, thus scoring enough points to just beat Gumpenberger for the World Drivers Championship by 1 point. It appears however that it was just a rumor. An emotional Shawn Mohatt took the checkered flag in first place in the 2006 IKWC Final GP, and scored his 1st ever victory in the Indoor Kart World Championship.

Just 3 points behind came 2005 Team World Championship winners, team TopKart.com.br from Brazil. Consisting of 6 drivers, the team acumulated 4 usable victories in the 6 Rounds, plus two 2nds, and 1 fastest lap. Contributing with victories for the team were: Ed Cordeiro, Thiago Costa, and Pedro Washington. The 2006 had a bitter sweet result for Thiago Costa. The Brazilian, who in 2005 was able to amazingly finish 2nd in the IKWC only 0.5 points behind 2005 Champ Werner Truegler without winning a single race, this year scored 3 victories (more than any other driver in 2006) but had to contend with a disappointing 6th place overall. Consistency is key in the IKWC, and two 12 point results in Races 1 and 6 brought down his points total.

In 3rd, just 2.5 points behind TopKart.com.br, came Team Plus-City.at from Austria, which consisted of 5 drivers. 3rd place was obtained with 3 usable victories, two 2nds, and a 4th place, but also a whopping 5 usable fastest laps! Winners included Werner Truegler, Alex Gumpenberger, Chris Pratl, and Matthias Hackensellner.

In the Nations Cup competition, The USA and Brazil tied for 1st, Austria took 2nd, and Colombia, Thailand, and Jamaica tied for 3rd.

The USA Indoor Kart Team Championship results were: Team GodfreyRacing.com in 1st, Team MotorsportsMania.tv in 2nd, and Team BSHRacing.com in 3rd, edging Team Dromo1.com for the 3rd spot by only 0.5 points!!