2009 IKWC Host City
Macaé - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Brazil is the largest country in South America and the 5th in the world. The land was discovered in 1500 and colonized by Portuguese explorers, eventually becoming an independent nation in 1822. The local language is Portuguese. Being a very large nation, Brazil has very distinct regions. The most developed, industrialized and populous of these is the Sudeste Region, which includes the states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, and Espirito Santo. The 2009 IKWC Brazil will be in the city of Macae', located in the state of Rio de Janeiro. The state of Rio de Janeiro is about the size of Belgium. Its home to 16 million people, most of which live in the city of Rio de Janeiro's greater metropolitan area.

Macae’ is a coastal city of about 160000 people located about 2.5 hours (by car) east of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Once a small fishing town, Macae’ is now best known for being the base of operations for Petrobras’ off-shore drilling activities. As vast quantities of oil were discovered near its shores in the last 20 years, the city has experienced tremendous economic growth.

Macae' has many miles of nice beaches, as well as a small developed beachfront district with hotels, fun bars and restaurants. Macae’ has historically been very supportive of kart racing throughout the years, and this has resulted in the Indoor Kart World Championship finding a home in this progressive city. Although there is no established indoor kart racing facility in Macae’, organizers were able to negotiate the use of the city’s convention center (Macae’ Centro) as the venue for the 1st Indoor Kart World Championship event in Brazilian soil. The facility is outstanding, and it will house the longest track ever used for the Indoor Kart World Championship. The Macae’s government and its people are glad to welcome all the International and Brazilian drivers that will spend time in their city during the 2009 IKWC, and hopes that all are able to enjoy a great time!

July/August is winter time in Brazil, but temperatures are moderate, and averages range between 18C (65F) and 25C (75F) in Rio de Janeiro and Macae' on that time of the year. You may need to bring both your jacket and your swimsuit along with your helmet!

Brazil & Rio's Racing Herritage.

Brazil has a rich motorsport history dating back to the 1930s when the Brazilian Grand Prix was first held in the streets of Rio de Janeiro. The race was then run on the incredibly challenging, 12km (8 miles) long, Circuito da Gavea street circuit. Resembling somewhat of a cross between Monaco and the "old" Nurburgring, it snaked around the Dois Irmaos Mountain, and through the districts of Leblon, Gavea, and Sao Conrado. It had over 100 turns and extreme elevation changes. Grand Prix cars raced at the Circuito da Gavea until 1952. Amazingly, about 90% of the original track layout can still be driven even in the midst of today's urban development. This great historic video of the 1937 Brazilian Grand Prix (below) features Italian Carlo Pintacuda's (Alfa Romeo 8C-35) victory in the rain over Hans Stuck's 500+hp Auto Union C. Incredible images from an age where safety concerns were non-existent!

This early Grand Prix history resulted in a strong ingrown passion for motor racing among the Brazilian people. Not even the political turmoil of a long lasting military dictatorship, economic crisis, nor an underdeveloped auto industry were able to impede the development of a small but very dedicated amateur racing community by the 1960s. This tight group included engine tweekers, chassis builders, and of course, drivers. A few of these decided to try their luck in Europe's professional motor racing world. One of them, Emerson Fittipaldi, was blessed with incredible luck and had a meteoric rise, going from the Jim Russell Racing School to being a Formula 1 race winner in just 1 year! Two years after his F1 debut, Fittipaldi was 1972 Formula 1 Driver's World Champion re-igniting the Brazilian fan's passion for Grand Prix racing. By 1960s and 1970s Sao Paulo had become the center of Motorsports in Brazil, and the Interlagos track was its temple. The Brazilian Grand Prix race was added to the Formula 1 schedule in 1973, and has since become one of the most traditional Grands Prix of the modern era. Fittipaldi's success opened the doors of F1 to other Brazilian drivers, and as a group, Brazilian drivers were able to win a total of 8 Formula 1 World Championships in the 19 years between 1972 and 1991, at the hands of Emerson Fittipaldi (2), Nelson Piquet (3), and Ayrton Senna (3). Fittipaldi and Senna were Sao Paulo natives, while Nelson Piquet was born in Rio.

Piquet's entry into Formula 1 in 1978 coincided with the Brazilian GP moving to Rio at a brand new racetrack. The Brazilian GP was held at the Jacarepagua Circuit 10 times between 1978 and 1989. The track was eventually re-named Autodromo Nelson Piquet in honor of Rio's F1 Champion driver, although the "King of Rio" turned out to be French driver Alain Prost, who won the race in Rio 5 times. An odd shaped oval track was later added to the layout, and it hosted the CART Indycar races in Brazil between 1996 and 2000. Unfortunately, the track's past glory days are now only a ghostly memory. Once the Formula 1 Grand Prix returned to Sao Paulo and the Brazilian CART race was dropped from the Indycar calendar, the track faced hard times and now sits abandoned. The last major international event held at the track was the 2004 Brazilian Moto GP (motorcycles).

During the 1990s era Ayrton Senna was the key figure in Brazilian motor racing, and fan interest was at the highest level. Curiously Ayrton Senna had never driven a racecar in Brazil until he returned to race in the Brazilian GP as a Formula 1 driver. All his races in Brazil before then had been in karts. His fame in F1 and his karting past boosted the interest of karting in Brazil even further. Brazil's significant economic improvement in the last 10 years resulted in a proliferation of rental kart tracks. Now thousands of Brazilian motorsports enthusiasts have access to the convenience of inexpensive rental kart racing. Many regional rental karting clubs appeared, and the biggest one of these, AMIKA (Associacao dos Amigos do Kart Amador - www.amika.com.br) based Sao Paulo, organizes the Brazilian Indoor Kart Championship. The yearly event brings together in competition over 200 drivers at the Granja Viana outdoor track in Sao Paulo. Oddly, the term “indoor karting” became a synonym for rental karting in Brazil, and many so called "indoor tracks" are actually outdoors.

And now in 2009, the Indoor Kart World Championship has its 1st event in Brazil, and it promises to be one to remember. Brazilians have historically been the nation with the most participants at the Indoor Kart World Championship (other than the host nation) and a record number of participants is expected for the 2009 IKWC.

Just like the Grand Prix pioneers of the 1930's, the Indoor Kart World Championship drivers of today are also pioneers writing the history of our sport. Come race at the 2009 IKWC Brazil and be part of this new chapter in the history of Indoor Kart World Championship competition!

Welcome to the IKWC 2009!

Additional tourism suggestions:

Buzios: Buzios was once a sleepy fishing town until sexy French movie star Brigitte Bardot began vacationing there back in the early 1960's. Buzios gained fame among the "jet set" and grew to become Brazil's best internationally known beach resort town. Buzios has many beautiful beaches, great restaurants, beautiful people, and its only a 40 minute drive from Macae'.

Rio de Janeiro: Brazil’s 2nd largest city is considered one of the world’s most beautiful metropolis. The “Zona Sul” (South Zone) part of town is the place to be. Squeezed between the ocean, the forest and the mountains, the city has wonderful scenic view points, such as the Corcovado and Pao de Acucar mountain peaks. Rio also has some of the worlds most famous beaches and exciting nightlife.