A kart circuit is a

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

designed for

kart racing 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 ...

or other forms of short length motor racing, such as small-scale motorcycle racing,

pocketbike racing Pocketbikes are small, two wheeled recreational vehicles approximately one-quarter the size of a regular motorcycles, and are powered by two-stroke cycle, two-stroke internal combustion engines of between 40 and 50 cc. Pocketbikes maintai ...

, or radio-controlled model racing. There are several types of kart circuit, depending on the type of use desired. Unlike regular race tracks intended for

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

or other forms of motorsports, kart circuits are usually much shorter in length, narrower, and contains numerous turns or corners.

Circuit types

Short circuit

A short circuit is defined as being an outdoor circuit of less than 1,500 meters in length . 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 generally allow sprint racing for both

gearbox Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...

and non-gearbox karts. Temporary circuits can be set in city streets or large parking lots for special events. This is the case for the

Junior Monaco Kart Cup The Junior Monaco Kart Cup was a kart racing event ruled by the CIK-FIA and organized by the Automobile Club de Monaco, it took place each year in Monaco. The event see young drivers compete with KF3 OK-Junior is a kart racing class for top dri ...

, a prestigious event for young drivers taking place each year in the city of

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

, and the SKUSA SuperNationals, taking place 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 Vegas ...

at the

Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino The Rio is a hotel and casino near the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States. It is owned by Dreamscape Companies LLC and operated by Caesars Entertainment. It includes a casino and 2,520 suites. It features a Brazilian theme based ...

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 Superkart is a form of motorsport road racing that uses karts on long circuits. The most obvious difference between a superkart and most other forms of kart is that they have full aerodynamic bodykits as well as having a longer wheel base than sp ...

) reach speeds in excess of 160 mph (250 km/h).

Indoor

Normally for casual racers, the indoor circuits can be in any closed space (often old

factories A factory, manufacturing plant or a production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. T ...

), sometimes with a short outdoor section to add interest. Normally they have their own fleet of

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

micro kart A micro kart is a small, one passenger mini go-kart. These karts typically have two-stroke engines, ranging in size from 22.5 cc to 85 cc, and putting out anywhere from 1.2 hp to over 20 hp, or an electric motor with rechargeable lithium ion batteri ...

s, chosen more for economy than out-and-out speed. In Europe, indoor karting is where most people will sample their first time in a kart. Indoor karting exploded across the UK in the 1990s and had a similar impact in European countries such as France and Belgium. It has made a lesser impact in the United States. Indoor karting still offers a competitive experience for all levels of racers. The world longest indoor circuit, the Highway Kart Racing GmbH, 1,600 meters, is located in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Dortmund.Die längste Indoor Kartbahn der Welt
- Highway Kart Racing

Others

In this category fall the dirt-tracks,

oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one ...

tracks and

ice rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...

Locations

Karting is international and most countries have kart specific racing circuits. Notable examples are included below. You can also find a comprehensiv
Kart Circuit Directory
powered b
JMWForecast
displayed on KartingForum.co.uk & JMWForecast. The Kart Circuit Directory also contains location, contact, events & live timing information. And localised weather forecasts for every circuit listed. ;Latvia * Swedbank kartodroms ;UK *

Bayford Meadows Bayford may refer to: ;People * Baron Bayford, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom * David Bayford (1739–1790), English surgeon * Dick Bayford (1885–1939), Australian rules footballer * James Bayford (1804–1871), English rower * Rober ...

Buckmore Park Kart Circuit Buckmore Park Kart Circuit is an MSA approved outdoor kart racing circuit located just off junction 3 of the M2 in Chatham, Kent, England. Until his death on 10 March 2017, it was owned by John Surtees, the only person to have won world Grand P ...

Daytona Motorsport Daytona Motorsport Ltd is a motorsports company that owns and runs karting circuits in Milton Keynes, Manchester, Sandown Park and Tamworth. (with a location previously in Lydd). It caters for drivers aged 6–80 years old and holds monthly "Ink ...

Rye House Kart Circuit Rye House Kart Circuit is a kart circuit, in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, England, and is adjacent to the Rye House Stadium. The circuit is one of the oldest in the country, and has been used by drivers including Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson and L ...

Mansell Raceway Kart Circuit

Clay Pigeon Raceway
;USA * K1 Speed * Pole Position Raceway
Phoenix Kart racing association
Italy *

South Garda Karting South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

* Circuito Internazionale Napoli *

Franciacorta Karting Track The territory of Franciacorta, from Latin "franchae curtes", which means "exempted from paying duties", is a section of the Province of Brescia in the Italian Region of Lombardy. Franciacorta is known for its wine production and includes world-f ...

* Adria International Raceway * Kartodromo La Conca

References

External links

CIK-FIA 2011 circuit regulation

List of karting tracks in the UK

List of karting tracks in the UK (grouped by location)

How to start Cadet Karting in the UK & Ireland

Orlando Kart Center world class kart track in Florida
*
List of karting tracks in the Netherlands
*
List of karting tracks in France

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Motorsport Weather Forecaster & Kart Circuit Directory Founder
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Venues Venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to: Locations * Venue (law), the place a case is heard * Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur * Music venue, place used for a concer ...

Kart 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 ...