Kart racing is where it usually all begins for professional racers. You can watch countless interviews with racers and they will almost always say that they started in kart racing. It’s where you learn the fundamentals of racing. Such fundaments that you will learn are how your reflexes are important at such speeds, the eye-to-hand coordination of the throttle or brakes and the steering input along with the lateral g-forces put on your body, and the art of competition and the building blocks to what we call “race-craft”.
Starting off with rental karts, whether it be indoor or outdoor, is the least expensive route to start racing. This is because the price of fuel, maintenance, and parts is up to the facility to upkeep. We call this, “arrive and drive”. Please contact your local karting facility to see what the requirements are needed to start racing. Many places will have a height, weight and other safety equipment requirements before you can sit in a kart. Don’t forget to ask about membership fees!
As you start kart racing be sure to follow their safety rules. Any good karting place will not allow overly aggressive driving and bumping. This isn’t a kid-fun-land type of place where you’re only going a handful of miles-per-hour. These karts can be dangerous if not handled in a fashion that is unsafe for you and other drivers. Yes, we want you to have fun, but it’s never fun when people get hurt. If you have any health concerns then please check with your doctor before starting.
Since this is the beginning point of your driving experience, understand that there are many different levels and types of kart racing. Keep in mind that you can progress to an even higher level of competition by purchasing a racing kart. Before going out there and spending the potential thousands of dollars on a kart, equipment, specialized tools, transportation for your kart to get to and from the track, and other logistical items; be sure that this is for you and the family. The time commitment is serious once you’ve stepped onto this level. So, take your time and concentrate on perfecting your race-craft. Your seat time will become invaluable as time goes on. The transition from a rental kart to a personal racing kart is pretty big but it won’t feel like it as long as you have a lot of seat-time and have practiced your race-craft.
Then next several posts will start to cover some of the basic levels of your racing experience and how you can improve over time to get to that next level of racing. So get out there and find a go-kart racing facility and get ready to learn how to race!