Xander Clements, January 23rd, 2016

 

After completing another successful season, the Sim Karting World Championship has once again reset the bar for competition in online kart racing. A solely CIK-International level calendar with the new OK Senior engine package has sparked great interest among the racing community, and the pre-entry list shows just that. Below we analyze what to expect in the 7th edition of the SKWC.

Old Faces, New Places

One characteristic that has always been around in the Sim Karting World Championship is its ever-buzzing silly season. Many notable names have changed chassis, teams, helmets, and new for this season, engine manufacturers. Season 6 Champion Ben Hamlet has begun his newest journey of becoming a successful team owner, as he readies Mad Croc Karting for its first season of competition. Hamlet has brought over Brenden Baker and Dan Burgess with him from Intrepid Driver Program, along with rookie Ben Cheeseman and Season 6 Rookie of the Year Alexander Kirkwood.

 

Phillippe Denes has opened up Top Kart Factory Team, and has signed former Comp Kart drivers Braden Eves and Andre Castro, along with DCT SpeedSport's Nick Luedeke. Ian Bushey has replaced the loss of drivers at Intrepid Driver Program by catching free agents Michael Avansino and Adam Rylance, who both showed promise throughout the 2015 IAME Leopard Championship. 

Record-Setting Entry List

Prior to now, the highest number of entries in a single championship was held by SKWC Season 5, with 36 total drivers turning a lap at some point in the series. Pre-entries have just broken past that number at 37 so far, and continue to grow by the day. 16 total teams are set to do battle in the Team Championship, and over 8 countries are currently represented in the driver pool. What is even more impressive is the influx of European pilots, making up over 40% of the total entries, in what has previously been a predominantly American competition.

New Venues

For the first time in nearly four seasons, the all tracks on the schedule for the Sim Karting World Championship have never held an official SKWC race event. First on the list is Adria International Raceway, a 1300 meter circuit with some very unique corners. After Adria the championship remains in Europe for five rounds until heading to the Middle East for the season finale under the lights at Bahrain International Circuit.

Official Schedule:

1) [January 30, 2016] - Adria
2) [February 13, 2016] - Sarno
3) [February 20, 2016] - Essay
4) [February 27, 2016] - Varennes
5) [March 12, 2016] - Ortona
6) [March 19, 2016] - Bahrain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to Basics

The most interesting part to the OK Senior engine is the lack of electronics. The engine is direct-drive, and therefore must be push started like the modern-day shifter kart. It does not have a clutch, battery, or wiring harness, making the kart lighter and more agile on the track. It also creates more power than its predecessor, the KF Senior, and should really separate drivers' skill levels. While some of the same names may still show at the top of the boards, the distinct driving style needed to be fast could have some different drivers up at the front. Nothing is certain, though, and it should be a very interesting Round 1.