About Karting

FUN & RALLY KARTING

It is about driving a specially constructed kart on any unsurfaced tracks and trails. Driving off-road karts is becoming a very popular recreation pass time.

Adventure seekers use karts to explore places off the beaten track, some prefer to use their karts on their farms and estates where it offers fast economical transport and adds excitement to the job of patrolling the estate.

Off-road karts are also used at amusement parks for driving around obstacle courses that are designed to offer drivers the thrills of climbing small hillocks, crossing ponds and driving through sand pits and over sand dunes.

A recent development in the world of off-road karting is the Rally karts. Rally karts are set up to be driven on dusty tracks similar to those driven on by rally cars. "Getting Sideways", is for real here. Rally karts are today also widelyused to train young drivers in the art of rally driving.

Because the tracks for this form of karting are not surfaced, costs are very low; a suitable plot is one with smooth and gradual ups and downs. The track is laid out to offer fast corners with lots of sliding opportunities. Small bumps or whoop-de- doosinmotocross parlance, adds to the fun. Safety is provided by building sloping mud barriers and by placing tyres on straight sections.

Rally karting offers a high return on a relatively low investment and offers excitement and safety. Tracks are courses of a mixture of slow and fast corners, bumps, jumps, slides, slush and bags of fun.

Also known as concession karts or arrive and drive karts, these karts are provided at karting centres for visitors who “arrive” there and “drive” them after paying a “rental” to the track at “concession” prices compared to if he/she had to purchase the kart.

Rental or hire karting is a form of entertainment where everyday people pay to drive go-karts around a surfaced track, in fixed time sessions or in sessions based upon a set number of laps. This charge varies from track to track.

Tracks that are located in areas where there is a large movement of people during leisure hours or those located where people holiday can expect to do well from having only a rental form of karting as the main attraction. Karting tracks outside of such locations run programs that provide a facility where aside from the entertainment seeking drivers, those serious about racing have karts and a track to improve skills.

Tracks need to in all cases provide their patrons a facility that is enjoyable to be at, with karts that are exciting to drive. Poorly maintained karts that are low on performance do not attract repeat clientele.

The experienced drivers look towards driving faster and more demanding karts, similarly, new drivers seek karts that will let them better existing track lap times. Where there is challenge, there is excitement! In a nutshell. No challenge - no achievement!!!

There is a gray area in many minds about rental karting and it's relation with racing. Karting as a sport is the most accessible form of motor sport that there is. Rental karting is a great concept and an inexpensive way for drivers to find out how well they rate and measure up against other drivers.

Rental karts are a good place to learn about racing and though different in many ways to race karts, have enough in common to give new karters a fair understanding of where they stand and what they need to do to improve. One aspect remains common to all open-wheel single seat racer including F1 cars - i.e. “if you are not smooth or in control, you can easily overcook it and spin”.

RACE RENTAL OR ROOKIE KARTS

Surveys conducted at Karting Tracks in the USA as well as across Europe and the UK have found that track length is not the criteria that brings repeat everyday and weekend business and excitement to a track. To quote, "it's not the length of the track, it's the speed and the drivability of the kart that brings repeat business".

Karts with the feel of Race karts have opened a new segment of rental karts that bridge the very wide gap that lies between a rental and a race kart called the Race Rental kart. These are specifically designed to bring the excitement to drivers who have passed the rental karts stage at most tracks.

KART RACING

Kart racing is acknowledged as the first and most important rung on the ladder to other forms or disciplines of motor racing. It is a fact that 90 percent of the drivers racing today in Formula 1 have a background in championship competition karting. Most of the drivers running at the top of the grids started karting at an age as early as 5 years and most of them raced before they turned 8.

Kart racing has a very systematically planned platform for drivers seeking to make a career in motor racing. It caters to different age groups, different levels of racing and speed and different levels of driver skills through a sensible licensing system.

Competition karting around the world is governed by the FIA licensed commission the CIK. The CIK draws parameters that govern competition karting at all the levels to ensure that it is safe and fair. The CIK is represented in most countries at National competitions by ASNs of the FIA, these are the National Governing Body for motor sport in every country.

In most countries, there are four age categories that race:

Kid Class	5 years to 7 years
Cadet Class	8 years to 12 years
Junior Class	13 years to 15 years
Senior Class	16 years and above

Similarly, racing starts at different levels, the Closed Club (or local track) level being the most popular. Drivers performing well at Club events move to Invitation Club events and Open Club events testing their skills against drivers of similar skill levels from other clubs. Drivers who achieve the desired results in Club events then move into national karting events and finally progress to Zonal championships and CIK international events.

Drivers are segregated by their experience and race performance through a licensing system that begins at the club level and progresses through three different grades C, B & A of a national licence. Drivers are provided Driver Books where their progress is entered for every event they compete in. The next grade of license is issued upon the data in the Driver’s Book. After achieving a Grade ‘A’ national licence, the driver moves into the CIK Grade ‘C’ licence which permits him to race in CIK events internationally.

A driver looking seriously at climbing to the top of the ladder will need to understand that the time spent with kart racing can go into several years of diligent practice and competition gradually moving towards the international levels of the sport pitching skills against others looking to achieving the same goal.

A driver who reaches the level where he is comfortable in a fast racing kart will understand how different rental karts are to race karts. Race karts provide a level where fine-tuning and the driver’s mechanical skills will give him that extra edge over the competition. Where machinery and skill are similar, the difference is then measured in the “set up” difference between the karts. Set up is when a driver tunes his kart chassis to best utilise the power that his engine is producing. Set up means, adjusting tyre pressures, setting steering toe and camber, dialing in the centre of gravity to best suit the type of track and deciding how flexible the chassis should be. When all these parameters including the best engine output to suit the conditions is achieved, the kart is considered to be set up and will show a definite advantage over other similar karts.

The understanding of what is required to “set up” a kart makes the difference between a good driver and drivers like Senna and Michael Schumacher.