Who could have imagined competing in a 6hr indoor go-kart race? Well these drivers could…and did. Eight teams comprised of 25 drivers competing wheel to wheel for 6 hours straight.

The green flag waved at 8:25am with the checkered flag flying 6 hours later. This was non-stop karting action at it’s best and simply can’t be beat, although the drivers were pretty tired both mentally and physically at the end. In fact, driver Dave Carter said that this was much harder than the outdoor 24hr karting race he did in Florida.

Not only was this our most challenging endurance race ever, it was also the longest one in Formula Kartways history. A lot of work went into all the karts the night before the race and in fact our mechanics were up all night ensuring that all the karts were in top form for this gruelling super race. New belts, tires, fuel hoses and freshly greased clutches were just some of the things they addressed for the race. They even checked the electrical system to ensure no wires could come loose from any hard impacts.

Despite all their efforts though, early in the race a wheel hub cracked on one of the karts (our leading team at the time) resulting a rear wheel coming off and the kart came to a quick stop on the track. Fortunately for the team, we were able to get them into a replacement kart quickly and they only lost three laps. No worries though…there was still a long way to go (they finished 2nd overall). Since the karts weigh a little under 300pds, the IFK staff simply lifted the stranded kart over the wall and did the repairs trackside. It later became one of the best handling karts of the race.

*As you can see, some teams came well prepared for this race, bringing chairs, coolers, snacks and lots of fluids. One team even pulled the bench seat out of their Minivan.

Once again, there were several new faces and they all deserve a hearty applause by having the courage to make “The IFK 6hr Super Race” their first ever Enduro. There is a lot to learn before drivers can do well in an Endurance Race and many things have to come together perfectly in order to make the podium. Rookies like Polina Michkine, Jack Xiao & Robin Yeung as well as new comers Alan Jones, Guy Marshall and David Kim, trying not only to compete against each other but also against seasoned veterans like Michael Williamson, Jordan Yakiwchuk, Ray Kalwa and of coarse our 2006 Enduro Champion Andrew Rahaman.

The "best effort" goes to the two-man team of Greg La Rosa and Paul Laukkanen who each had to spend more time in the kart since their third driver never showed up. Good job guys and congrats on your amazing 3rd place finish!

As usual, the karts were all paced and matched just before the start and all the teams were consistently lapping in the 30-second range with most teams being amazingly close within 0.3 seconds of each other for the entire race.

As always, the race dynamics change subtly as the race wears on. The track gets faster as more heat and rubber are built up on the racing surface and the karts can also change speeds from one hour to the next.

With that in mind all the kart speeds were closely monitored with a radar gun to unsure that speeds are kept the same. This allowed the IFK team to make adjustments during the pit stops so that no team suffered from a kart dropping off the pace or gained an advantage from a kart that started pulling away from the field.

In the end, the winning team turned 687 laps over 6 hours, stopping only for fuel and driver changes. They won by barely 90 seconds over 2nd place and amazingly, 3rd, 4th and 5th place teams were each separated by only 30 seconds! Now that’s close in anyone’s books.

Like Professional motor racing all over the world, doing well comes down to experience, strategy, skill and stamina. This isn’t just indoor go-karting anymore…this is as real as it gets without being an actual racecar driver. The professional attitudes, skills and experiences of the drivers prove once again that Formula Kartways truly is the “Place to Race”.