Go-karts
These scaled-down racers are the ideal start for anyone who wants to get into competitive racing
Fast vehicles, race tracks and intense competition – kart racing is for real thrill-seekers. With competitive karts reaching speeds in excess of 160 kilometres per hour, karting is a recognised motor sport that is often the gateway into other forms of professional racing. Many motor racing icons, including Formula One’s Lewis Hamilton and the Indy 500’s Danica Patrick, began their careers in karting.
The sport started in 1956, when Art Ingels and Lou Borelli built the first kart with a modified lawnmower engine. In 1957, the Gokart Manufacturing Company was established as karting became increasingly popular in the US. The craze soon spread to other countries, inspiring people to build their own homemade karts. Before long, the first official races were held, and clubs like the Grand Prix Kart Club of America and the International Karting Commission were established to monitor and promote the sport.
Today, the International Karting Commission is the largest regulating body of karting in the world, headed by former Formula One driver Felipe Massa. In the US, the sport is overseen by the World Karting Association, which has had over 50,000 members since it was founded in 1971.
The main type of kart used in competitive racing is a sprint because they are both fast and versatile enough to be used on a variety of different tracks. The other two types are endurance, which are the smallest and fastest of racing karts (usually averaging speeds of over 140 kilometres per hour during a race), and oval, which are built specifically to turn tight corners in one direction in order to tackle oval tracks, like those used in NASCAR racing.