Getting in to go-karting?
Discussion
I have been go karting once or twice now and find endless fun and enjoyment from it, I also personally think I'm better than I expected to be!
I want to make it a proper hobby, get in to it on a competitive level and just enjoy it more than anything.
Where is best to start? I read about a place called club100 where you can do arrive and drive tournaments I think they are, where you needn't own your own equipment etc, which is ideal for me! However it is in Kent and I'm in Preston (North-West England).
Anyone any experience or pointers with this?
I want to make it a proper hobby, get in to it on a competitive level and just enjoy it more than anything.
Where is best to start? I read about a place called club100 where you can do arrive and drive tournaments I think they are, where you needn't own your own equipment etc, which is ideal for me! However it is in Kent and I'm in Preston (North-West England).
Anyone any experience or pointers with this?
Thanks for all the pointers so far, I'd just like to clarify though...
I don't think I'm the next Senna or something, not like some people seem to have decided I think haha. I just thought I dealt with the movement, car control and following the racing line better than I expected. I also crashed in the first lap of the championship race I did with my mates and drove to the point where I managed to finish first come the final lap haha.
I just want to take something I enjoy to a competitive level!
I don't think I'm the next Senna or something, not like some people seem to have decided I think haha. I just thought I dealt with the movement, car control and following the racing line better than I expected. I also crashed in the first lap of the championship race I did with my mates and drove to the point where I managed to finish first come the final lap haha.
I just want to take something I enjoy to a competitive level!
ChemicalChaos said:
I race club100 at the minute as part of the British Universities Championship.
I would definitely recommend making up a team (or joining a current team 1 person short) and having a go at some of their events first - it gives you a taste of proper karting on proper tracks, without the outlay for a kart and helmet/overalls of your own before you're certain you'd enjoy it.
Does club100 work as someone else previously mentioned, in the sense that it is run nationwide? I would definitely recommend making up a team (or joining a current team 1 person short) and having a go at some of their events first - it gives you a taste of proper karting on proper tracks, without the outlay for a kart and helmet/overalls of your own before you're certain you'd enjoy it.
Can you give me any pointers on who to talk to there or should I just call and ask about it/express my interest?
Truckosaurus said:
I believe the Club100 events are all around the country, they just have an office in Kent.
Still not much good if you don't want to travel huge distances at first.
I'd suggest finding your nearest 'proper' karting track (ie. not the Mickey Mouse indoor arrive'n'drive place) and seeing what more serious events they put on and then give that a try.
I assume from what you've said that the events are literally nationwide? Is there no series to a localised region, for say? Still not much good if you don't want to travel huge distances at first.
I'd suggest finding your nearest 'proper' karting track (ie. not the Mickey Mouse indoor arrive'n'drive place) and seeing what more serious events they put on and then give that a try.
Ruffy94 said:
Do Daytona still do an Inkart championship? that was always arrive and drive and i enjoyed the junior version as a kid. If they do there's a Daytona in manchester (i think). Let me know if you find/ can recommend any arrive and drive karting near Preston though, im up there for uni and have been tempted to have another go (especially now im a bit lighter these days...)
I've only ever been to a place in Euxton (near Chorley) it's called Extreme Karting UK, it's a really small track, but for a first experience it was wicked! Plenty of corners you can go flat out through and a lot you have to balance on. Bags of fun and cheap. However having knowledge of the size of circuits for tracks used in places like club100, it's really small. But a great intro, for me. The one that me and my friends are going to next is Trax (near the Docs). That's a lot bigger than Euxton and should be a lot more challenging, if you'll be in the area you could always come with us? Be great to have more people interested in motoring etc
CraigyMc said:
Arrive and drive rental kart championships in the UK really boils down to two; Club100 (C100) and Daytona DMax*
Club100 is a company that takes their own fleet of karts to various tracks throughout the year - there are 12 rounds (so, 12 weekends), but some tracks are visited twice in the same year so there are 8 tracks. The tracks are generally in the south east of England, although there is a trip to Llandow in Wales. The karts themselves are 2-stroke TKM-extreme 115cc powered Birel Chassis, circa 18bhp peak power.
I'd recommend doing a test day (these are often the day before a race event) to get your eye in, before going for a race. They drive totally differently to 4-stroke karts.
Web -> https://www.club100.co.uk
Daytona is a company that runs 4 tracks (Manchester, Tamworth, Milton Keynes, Sandown Park), of which the latter 3 are outdoor.
For the outdoor tracks they each have two fleets of karts - 4-stroke "Sodi RT8" 390cc Hondas and 2-stroke "Dmax" 125cc (which are actually Rotax junior-spec 22bhp engines on a Birel Chassis).
As well as offering arrive+drive practise sessions in both types of kart, and various race sessions in both types of kart, Daytona also have a couple of championships. In the Sodikarts, each track has a local championship called InKart, run generally on Sunday mornings.
Separately to all that, there's a Daytona Dmax championship. This runs a lot like the C100 championship in that it's a national series, visiting many tracks (not just the Daytona ones) and unsurprisingly uses the Dmax karts. There are 10 rounds in 2017.
https://www.daytona.co.uk/
https://www.daytona.co.uk/events/inkart-championsh...
https://www.daytonamax.co.uk/
Common to both:
DMax and C100 have similar crowds of people, and similar weight classes (C100 has classes for 75, 88 and 98kg - DMax has classes for 70, 85 and 97.5kg) - there are rules on how to add ballast to get to a certain weight, and rules about how much ballast you're allowed to add (so for example a 50kg driver can't add 48kg of ballast to get into the heavyweight class at either championship).
Prices for each event are similar - a round of C100 is about £175 per race, Dmax is about the same although Dmax has two championships in parallel (sprint racing made of 4x short heats, and a separate 1-hour enduro championship) - lots of people do both and discounts apply if you do both. DMax also has a membership scheme where if you plan to do several events your membership fee will be obviated by member-only discounts.
Both series use different timing systems than the tracks usual ones (both give each competitor a transponder for their exclusive use for that round, returnable at the end).
If you were to turn up at a Dmax or C100 round and be instantly winningly competitive you'd be doing something that -generally speaking- professional drivers cannot do - both championships have professionals for a round or two here and there and it's rare for them to make a big impression.
Daytona is probably easier to try out because they are generally open for testing every day at their own tracks. You can get your eye in on a 4-stroke, then try a 2-stroke.
C100 is a bit more "elite", but in the upper echelons of C100 the drivers are generally (my opinion) better than the Dmax standard guys.
In my experience, both championships have good driving standards at the front and sketchy driving standards at the back.
If you're new, you're more likely to be at the back with other new folk, and more likely to be punted off because of the lack of skill/red mist/"desperation"/"I have one tool to get past and that's advantage by contact" demonstrated by less experienced/skilled folk. Driving near the front tends to be a hell of a lot cleaner.
If you get past all of this, the next step up is buying an entry in a prepped kart at something like OEKC or similar -one round of which will set you back circa £800 for a prepared kart (you just turn up and drive). After that you're really talking about owner/driver and budgets.
*You can also look up covkartsport and NKL, but these are more localised.
S**t, that's a lot to take in!Club100 is a company that takes their own fleet of karts to various tracks throughout the year - there are 12 rounds (so, 12 weekends), but some tracks are visited twice in the same year so there are 8 tracks. The tracks are generally in the south east of England, although there is a trip to Llandow in Wales. The karts themselves are 2-stroke TKM-extreme 115cc powered Birel Chassis, circa 18bhp peak power.
I'd recommend doing a test day (these are often the day before a race event) to get your eye in, before going for a race. They drive totally differently to 4-stroke karts.
Web -> https://www.club100.co.uk
Daytona is a company that runs 4 tracks (Manchester, Tamworth, Milton Keynes, Sandown Park), of which the latter 3 are outdoor.
For the outdoor tracks they each have two fleets of karts - 4-stroke "Sodi RT8" 390cc Hondas and 2-stroke "Dmax" 125cc (which are actually Rotax junior-spec 22bhp engines on a Birel Chassis).
As well as offering arrive+drive practise sessions in both types of kart, and various race sessions in both types of kart, Daytona also have a couple of championships. In the Sodikarts, each track has a local championship called InKart, run generally on Sunday mornings.
Separately to all that, there's a Daytona Dmax championship. This runs a lot like the C100 championship in that it's a national series, visiting many tracks (not just the Daytona ones) and unsurprisingly uses the Dmax karts. There are 10 rounds in 2017.
https://www.daytona.co.uk/
https://www.daytona.co.uk/events/inkart-championsh...
https://www.daytonamax.co.uk/
Common to both:
DMax and C100 have similar crowds of people, and similar weight classes (C100 has classes for 75, 88 and 98kg - DMax has classes for 70, 85 and 97.5kg) - there are rules on how to add ballast to get to a certain weight, and rules about how much ballast you're allowed to add (so for example a 50kg driver can't add 48kg of ballast to get into the heavyweight class at either championship).
Prices for each event are similar - a round of C100 is about £175 per race, Dmax is about the same although Dmax has two championships in parallel (sprint racing made of 4x short heats, and a separate 1-hour enduro championship) - lots of people do both and discounts apply if you do both. DMax also has a membership scheme where if you plan to do several events your membership fee will be obviated by member-only discounts.
Both series use different timing systems than the tracks usual ones (both give each competitor a transponder for their exclusive use for that round, returnable at the end).
If you were to turn up at a Dmax or C100 round and be instantly winningly competitive you'd be doing something that -generally speaking- professional drivers cannot do - both championships have professionals for a round or two here and there and it's rare for them to make a big impression.
Daytona is probably easier to try out because they are generally open for testing every day at their own tracks. You can get your eye in on a 4-stroke, then try a 2-stroke.
C100 is a bit more "elite", but in the upper echelons of C100 the drivers are generally (my opinion) better than the Dmax standard guys.
In my experience, both championships have good driving standards at the front and sketchy driving standards at the back.
If you're new, you're more likely to be at the back with other new folk, and more likely to be punted off because of the lack of skill/red mist/"desperation"/"I have one tool to get past and that's advantage by contact" demonstrated by less experienced/skilled folk. Driving near the front tends to be a hell of a lot cleaner.
If you get past all of this, the next step up is buying an entry in a prepped kart at something like OEKC or similar -one round of which will set you back circa £800 for a prepared kart (you just turn up and drive). After that you're really talking about owner/driver and budgets.
*You can also look up covkartsport and NKL, but these are more localised.
Edited by CraigyMc on Tuesday 30th May 09:08
I think for the benefit of cost saving and that the season is half way in, I'm going to go on a couple more arrive and drive's with friends and in the meantime, contact Daytona.
Mainly because they are closest to me, being in the North West!
Thanks for all the information though, very helpful! Thank you
CraigyMc said:
It's got worse every year I've been involved (which is the last 15).
You can spend six figures a season running a Super1 entry. It's total madness.
To be competitive you're talking about five figures.
Base cost (not including a kart, mechanic, travel, testing, trailer, spare chassis/ multiple engines, test track hire, or any of the other commonplace stuff) is circa £4K but there are zero people doing it that cheaply.
The fact is that owner/driver at the top level is generally dominated by people with money to burn. A kid with less skill but ten times the testing hours will generally whip a talented kid with less experience. A kid who has had access to umpteen on-the-limit engines will (all things being equal) beat the one who has been running the same engine all season, purely through wear& tear and windage losses.
It's sad really, but money does buy success, on the whole.
Rental karting doesn't delete all of the above, and karts always do vary, but it makes it a more level playing field if everyone has the same chance of the rocket kart, or the snail kart, from whichever fleet it is.
With regards to the snail kart and rocket kart, what is that about? Especially at arrive and drive places, I'd have thought they'd ensure all karts are tuned evenly! You can spend six figures a season running a Super1 entry. It's total madness.
To be competitive you're talking about five figures.
Base cost (not including a kart, mechanic, travel, testing, trailer, spare chassis/ multiple engines, test track hire, or any of the other commonplace stuff) is circa £4K but there are zero people doing it that cheaply.
The fact is that owner/driver at the top level is generally dominated by people with money to burn. A kid with less skill but ten times the testing hours will generally whip a talented kid with less experience. A kid who has had access to umpteen on-the-limit engines will (all things being equal) beat the one who has been running the same engine all season, purely through wear& tear and windage losses.
It's sad really, but money does buy success, on the whole.
Rental karting doesn't delete all of the above, and karts always do vary, but it makes it a more level playing field if everyone has the same chance of the rocket kart, or the snail kart, from whichever fleet it is.
Having the snail kart automatically rules one out from winning a race, or at least in my limited experience it does
ChemicalChaos said:
Arrive and drive places do their best to keep the karts equal, but there are several factors against them. Firstly, not all of the fleet is in use at once, and though they try to mix up which karts get used in which session there will always be some that get more worn out than the others. Secondly, they have to deal with a lot of total cretins at arrive and drive sessions. The sort of cretins who stick it in the wall at full speed either through lack of skill or "cos it's funny, innit". As a result the majority of the karts are bent to differing degrees, and in differing ways.
One time at Teamsport Warrington I had a kart in the first session that would not turn in at all, and practically had to be handbrake-turned into the hairpins. The second session of the day saw me in a kart with the total opposite behaviour - very neat driving was required to stop it oversteering and losing me time in fast corners.
Ahhh, well I suppose that's to be assumed! One time at Teamsport Warrington I had a kart in the first session that would not turn in at all, and practically had to be handbrake-turned into the hairpins. The second session of the day saw me in a kart with the total opposite behaviour - very neat driving was required to stop it oversteering and losing me time in fast corners.
I certainly experienced my fair share of low torque karts, awful steering set up karts and the rocket kart! Haha!
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