Kart racing : go-karts

Kart racing or Karting is a variant of open wheeler motor sport with small four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are usually raced on scaled down circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as a stepping stone to higher and more expensive ranks of motorsports.

Karts vary in speed and some (Superkart) can reach speeds exceeding 160 mph (250 km/h). A Formula A kart, with a 100 cc 2 stroke engine and an overall weight including the driver of 150 kilograms, can accelerate from 0-60 mph in under 4.5 seconds, and has a top speed of 85 mph (140 km/h). It takes 3 seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph with a 125 cc shifter kart (6 gears), with top speed of 115 mph (185 km/h) on long circuits.

There are many different classes or formulae in karting. The FIA sanctions international championships in JICA, Intercontinental A, Formula A, Intercontinental C, Super ICC and Superkart.

Racing Formats
Sprint -
Endurance -
Speedway - Speedway racing takes place on asphalt or clay oval tracks which are normally between 1/6 mile and 1/4 mile long. Tracks primarily consist of two straight and four left-turn corners, few tracks are symmetric and often the shape parallels that of an egg or a tri-oval.

The average length for a serious racing track for karts is around 1,100 - 1,200 meters, 7 to 9 meters in width. Normally custom-built for karting, they resemble road courses, with left and right turns. They allow sprint racing for both gearbox and non gearbox karts.

Long circuit
A long circuit is defined as being an outdoor circuit of more than 1,500 m in length. Typically they are shared for other motorsport and only have gearbox kart races. This type of event can see karts (Superkart) reach speeds in excess of 160 mph (250 km/h). In the UK the main organiser is the British Superkart Racing Club.

Many Formula One racers grew up racing karts, most prominent among them Michael Schumacher, Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

UK Kart Circuits
Rye House Kart Raceway
Buckmore Park Kart Circuit
Lydd International Raceway
Camberley Kart Club
Kimbolton Kart Club
Carver Barracks Kart Club
Llandow Kart Club
Rowrah Kart Club
Clay Pigeon Kart Club
Shenington Kart Racing Club

CIK-FIA web site The Commission Internationale de Karting (CIK or CIK-FIA) is the primary international sactioning body for Kart racing

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