For our Toyo Tires F1600 Championship profile this week, we feature our first driver to move from karts to cars! Kevin Kapelke first got behind the wheel at the ripe ol’ age of six, and took a 23-year racing journey to arrive in our paddock in 2015, having raced five full seasons of F1200 on the way. He found the podium last year through just a handful of starts, and as he preps for his first full season in years this winter, he has the B-Class Championship in his sights!
How long have you been racing?
I started racing karts in 1992 at the age of 6. I got the bug from my dad who has been racing since 1988!
How long have you raced F1600?
That’s difficult to say… I’ve raced a few here and there over the past 3 years. Would have liked to do more but real life got in the way!
How many race cars have you owned?
Countless go karts
1976 Lynx B FV1600
1995 Blackhole FV1200 (We converted that from a FV1600)
2014 BRD F1200 (My dad and I built that one from scratch)
RF93 F1600 Van Diemen Mono.
What is your # and why did you choose it?
02 only because rules do not allow me to run my lifelong racing number which is 01.
What other classes have you raced?
Regional and National Karting for the better part of my life.
Import Drag Racing a couple of years
FV1600 (1 race)
F1200 5 full seasons
What track raced has been your favourite?
Mosport (CTMP). I love the historic nature of it! And the fact that no matter where you go in the world, when you tell people that you’ve driven Mosport everyone knows the iconic turn 2.
What track would you love to race around?
Spa and Monaco!
What is your greatest racing memory?
The 2001 Canadian Karting Grand Nationals. That year I raced against some of the best drivers in Canada. That one particular race I still believe is the best I’ve ever driven. We were 3 wide over the finish line and only 7 thousandths of a second separated the top three. Unfortunately I finished third. LOL!
Favourite driver from any generation?
Michael Schumacher by far! Growing up as a little Canadian/German boy he was the natural driver to look up to and the only driver in my household that was accepted to be a fan of!
Do you plan to be on the grid in 2018?
Absolutely! Looking forward to doing my first full season since 2013!
Feature photo by Michael Haley
Driver/Car photo by Richard Coburn