Kart racing
Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using 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 full-size motorsport circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher ranks of motorsports. Most modern Formula One drivers, including Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, and Max Verstappen, have begun their racing careers in karting. NASCAR Cup driver Connor Zilisch also got his start in karting.
Karts vary widely in speed, and some 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 in 1956. Early karting events were held in the Rose Bowl Stadium 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.. In 1959, McCulloch was the first company to produce engines for karts. Its first engine, the McCulloch MC-10, was an adapted chainsaw two-stroke engine. Later, in the 1960s, motorcycle engines were also adapted for kart use, before dedicated manufacturers, especially in Italy, started to build engines for the sport.
First ever Karting World Championship was held in 1964. First ever Karting European Championship was held in 1972.
Racing
Kart racing is generally accepted as the most economical form of motorsport 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, 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, WKA, KART, USPKS SKUSA.
In the UK, the Motor Sports Association regulates most "owner driver" Karting. Some associations, such as NatSKA, organize race meetings throughout the country under the authority of the MSA.
Various four-stroke "hire kart" series such as EPEC or BRKC 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 one of the following Karting bodies:
- Australian Auto Sport Alliance - 6 clubs
- Australian Independent Dirt Kart Association - 19 clubs
- Australian Kart Racers Alliance - 3 clubs
- Karting Australia - 6 state associations
- Karting NSW - 24 clubs, separated from Australian Karting Association in 2019
- Speedway Karting Association of Australia - 16 clubs
- Wheatbelt Dirt Karting Association - 4 clubs
- Unaffiliated - 8 clubs
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, hairpins, chicanes, and short and long straightaways. Tracks range from 1/4-mile to over 1 mile 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, regional racing - like the , the , the Florida-based , in the Midwest, and the in the Northeast. National level karting takes place across North America in dedicated national series like the , the , and the . The SKUSA Pro Tour championship is one of the most coveted, and the 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, and a SuperNats win is considered a legendary win in karting circles.
The FIA championships, including the Karting World Championship, 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, and sprint races are also held at kart tracks that exist at many major auto sports complexes like Daytona International Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Pittsburgh International Race Complex, NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans, Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Road America. 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 races take place on city streets on temporary circuits like some of the IndyCar 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 or 45 minutes 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 race for automobiles there is also a 24-hours event for karts which takes place at the kart circuit Alain Prost at Le Mans, France. This race has taken place since 1986 and its winners list include four-time Champ Car champion Sébastien Bourdais.
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.
Street
Street racing karting is a high-intensity motorsport category run on temporary urban circuits built from public roads. These courses are tight, fast, and unforgiving, bordered by concrete walls, curbs, and city infrastructure rather than runoff areas. Races emphasize precision, bravery, and adaptability, with rapid direction changes and heavy braking zones. Famous events include the Quincy Grand Prix in Illinois, known for its long straights and park sections, and the Rock Island Grand Prix, one of the world’s largest street kart races. Internationally, notable street circuits include Macau-style city layouts, Monaco-inspired harbor courses, and historic European town-center races.Speedway
Speedway racing takes place on asphalt 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."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 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 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 uses group transponder qualifying to calculate starting positions for 20-lap features.
Racing categories
International
The CIK-FIA sanctions international championships in OK, OKJ, KZ1, KZ2 and Superkart. These are regarded as the top-level classes of karting and are also raced in national championships worldwide. The World Championship is decided here. In May 2019 it held the international under-15 championship. The driver who finished first overall was Vlad Sputzki followed by Daniel Smith and then followed by Maximilien BlankCIK-FIA categories:
- OK 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.
The Kart World Championship as opposed to the FIA's "Karting World Championship" uses 4-stroke rental karts and travels to a different country each year.