IKWC 2010: Geldhof is World Champion!
August 01, 2010
News Report provided by IndoorKartingNews.com
Aug 1, 2010 (Phoenix) - Championship Sunday (August 1, 2010) commenced with the entire field of 50 drivers broken into three groups for the eigth (and last) qualifier race. Upon completion of the final group races, the top-25 in the points advanced to the IKWC Final race. Using points from this race combined with those earned over the week, minus a worst position drop, determined who would be among the 25 drivers to race in the Final, who would watch from the sidelines, and most important, who would leave Arizona as the 2010 Indoor Kart World Champion.
Race 8A proved to be an interesting affair, with not only a good battle for top honors, but also interesting strategy by one of the title contenders. Former World Champion Werner Truegler of Austria started on pole (53.083), but was immediately challenged by Jamaica's third place starter Ian Pierce, front-row starter Ruben Boutens of the Netherlands, and current points leader Matthias Grooten of Belgium. Boutens solidified his place in the finals and as a potential champion by taking home the win over Pierce and Truegler. Grooten, who found himself in a subpar kart and running midpack, opted to sacrifice this race by pitting numerous times in the final third of the race to swap karts into the karts that had been discarded by other drivers, in an effort to better his chances of drawing a better kart for the Final. Per the IKWC 2010 rules, drivers were to drive a minimum of 9 different karts during the event, so a driver could not draw and drive the same kart previously drawn in the random kart draw. The rule did not specify a limit of swaps into spares during a race. Brazilian driver Carlos Nadaes was the first to think of this rule loophole strategy, and used it yesterday. A handful of drivers decided to use the same strategy on the last set of qualifiers. This strategy was by no means a ticket into a top kart, as Grooten would find out in the Final kart draw.
The second race of the day started in fine fashion for the host nation USA, as F1 Race Factory standout Truman Godfrey captured the pole position (52.714). With Belgium's Robin Borremans, America's Ronald Jones and Belgium's Mats De Jong completing the top-four of the grid, the stage was set for an entertaining race. That proved to be the case, and in more ways than one. A very strong thunderstorm passed over the track turning the road outside the track into a raging river. Inside, the roof sprung three leaks at different parts of the racetrack, two of those on the racing line, making it quite tricky for the drivers. Conditions were dry, except for the breaking zone for two turns on the south portion of the racetrack. The Belgians who are used to running wet indoor kart races on slicks at indoor/outdoor tracks in their home country, made the most out of the situation, with Robin Borremans strengthening his championship cause at the checkered flag, leading local ace Truman Godfrey and Belgian Mats De Jong to the stripe.
After this race, Race director John Ahrends delayed the start of the next race in an effort to try and dry the track. The storm passed, and track staff were able to dry the track in about 30 minutes.
Finalizing who would advance to the IKWC Final race, Race 8C witnessed American Jon Kimbrell lining up P1 (52.333) for the 54-lap race ahead of Herwig Heckl of Austria and Chaz Baca Jr. of the USA. The U.S. National Champion remained the driver to watch during the race, converting the pole into a win. Brazil's Felipe Assumpcao, having started P6, was able to work his way forward, eventually taking the checkered flag in second, ahead of Baca Jr. Heckl fell to fifth place at the stripe.
With the group races completed, the stage was set for the Final, with vital points up for grabs to determine who would stand on the top step of the podium in the 2010 IKWC. Entering the race, Belgian teammates Geldhof and Grooten were tied for the points lead, one ahead of De Jong, while Boutens and Borremans completed the top-five. Grooten and Geldhof were tied in points, victories (4 each), in 2nd places (1 each), in 3rd places (1 each), and 4th places (1 each). Their 8th best race result became the tie-breaker, with Geldhof beating Grooten with an 8th place against Grooten's multi kart-swapping 16th place from Race 8A. The USA contingent was led by Kimbrell, seven points back in sixth, followed immediately by Aaron Downs, Miles Calvin and Logan Calvin.
With the grid set by the point standings, Grooten and Geldhof lined up on the front-row for the 54-lap race. Grooten multi-kart-switch strategy on the last race did not work, and the 2008 World Champion soon found out he drew a kart in which a race win was not to be. At the start, Geldhof immediately took the lead, while Grooten held second place. Grooten could not pose any threat to to Geldhof, who was opening a gap on every lap, and focused on a defensive approach to try and keep second place all the way to the finish, locking himself with 2nd place in the Championship. Grooten lost a position to Miles Calvin who was on a charge, but was able to hold the rest of field for over 20 minutes, with a train of 18 karts follwing him in tow. Running a well covered but very clean defensive line, Grooten promoted fierce racing among the karts that followed him, in one of the most exciting Final IKWC races ever. Grooten's ordeal set the stage for what would ultimately be highly successful day for Geldhof, who had established a multi-kart advantage early in the race. Unfortunately, Grooten's valliant effort did not hold up to the end. The Belgian got passed, and began to drop positions, losing several. Not far behind the leader, the driver on a charge was Miles Calvin. Showing good speed and skill, the American had worked his way up to second and got past the "Grooten train" before the leaders began making their mandatory stop. Using lapped traffic to full advantage Calvin was able to find a way past Geldhof, but the American did not have any chance to threaten the Belgian's points position in the Championship. The race was not over however, as the final few laps featured the entire top-four of Calvin, Geldhof, Boutens and Belgium's Gregory Laporte running bumper-to-bumper. Only determined by the waving of the checkered flag, Calvin scored the win in the IKWC Final, becoming the second consecutive American to do so, after Jordan Pembleton scored the win last year in Brazil. Calvin's win was not enough to edge Geldhof in the title chase, with the Belgian earning his first-ever World Championship title with the runner-up race finish in the Final. The win moved Calvin up to a 5th Place finish in the Championship with 179 points, only 0.5 points from Mats de Jong in 4th with 179.5 points, and only 1 point from Grooten in 3rd with 180. Boutens completed the top-three in the race, ahead of Laporte and Austria's Florian Holzinger. Boutens 3rd place on this race resulted in him taking the 2nd place in the Championship away from Grooten.
After officially compiling all the results, 17 year old Belgian Kenny Geldhof took the top step of the podium and was presented with the 2010 world title, a nice trophy, and US$1000 in cash. Ruben Boutens from the Netherlands finished in a very impressive second place, after being 3rd in Brazil. Grooten, having led the standings throughout the event, completed the top-three, repeating the 3rd place finish he obtained at F1 Race Factory at the 2007 edition of the IKWC. Miles Calvin, with his Final win, ended as the top American in fifth. Logan Calvin of the USA, finishing 10th, earned the Junior crown, with the Masters title going to Ed Cordeiro of Brazil in 17th.
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Indoor Kart World Championship
F1 Race Factory - Phoenix, Arizona
Aug 1, 2010
Day Five - Top 3 Results (podiums)
Race 8A
| Pos. | Driver (Nation) | Fast Time |
| 1. | Ruben Boutens (Ned) | 51.541 |
| 2. | Ian Pierce (Jam) | 51.962 |
| 3. | Werner Truegler (Aut) | 51.994 |
Race 8B
| Pos. | Driver (Nation) | Fast Time |
| 1. | Robin Borremans (Bel) | 51.890 |
| 2. | Truman Godfrey (USA) | 51.940 |
| 3. | Mats De Jong (Bel) | 52.110 |
Race 8C
| Pos. | Driver (Nation) | Fast Time |
| 1. | Jon Kimbrell (USA) | 51.378 |
| 2. | Felipe Assumpcao (Bra) | 51.390 |
| 3. | Chaz Baca Jr. (USA) | 51.636 |
Final
| Pos. | Driver (Nation) | Fast Time |
| 1. | Miles Calvin (USA) | 51.623 |
| 2. | Kenny Geldhof (Bel) | 51.835 |
| 3. | Ruben Boutens (Ned) | 51.860 |
Indoor Kart World Championship
Final Points - Top-20
July 31, 2010
F1 Race Factory - Phoenix, Arizona
| Pos. | Driver (Nation) | Points |
| 1. | Kenny Geldhof (Bel) | 191 |
| 2. | Ruben Boutens (Ned) | 187 |
| 3. | Matthias Grooten (Bel) | 180 |
| 4. | Mats De Jong (Bel) | 179.5 |
| 5. | Miles Calvin (USA) | 179 |
| 6. | Aaron Downs (USA) | 177 |
| 7. | Robin Borremans (Bel) | 173 |
| 8. | Jon Kimbrell (USA) | 173 |
| 9. | Gregory Laporte (Bel) | 172 |
| 10. | Logan Calvin (USA) – J | 166 |
| 11. | Andres Prieto (Col) | 162 |
| 12. | Maxwell Jansley (Braz) – J | 161.5 |
| 13. | Tony Rolfson (USA) | 159 |
| 14. | Felipe Assumpcao (Bra) | 157 |
| 15. | Ian Pierce (Jam) | 157 |
| 16. | Florian Holzinger (Aut) | 156 |
| 17. | Ed Cordeiro (Bra) – M | 155 |
| 18. | Werner Truegler (Aut) | 154 |
| 19. | Juan Monroy (Col) | 153.5 |
| 20. | Carlos Nadaes (Bra) | 153.5 |
News Report provided by IndoorKartingNews.com
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