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The E-World Championship finals began early on Saturday, March 23rd in Irvine with drivers from five different countries arriving to compete for top honors. The international racers were to compete in a tournament of three races at three different K1 Speed locations: Ontario, Anaheim and Irvine. Each track would run in reverse to guarantee no driver had any advantage.
Race 1: Ontario Track 1 Reverse: American driver Peyton was the first racer to score pole position, setting a 24.854, Canadian racer Daniel was second (25.064), Mexican driver Luis third (25.169). Drivers voted to start the race as a standing start versus the usual rolling start. Peyton rocketed off the line well, leaving Daniel and Luis to fight each other wheel-to-wheel for the first couple of corners, but Daniel was able to hold off Luis, who fell off line in his attempt at second, which left the door open for Antonio from Puerto Rico to get around the Mexican driver and claim third position. For the rest of the race, Peyton eeked out more and more distance in front of Daniel – the Canadian being busy defending from the Puerto Rican hot on his tail, lap-after-lap. However, at the end of the day, they’d finish in that order with USA securing the first win and fastest lap, Daniel from Canada in second, and Puerto Rican driver Antonio in third.
Race 2: Anaheim Reverse: Despite Antonio Arias setting the fastest lap in practice and the first qualifying session, it was the American who stole pole from the Puerto Rican driver. This left the starting grid with Peyton on pole (25.437), Antonio second (25.616), Daniel third (25.888). Peyton once again got a perfect start off the line, while Antonio quickly covered off a challenge from Daniel. Luis then decided to go alongside Daniel, but was unable to make the move for third. For the first half of the race, Antonio was right behind the American, not letting Peyton develop the gap he had in Ontario. Meanwhile Daniel ran wide entering the second corner, allowing Luis to make an ambitious move down the inside. Contact occurred, and Luis inherited the position from Daniel. Because contact was involved in the pass for third, K1 Speed reviewed the incident to determine if any penalties needed to be applied. After hearing both sides, and various eyewitness accounts, the contact was deemed a racing incident, and no further action was taken.
Race 3: Irvine Track 1 Reverse: The starting grid was: USA first (23.459), Puerto Rico second (23.563), Canada third (23.79). American driver Peyton was lightning-quick off the line, and Antonio was quickly able to slice in front of Daniel to secure second. Daniel held his position in third, with Luis fourth and Terry fifth. Throughout the race each driver began to gap the driver behind them, with all having an equal distance gap as they crossed the finish line in the same qualifying order. The American, Peyton Phillips, became the indoor electric karting champion, the first K1 Speed E-World Champion! Antonio Arias from Puerto Rico did well to hold onto second position in the championship, while Daniel Demaras rounded out the top 3, putting himself and Canada on the podium.
Top 3 Quotes:
“It was really tough today. I just found another level that I never had before and managed to pull through. Every single time I knew one little mistake could be costly.”
Peyton Phillips, USA
“From that first start all I needed to do was just stick to Peyton. So that’s what I did, and so I was happy I was able to do that. Congratulations to all the competitors. Congratulations to Daniel, we were neck-to-neck there, so thanks for making it fun!”
Antonio Arias, Puerto Rico
“The competition was so good today. Peyton was so quick all day long and he was really the class of the field. But me, Antonio and Luis there – coming into the last race we were 7, 6, and 5 points, so it was really all to play for. I gave it everything I had, and we had some good races. I’m so happy to win third place for myself, Canada, my family, and everybody. It’s just a fantastic result.”
Daniel Demaras, Canada
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