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Kart racing or karting is a
road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...
variant of
motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of t ...
with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as
go-kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance racing ...
s or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motorsport circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher ranks of motorsports, with most of
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
champions including
Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. Vettel is one of the most successful drivers in Formula One histo ...
, Nico Rosberg,
Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers from Brazil to win the World Championship and ...
,
Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch racing driver and the 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Champion. He competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One with Red Bull Racing. Verstappen is the son of racing dr ...
,
Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...
,
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
,
Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wor ...
, and
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
having begun their careers in karting. Karts vary widely in speed and some (known as superkarts) can reach speeds exceeding , while recreational go-karts intended for the general public may be limited to lower speeds.


History

American Art Ingels is generally accepted to be the father of karting. A veteran hot rodder and a race car builder at Kurtis Kraft, he built the first kart in
Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...
in 1956. Early karting events were held in the
Rose Bowl Stadium The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium located in Pasadena, California. Opened in October 1922, the stadium is recognized as a National Historic Landmark and a California Historic Civil Engineering landmark. At a modern capacity of an all ...
car park. Instantly popular, Karting rapidly spread to other countries, and currently has a large following in Europe. The first kart manufacturer was an American company, Go Kart Manufacturing Co. (1957). In 1959, McCulloch was the first company to produce engines for karts. Its first engine, the McCulloch MC-10, was an adapted
chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pru ...
two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...
. Later, in the 1960s,
motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: Long-distance ...
engines were also adapted for kart use, before dedicated manufacturers, especially in Italy ( IAME), started to build engines for the sport.


Components


Chassis

The
chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpar ...
are made of chrome moly tubing.Technical picture of a racing chassis
Margay The margay (''Leopardus wiedii'') is a small wild cat native to Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal cat, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest. Until the 1990s, margays were hunted illegally for the wild ...
chassis
There is no suspension, so chassis have to be flexible enough to work as a suspension and stiff enough not to break or give way on a turn. Kart chassis are classified in the United States as "Open", "Caged", "Straight" or "Offset". All Commission Internationale de Karting -
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...
or CIK-FIA approved chassis are "Straight" and "Open". *Open karts have no roll cage. *Caged karts have a roll cage surrounding the driver; they are mostly used on dirt tracks. *In Straight chassis the driver sits in the center. Straight chassis are used for sprint racing. *In Offset chassis the driver sits on the left side. Offset chassis are used for left-turn-only speedway racing. The stiffness of the chassis enables different handling characteristics for different circumstances. Typically, for dry conditions a stiffer chassis is preferable, while in wet or other poor traction conditions, a more flexible chassis may work better. Temperature of the track can also affect handling and may prompt additional chassis adjustments. The best chassis allow for stiffening bars at the rear, front and side to be added or removed according to race conditions. Braking is achieved by a
disc brake A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to h ...
mounted on the rear axle. Front disc brakes are used in most shifter kart classes and are increasingly popular in other classes; however, certain classes do not allow them. Shifter karts have dual master cylinders, one for the front and one for the rear and are adjustable to allow for front/rear bias changes. Professionally raced karts typically weigh , complete without driver. Avanti,
Tony Kart Tony Kart is an Italian company (a brand of OTK Kart Group), that produces racing kart chassis. It was founded in 1958 by Antonio "Tony" Bosio. It is based in Prevalle near Brescia in northern Italy. Tony Kart chassis have been used to win severa ...
, Trulli,
Birel Birel S.p.A. of Lissone (near Milan, Italy) started building karts in the late 1950s after many years as a bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-tr ...
, CRG, Gillard, Intrepid, Remo Racing,
Kosmic The Kosmic Free Music Foundation (a.k.a. Kosmic, or KFMF) was a worldwide group of computer musicians, artists, and coders focused on the PC demoscene. Most members were from the United States, Canada, and Australia. They created music - m ...
, Zanardi or FA Kart and EKS are a few well-known examples of the many European manufacturers of race-quality chassis. Emmick, Coyote, Bandit, Shadow, MGM, Titan, PRC and
Margay The margay (''Leopardus wiedii'') is a small wild cat native to Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal cat, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest. Until the 1990s, margays were hunted illegally for the wild ...
are American companies producing kart chassis.


Engines

Racing karts mostly use small two-stroke or four-stroke engines - however, as of 2022 there has been small-scale adoption of
electric motor An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate f ...
s in racing karts. *
Four-stroke engine A four-stroke (also four-cycle) engine is an internal combustion (IC) engine in which the piston completes four separate strokes while turning the crankshaft. A stroke refers to the full travel of the piston along the cylinder, in either directi ...
s can be standard air-cooled industrial based engines, sometimes with small modifications, developing from about 5 to 20 hp.
Briggs & Stratton Briggs & Stratton Corporation is an American manufacturer of gasoline engines with headquarters in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Engine production averages 10 million units per year as of April 2015. The company reports that it has 13 large facili ...
, Tecumseh, Kohler, Robin, and
Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
are manufacturers of such engines. They are adequate for racing and fun kart applications. There are also more powerful four-stroke engines available from manufacturers like Yamaha, TKM,
Swissauto Swissauto is an engine company from Burgdorf, Switzerland, best known for the V4 engine used in the, ELF, MuZ and Pulse 500cc Grand Prix motorcycles and World Championship Sidecars. It also has developed one of the most efficient (35%) internal c ...
or Aixro (
Wankel engine The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. It was invented by German engineer Felix Wankel, and designed by German engineer Hanns-Dieter Paschke. ...
) offering from 15 hp up to 48 hp. They run to and around 11,000 rpm, and are manufactured specifically for karting. Those are used in some National Championship classes like the two-strokes. *
Two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...
kart engines are developed and built by dedicated manufacturers. WTP, Comer, IAME (Parilla, Komet, Woltjer), TM, Vortex, Titan, REFO, Modena Engines, TKM, Yamaha are manufacturers of such engines. These can develop from about 8 hp for a single-cylinder 60 cc unit (MiniROK by Vortex) to over 90 hp for a twin 250 cc.< Today, the most popular categories worldwide are those using the TaG 125 cc units. The recent 125 cc
KF1 KF1 is the top level of karting. It is open to drivers aged 15 and up. This class used to be called Formula A and has changed since January 2007 when CIK- FIA decided to replace the 100 cc water-cooled two-stroke engines with 125 cc Touch-a ...
engines are electronically limited at 16,000 rpm. Most are water-cooled today; however, previously air-cooled engines dominated the sport. * While
electric motor An electric motor is an electrical machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a wire winding to generate f ...
s have been used in low-performance amusement park karts for some time - particularly in indoor applications where fumes are a concern - higher-performance competitive racing karts are now becoming commercially available. For instance, manufacturer Blue Shock Racing offers a range of electric karts for both junior and senior competitors with performance comparable to combustion-powered karts, and has held race series for them. Combustion kart engine maker Rotax also offers an electric kart motor and has held racing events for karts fitted with it.


Transmission

Purpose of transmission: There are three reasons for having a transmission in the automotive power train or drive train. The transmission can: * Provide torque needed to move the vehicle under a variety of road and load conditions. It does this by changing the gear ratio between the engine crankshaft and vehicle drive wheel. * Be shifted into reverse so the vehicle can move backward. * Be shifted into neutral for starting the engine and running it without turning the drive wheels. Karts do not have a differential. The lack of a differential means that one rear tire must slide while cornering. This is achieved by designing the chassis so that the inside rear tire lifts up slightly when the kart turns the corner. This allows the tire to lose some of its grip and slide or lift off the ground completely. Power is transmitted from the engine to the rear axle by a chain. Both engine and axle
sprocket A sprocket, sprocket-wheel or chainwheel is a profiled wheel with teeth that mesh with a chain, track or other perforated or indented material. The name 'sprocket' applies generally to any wheel upon which radial projections engage a chain pas ...
s are removable. Their ratio must be adapted to the track configuration to obtain the most performance from the engine. In the early days, karts were direct drive, requiring push starts. The inconvenience of that configuration led to the
centrifugal clutch A centrifugal clutch is an automatic clutch that uses centrifugal force to operate. The output shaft is disengaged at low rotational speed and engages more as speed increases. It is often used in mopeds, underbones, lawn mowers, go-karts, chains ...
for the club level classes. Dry centrifugal clutches are now used in many categories; Rotax Max is one example. They have become the norm as the top international classes have switched to 125 cc clutch-equipped engines as of January 2007.


Tires

Wheels and
tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a Rim (wheel), wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide Traction (engineering), t ...
s are much smaller than those used on a normal car. Wheels are made of
magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ...
alloy,
aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...
, or
composite material A composite material (also called a composition material or shortened to composite, which is the common name) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or ...
s. Tires can support cornering forces in excess of 2 g (20 m/s²), depending on chassis, engine, and motor setup. Some car tire manufacturers, such as
Bridgestone is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japa ...
, Dunlop, and
Maxxis Cheng Shin Rubber Industry Co. () is a Taiwanese and the ninth largest tire company in the world. Established in 1967, in Yuanlin City, Changhua County, Taiwan, by Luo Jye. Maxxis Tyres and CST tires are wholly owned subsidiaries of Cheng Shin. ...
make tires for karts. There are also specific kart tire manufacturers, which include MG, Vega, MOJO, LeCont, Cobra, Hoosier and Burris. Similarly to other motorsports, kart tires have different types for use appropriate to track conditions: * Slicks, for dry track. Slick kart tires come in many different compounds, from very soft (maximum grip) to very hard (amusement and rental karts, less grip but long life span). In international level racing, because the drivers are free to choose their tires and because of the short duration of each round (10 to 20 minutes maximum), these are some of the softest tires found in motorsport. * Rain tires, or "wets", for wet weather. They are grooved, made of soft compound, and are narrower than slicks. Not all racing classes allow rain tires. * Special, such as spiked tires for icy conditions, or "cuts/grooved" for high grip dirt/clay speedways. Cuts are slicks modified with a
lathe A lathe () is a machine tool that rotates a workpiece about an axis of rotation to perform various operations such as cutting, sanding, knurling, drilling, deformation, facing, and turning, with tools that are applied to the workpiece ...
to optimize handling. Tire manufacturers such as Hoosier and Burris also make a slightly larger grooved tire only used in dirt track racing.


Data acquisition

As in other motor sports, several data acquisition systems have been developed for kart racing. These systems allow the driver to monitor from a display fixed on the steering wheel some parameters such as RPM, timing of laps (including sectors), number of laps, best lap, cooling system temperature, exhaust gas temperature and sometimes speed or even gear for shifter karts. Some of those systems are able to record (logging) laps data from the sensors, allowing replay of an entire running session or/and direct download to a personal computer equipped with a data analysis software. More sophisticated systems allow for more information such as lateral and longitudinal acceleration (
g-force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measur ...
), throttle position, steering wheel position and brake pressure.


Racing

Kart racing is generally accepted as the most economic form of
motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of t ...
available on four wheels. As a free-time activity, it can be performed by almost anybody, and as a motorsport in itself, it is one of the sports regulated by
FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...
(under the name of CIK), permitting licensed racing for anyone from the age of 8 onward. In the United States, there is not as much FIA involvement; instead, many organizations regulate racing, such as the IKF ( International Kart Federation), WKA (
World Karting Association The World Karting Association, or WKA, is the largest sanctioning body for kart racing in North America. The WKA was founded in 1971 and is located directly behind Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The WKA is believed to curre ...
), KART (Karters of America Racing Triad), USPKS (United States Pro Karting Series) SKUSA (SuperKartsUSA). In the UK, the
Motor Sports Association Motorsport UK, formerly known as the Motor Sports Association (MSA), is a national membership organisation and governing body for four-wheel motorsport in the United Kingdom. Legally, it is a not-for-profit private company limited by guarantee. ...
(MSA) regulates most "owner driver" Karting. Some associations, such as
NatSKA NatSKA (The National Schools and Youth Group Karting Association) was formed over forty years ago in the north east, by a group of like minded people intent on making motorsport accessible to schoolchildren. One of their primary objectives was to ...
(National Schools Karting Association), organize race meetings throughout the country under the authority of the MSA. Various four-stroke "hire kart" series such as EPEC (European Prokart Endurance Championship) or BRKC (British Rental Kart Championship) fall outside the governance of the MSA. Billed as the UK's first national karting ''league'', the Elite Karting League also falls outside of MSA governance. In Australia, kart racing is administered by the one of the following Karting bodies: *
Australian Auto Sport Alliance The Australian Auto-Sport Alliance (AASA) is an organisation that promotes and administers motorsport in Australia founded in 2003. The AASA formed due to dissatisfaction with the governing body of Australian motorsport, the Confederation of Austr ...
- 6 clubs *
Australian Independent Dirt Kart Association Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...
- 19 clubs * Australian Kart Racers Alliance - 3 clubs *
Karting Australia Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
- 6 state associations (previously known as Australian Karting Association granted rights for
CIK-FIA The Commission Internationale de Karting (CIK or CIK-FIA) is the primary international sanctioning body for kart racing. It was founded in 1962, and is headquartered in Paris, France. In 2000, it joined with the FIA. Its most important event is the ...
racing via Motorsport Australia) *
Karting NSW Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on fu ...
- 24 clubs, separated from Australian Karting Association in 2019 *
Speedway Karting Association of Australia Speedway may refer to: Racing Race tracks *Edmonton International Speedway, also known as Speedway Park, a former motor raceway in Edmonton, Alberta *Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a motor raceway in Speedway, Indiana Types of races and race cours ...
- 16 clubs *
Wheatbelt Dirt Karting Association Wheatbelt or wheat belt may refer to: * Wheatbelt (Australia), areas of Australia where wheat has been produced ** Wheatbelt (Western Australia), one of the nine regions of Western Australia * Wheat belt (North America), the part of North America ...
- 4 clubs * Unaffiliated - 8 clubs Racing classes start at age 7 or 8 (5 in the United States with "Kid Karts") and generally run in 3-year age groupings or weight divisions until "senior" status is reached at age 15 or 16, depending on the series.


Racing formats

Typically, race formats are one of the following:


Sprint

Sprint racing takes place on dedicated kart circuits resembling small road courses, with left and right turns, Hair Pins, Chicanes, short and Long Straight a ways. Tracks range from 1/4-mile (400 metres) to over 1 mile (1,600 metres) in length. The sprint format is a series of short-duration races, normally for a small number of laps, that qualify for a final which last 20 minutes or more, with a variety of point scoring calculations to determine the event's overall winner. Typical duration does not normally exceed 25 minutes. Here, speed and successful passing is of the most importance. It normally occurs in the format of qualifying, one to three heats and a final race for trophy positions. Sprint Racing in the United States and Canada are held at three primary levels, Club Racing (local races at purpose built tracks), Regional Racing - Like the California Pro Kart Challenge, The Texas Sprint Racing Series, The Florida based Sunshine Karting Championship Series, Route 66 in the Midwest and the F1 Gear Up Challenge in the Northeast. National Level Karting Takes Place across North America in Dedicated National Series, Like The SKUSA Pro Tour, The USPKS Championship Series, WKA Manufactures Cup and the ROK CUP USA. The SKUSA Pro Tour Championship is one of the most coveted and the SKUSA Super Nats Event Held in Las Vegas annually is one of the Largest Kart Races in the world attracting drivers from every continent. The SKUSA SuperNats event has been run continuously for 25 years now and a SuperNats win is considered a legendary win in Karting circles. The
FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backs ...
championships, including the
Karting World Championship The Karting World Championship is a kart racing competition organised by the Commission Internationale de Karting, CIK-Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA. It is held annually since 1964, and is karting's flagship event. The FIA (In ...
, SKUSA SuperNats and all SKUSA Pro Tour, USPKS and ROK Cup USA Nationals take place in this format. Sprint Racing can be held at a Dedicated Purpose Built Track (most of which also rent Club Karts for family fun) and Sprint races are also held at kart tracks that exist at many major auto sports complex's like Daytona International Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Pittsburgh Race Complex, NOLA Motorsports in New Orleans, Homestead Motor Speedway and Road America to name a few. Sprint races are also held at Temporary Kart Circuits that can be built in Parking areas at Large Stadiums and Casinos throughout the United States. Additionally there are "Street Races" where racing is taking place on city streets on temporary circuits like some of the Indy car races.


Endurance

Endurance races last for an extended period, ranging from 30 minutes up to 24 hours or more, for one or more drivers. In general, consistency, reliability, and pit strategy is of greater importance than all out speed. Called "enduro" racing in the United States, most WKA and IKF sanctioned events typically last 30 minutes (sprint enduro) or 45 minutes (laydown enduro) and are run continuously without pit stops. Enduro events are held on full-size road racing circuits that are usually between 1.5 and 4 miles in length. As well as the famous
24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...
race for automobiles there is also a 24-hours event for karts which takes place at the kart circuit Alain Prost at
Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...
, France. This race has taken place since 1986 and its winners list include four-time
Champ Car Champ Car World Series (CCWS) was the series sanctioned by Open-Wheel Racing Series Inc., or Champ Car, a sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing that operated from 2004 to 2008. It was the successor to Championship Auto Racing Teams ...
champion Sébastien Bourdais (in 1996). Endurance racing is also considered a more affordable way of getting into karting. In South Africa, the 24 Hours of Karting Festival race is held annually and lasts 24 hours with multiple classes participating. This event is hosted by the Prokart SSS Club near Johannesburg. The most popular class runs the Honda GX390 four-stroke engine, which is both affordable and durable, keeping running costs to a minimum. The Prokart Super Single Series, also known as Prokart SSS, has been running for more than 20 years and has proven to be a very popular entry platform for drivers of all ages who want to get into karting. Many clubs worldwide have taken on four-stroke endurance karting for this reason, since two-stroke karting can be very expensive.


Speedway

Speedway racing takes place on
asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...
or clay oval tracks which are normally between 1/10-mile and 1/4-mile long. Tracks primarily consist of two straights and four left-turn corners, few tracks are symmetric and often the shape parallels that of an egg or a
tri-oval A tri-oval is a shape which derives its name from the two other shapes it most resembles, a triangle and an oval. Rather than meeting at sharp, definable angles as the sides of a triangle do, in a tri-oval these angles are instead rounded into s ...
. "Offset" kart chassis have been developed for precise handling and adjustability in left-turn-only racing competition taking place on oval and tri-oval tracks. Depending on the track material, different tires are used on the kart. Speedway kart races range in length from 4 laps for a trophy dash, to 20 laps for a main event. The two chief racing formats used in dirt speedway karting are heat races and timed laps qualification: *The International Kart Federation (IKF) runs a racing format of two 10 lap heats followed by a 20 lap final. Finishing positions in the two heat races are used to calculate the starting position in the feature race. *The
World Karting Association The World Karting Association, or WKA, is the largest sanctioning body for kart racing in North America. The WKA was founded in 1971 and is located directly behind Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The WKA is believed to curre ...
(WKA) uses time qualifying. Karts equipped with transponders are sent out onto the track in groups of 5 or less to try to achieve the fastest lap time. Positions for the 20 laps feature event are determined by qualifying time. *The American Kart Racing Association (AKRA) uses group transponder qualifying to calculate starting positions for 20-lap features.


Racing categories

There are many different classes in kart. One of the fastest growing in the United States is Lo206. The general classes are 125cc Shifter, 100cc tag, 125cc tag and then the X30 equivalents of these karts.


International

The
CIK-FIA The Commission Internationale de Karting (CIK or CIK-FIA) is the primary international sanctioning body for kart racing. It was founded in 1962, and is headquartered in Paris, France. In 2000, it joined with the FIA. Its most important event is the ...
sanctions international championships in OK, OKJ, KZ1,
KZ2 KZ2 is a kart racing class using 125 cc water-cooled two-stroke engines yielding about . The engines are equipped with a 6-speed gearbox. Z2 is the second fastest of the KZ karting racing categories, and technical regulations are similar to faster ...
and Superkart. These are regarded as the top-level classes of karting and are also raced in national championships worldwide. The
World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
is decided here. In May 2019 it held the international under-15 championship. The driver who finished first overall was Vlad Sputzki (Russia) followed by Daniel Smith (England) and then followed by Maximilien Blank (Australia) CIK-FIA categories: *OK (the top level) and OKJ for a younger age group. All are using the same water-cooled no-gearbox 125 cc "long life" two-stroke engines, which are direct drive, each with different technical specifications covering mufflers, air boxes, carburetor, speed limiters, etc. *KZ1 and KZ2, both 125 cc gearbox categories. *Superkart, a 250 cc gearbox category. Non CIK-FIA categories: The Kart World Championship (or KWC) as opposed to the FIA's "Karting World Championship" uses 4-stroke rental karts and travels to a different country each year.


National

In the UK, the most celebrated karting series is the National karting series, also known as Super One. There are three types of Super One championships: *MSA series: KF2,
KF3 OK-Junior is a kart racing class for top drivers aged 11 to 15 (drivers must reach the age of 12 within the first semester of calendar year). This class used to be called Junior Intercontinental A (JICA or ICA-J) and has changed since January 200 ...
, Formula KGP, Super Cadet, Cadet & Bambino * Rotax series: Minimax, Junior Max, Senior Max, Senior Max 177 * TKM series: Formula Junior TKM, Formula TKM Extreme, TKM Senior 4-stroke and since 2006, Honda Cadet Other UK National Championships include:
Birel Birel S.p.A. of Lissone (near Milan, Italy) started building karts in the late 1950s after many years as a bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-tr ...
BirelART series UK: Cadet 60cc, Junior 100cc, Senior Light 125cc, Senior Heavy 125cc The BRKC is the UK's rental karting National championship, and the UK's official feeder series to the rental Kart World Championship.
NatSKA NatSKA (The National Schools and Youth Group Karting Association) was formed over forty years ago in the north east, by a group of like minded people intent on making motorsport accessible to schoolchildren. One of their primary objectives was to ...
is a budget karting association set up for schools and youth groups in the UK, with 13 classes. In the United States, Dirt oval classes (which often use
Briggs & Stratton Briggs & Stratton Corporation is an American manufacturer of gasoline engines with headquarters in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. Engine production averages 10 million units per year as of April 2015. The company reports that it has 13 large facili ...
industrial engines) are prominent in the Southeast and Midwest. In the West, European style sprint racing is much more common. In particular, 125cc shifter karts using Honda CR125 power units have gained tremendous popularity in recent years. In Australia, classes include Cadet (previously called Midget),Junior KA4, Junior KA3, X30, KZ2, Senior KA3, Senior TAG (Restricted and Unrestricted). Most classes run a light and heavy category. Many people race worldwide in Spec series such as X30 125cc (a TaG class).


Racing licences

As in other disciplines in motorsports, a license is required to drive a racing kart on a circuit or enter competitions. The licenses, issued by governing bodies, are provided by clubs or associations. Basic insurance coverage is usually included in the licence annual fee. In some countries, such as
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, regulations require the drivers to pass a medical exam each year. License classes differ between countries according to age groups or levels. Most of the time a Practice License can be easily obtained, while a Racing License might require a capability assessment.


Driver equipment

For their safety, kart drivers are required to wear proper equipment: * Full-face helmet ( Snell SA2005 or K2005 certification is required for racing, K2005 is same as SA2005 without fire resistance) * Driving suit (abrasion resistant overalls with at least one Cordura external layer, CIK-FIA Level 2 homologation for top level racing) * Gloves * Driving boots (ankles must be covered) Rib protector,
racing balaclava In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific ...
and neck brace, although highly recommended, are optional in most countries. None of the above need to be made of fire retardant material. Superkart drivers are required to wear leather overalls, similar to those used in
motorcycling Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motorized transportation, and small- displacement motorcycles are the most common motor vehicle in the most populous c ...
.


As a learning tool

Kart racing is usually used as a low-cost and relatively safe way to introduce drivers to motor racing. Drivers can start at the age of 6 in the Motorsport UK Bambino Championship,KartingForum.co.u
"UK Bambino Championship - Cost effective starter class for 6-8 year olds!"
'' KartingForum.co.uk'', Essex, 16 December 2019. Retrieved on 1 January 2020.
and even from the age of 5 in the Bambino Kart Club Championship. Many
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
drivers grew up racing karts, most prominent among them being
World Champions A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...
Ayrton Senna Ayrton Senna da Silva (; 21 March 1960 – 1 May 1994) was a Brazilian racing driver who won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in , , and . Senna is one of three Formula One drivers from Brazil to win the World Championship and ...
,
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
,
Alain Prost Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French retired racing driver and Formula One team owner. A four-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, from 1987 until 2001 he held the record for most Grand Prix victories until Micha ...
,
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
,
Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wor ...
,
Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super GT ...
,
Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mic ...
,
Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso, Red Bull, Ferrari, and Aston Martin. Vettel is one of the most successful drivers in Formula One histo ...
and
Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Belgian-Dutch racing driver and the 2021 and 2022 Formula One World Champion. He competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One with Red Bull Racing. Verstappen is the son of racing dr ...
. Many
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...
drivers also got their start in racing from karts, such as
Darrell Waltrip Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports analyst, author, former national television broadcaster, and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series dur ...
,
Danica Patrick Danica Sue Patrick (; born March 25, 1982) is an American former professional racing driver. She is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel car racing—her victory in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 is the only win by a woman i ...
, Ricky Rudd,
Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver. He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech ...
,
Tony Stewart Anthony Wayne Stewart (born May 20, 1971), nicknamed Smoke, is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, current NASCAR team co-owner of Stewart-Haas Racing, and current co-owner of the Superstar Racing Experience. He is ...
, and
Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American former professional stock car racing driver, who is the Vice Chairman for Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, driving the No. 24 Chevrolet for Hendrick M ...
. In August 2009, in anticipation to a possible return to F1 with
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
,
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
world champion
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
did some preparation driving a kart in Lonato, Italy. Schumacher also raced at the SKUSA SuperNationals, an event taking place each year in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...
, along with F1 drivers Sébastien Buemi and
Nelson Piquet Jr. Nelson Angelo Tamsma Piquet Souto Maior (born July 25, 1985), also known as Nelson Piquet Junior or Nelsinho Piquet, is a Brazilian stock car racing driver and former Formula One and Formula E driver where he was champion in the 2014–15 seaso ...
Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (, born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver. He competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between 2002 and 2017, where he scored 11 Grand Prix victories, 41 podiums and finished as championship runner-up in 2008 by one point ...
also used karting in September 2009 to test his condition in Brazil, two months after his
Hungarian Grand Prix The Hungarian Grand Prix ( hu, Magyar Nagydíj) is a motor racing event held annually in Mogyoród. Since 1986, the race has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. History Origins The first Hungarian Grand Prix was held on 2 ...
accident during qualifying.Felipe Massa takes wheel for first time since accident
– ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
'', 29 September 2009


Recreational, concession and indoor karts


See also

* Kart circuit *
Kart manufacturers Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...
*
List of kart racing championships The following is a list of kart racing championships. World championships * Karting World Championship * KZ1 World Championships * KZ2 International Supercups Continental championships * KZ1 European Champions * KZ2 European Championships ...
Related: * ''
Capeta ''Capeta'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masahito Soda. The manga won the Kodansha Manga Award for the '' shōnen'' category in 2005. The series consists of three separate arcs. The first is about Capeta's first exp ...
'' *
Crosskart Crosskart or off-road kart is a type of kart racing that takes place on autocross, rallycross, dirt oval or ice racing tracks instead of on paved tracks. Competitions take place in classes that are based on cylinder volume (125 cc, 250 cc, or ...
*
Go-kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performance racing ...
*
Kart racing game A kart racing game, also known as cart racing game or go-kart racing game, is a subgenre of racing video games. Kart racing games have simplified driving mechanics while including unusual racetrack designs, obstacles, and vehicular combat. Tho ...
* Micro kart * Small engine * Superkart


References


External links


KartingForum.co.uk
Your #1 Karting Community!
Karting Classifieds
Karts and Karting related items for sale or wanted.
Kart Directory UK
The Home For British Karters.
Kartpulse
a worldwide resource for new and existing kart racers. * Governing Bodies:
Motorsport UK Bambino Championship
- Motorsport UK Bambino Championship
corporate sports league web site

CIK-FIA web site

MSA – Motor Sports Association
– Governing body for motor sports in Great Britain
IKF – International Kart Federation
– Governing body for the sport of kart racing in the US, mainly West Coast
WKA – World Karting Association
– Governing body for karting in the US, mainly East Coast
AKRA – American Kart Racing Association
– Governing body for speedway oval karting in the US
AKA – Australian Karting Association
– Governing body for karting in Australia
ASN Canada
– Governing body for kart racing in Canada
NatSKA – National Association of Schools and Youth Group Karting – UK

VKA – Vintage Karting Association
– Association for support of karts from karting's 1956 inception to 1975 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kart Racing Open wheel racing American inventions Sports car racing Sports originating in the United States