IKWC 2009 Brazil: deal expected soon!
November 21, 2008
Ongoing negotiations continue to delay confirmation of the 2009 IKWC in Brazil. Three different locations were being considered; The Kart-In Jaguare' Indoor Kart Center in Sao Paulo, Top Kart Indoor Center in Rio de Janeiro, and Macae Centro in Macae' (also in Rio).
Top Kart's viability depended on additional racing area being made available by the Shopping Center it is located at. This turned out not to be possible for 2009, unfortunately. Organizers are now trying to keep the race in the state of Rio de Janeiro and have been in negotiations with the city of Macae'. The coastal city is the base of operations for Petrobras' off-shore activities, and has a history of support to kart racing.
The project is truly unique, and involves Macae's huge convention center to be used as an indoor racing facility. City officials are receptive and excited with the idea, but no formal deal has been signed yet. The IKWC expects to get the final word by early December, but if no agreement is reached in the next few weeks, the race will be instead held in Sao Paulo, at the Kart-In Jaguare' Indoor Racing Center.
Kart-In Jaguare' is the biggest established indoor racing facility in the world. Its housed in a 140000 sq/feet building and has a 0.7 mile (1100 meter) racetrack. Either location beats in size any location previously used for the World Championship. The F1 Race Factory track in Phoenix, which is the largest in North America, has 114000 sq/feet of space.
"Any of the 3 options were great. We hope to keep the race in Rio de Janeiro from a tourism perspective, but the option in Sao Paulo will also be great. Regardless of what location gets the race, the most important thing right now is to get things confirmed before the end of the year, so international drivers have as much time as possible to make their travel plans." said Carlos Carneiro from the IKWC.
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