Power Brokers - The Men Who Shape Your World

Kart Sport Magazine - June 2004 Issue 16 - Page 36

Shifter kart racing is a relatively small segment of karting, but for the past five years, it's been the most visible in terms of mainstream exposure, and it's been the driving force behind the growth of the sport. And no single individual has had a bigger impact on shifter racing than Reine Persson.

Even if you don't race shifters, you know who he is. His company, SwedeTech Racing Engines, often strikes fear into the hearts of fellow engine builders, and those racers who are not equipped with one of his power plants. If you race shifters and don't have a SwedeTech engine, you've no doubt smelled its exhaust at some point in your career.

Normally, one wouldn't consider an engine builder to be a one of the most powerful people in any motor sport. But Persson's influence extends far beyond the domination of national shifter racing that SwedeTech has enjoyed since the late 1990s. His success has been so pervasive that rules have been changed, trends set, and formulas destroyed as a result of his tireless and seemingly always successful, pursuit of horsepower. And in that regard, you'd be hard pressed to find anyone with more technical power than Persson.

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