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 full-size motorsport circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher ranks of motorsports, with many Formula One champions such as Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Ayrton Senna, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen, and Fernando Alonso having begun their careers in karting.
A kart circuit is a race track designed for kart racing or other forms of short length motor racing, such as small-scale motorcycle racing, pocketbike racing, or radio-controlled model racing. There are several types of kart circuit, depending on the type of use desired.
OK-Junior is a kart racing class for top drivers aged 11 to 15.
KF2, is a kart racing class for top drivers aged 14 and up.
Superkart is a form of motorsport road racing that uses karts on long circuits.
The Karting World Championship is a kart racing competition organised by the CIK-FIA. It is held annually since 1964, and is karting's flagship event. The FIA created the CIK in 1962. The Current President of the Championship is former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa
Formula racing is any of several forms of open-wheeled single-seater motorsport. The origin of the term lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single-seater regulations, or formulae. The best known of these formulae are Formula One, Formula E, Formula Two, Formula Three, regional Formula Three and Formula Four. Common usage of "formula racing" encompasses other single-seater series, including the GP2 Series, which replaced Formula 3000.
The Commission Internationale de Karting is the primary international sanctioning body for kart racing. It was founded in 1962, and is headquartered in Paris, France. In 2000, it joined with the FIA. Its most important event is the Karting World Championship.
The European KF1 Championship is a kart racing competition organised by the CIK-FIA.
KZ2 is a kart racing class using 125 cc water-cooled two-stroke engines yielding about 45 hp (34 kW). The engines are equipped with a 6-speed gearbox. Z2 is the second fastest of the KZ karting racing categories, and technical regulations are similar to faster KZ1 except that in KZ2 the gearbox must be "hand-operated and exclusively mechanical without a servo system", as well as the use of medium tires. Both the engine and chassis must be approved by the CIK-FIA racing governing commission. The class is open to drivers aged 15 years and up with the minimum weight being 175 kg, this includes the kart and driver.
KF1 is the top level of karting. It is open to drivers aged 15 and up.
An electric go-kart is a type of go-kart powered by electric motors and batteries, as opposed to a traditional petrol engine.
Matias Köykkä is a Finnish racing driver. He won the 2012 F1600 Championship Series.
FIA Formula 4, also called FIA F4, is an open-wheel racing car category intended for junior drivers. There is no global championship, but rather individual nations or regions can host their own championships in compliance with a universal set of rules and specifications.
Ben Barnicoat is a British racing driver who currently serves as a McLaren factory racing driver, while also competing in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship for Project 1 Motorsport. He has previously raced in the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship, and was a part of the McLaren young driver programme from 2010 to 2015.
Philo Paz Patric Armand is an Indonesian former racing driver.
Kang Ling is a Chinese racing driver.
Gustavo Menezes is an American racing driver, currently racing for Peugeot Sport in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Vitor Baptista is a Brazilian racing driver.
The CIK-FIA Karting European Championship is a kart racing competition organised by the CIK-FIA. Its inaugural season took place in 1972. Today, the series holds championships in four karting categories: KZ, KF2, OK and OKJ. Notable champions have been Alex Zanardi, Jos Verstappen, Giorgio Pantano, Jarno Trulli, Sébastien Buemi, Alexander Albon, George Russell, Lando Norris and Formula One World Champions Jenson Button, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen.
