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.
Unlike regular race tracks intended for auto racing or other forms of motorsports, kart circuits are usually much shorter in length, narrower, and contains numerous turns or corners.
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 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, a prestigious event for young drivers taking place each year in the city of Monaco, and the SKUSA SuperNationals, taking place in Las Vegas at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino. [1]
A long circuit is defined as being an outdoor circuit of more than 1,500 m in length. [2] Typically they are shared for other motorsport and only have gearbox kart races.
This type of event can see karts (Superkart) reach speeds in excess of 160 mph (250 km/h).
Normally for casual racers, the indoor circuits can be in any closed space (often old factories), sometimes with a short outdoor section to add interest. Normally they have their own fleet of Go-karts or micro karts, 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, Dortmund. [3]
In this category fall the dirt-tracks, oval tracks and ice rinks.
Karting is international and most countries have kart specific racing circuits. Notable[ ambiguous ] examples are included below.
Italy
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using 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 most drivers of the Formula One—including Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Ayrton Senna, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen, and Fernando Alonso—having begun their careers in karting.
Motorsport(s) or motor sport(s) are sporting events, competitions and other activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles. Historically, these terms have encompassed sporting use of other vehicles with a motor, including motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. Today, more specific terms are commonly used for these sports, such as motorcycle sport, power boating and air sports.
A race track is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals. A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also used in the study of animal locomotion.
Sprint cars are high-powered open-wheel race cars, designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Historically known simply as "big cars," distinguishing them from "midget cars," sprint car racing is popular primarily in the United States and Canada, as well as in Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on public roads. However, public safety concerns eventually led to most races being held on purpose-built racing circuits.
Superkart is a form of motorsport road racing that uses karts on long circuits.
Oval track racing is a form of motorsport that is contested on an oval-shaped race track. An oval track differs from a road course in that the layout resembles an oval with turns in only one direction, and the direction of traffic is almost universally counter-clockwise. Oval tracks are dedicated motorsport circuits, used predominantly in the United States. They often have banked turns and some, despite the name, are not precisely oval, and the shape of the track can vary.
A go-kart, also written as go-cart, 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 karts. Karting is a type of racing in which a compact four-wheel unit called a go-kart is used. In the beginning, Art Ingels invented the first go-kart in Los Angeles in 1956.
The World Karting Association, or WKA, is the largest sanctioning body for kart racing in North America. The WKA was founded in 1971 and is located directly behind Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. The WKA is believed to currently have approximately 5,000 members. Over 50,000 people have been WKA members since the organization's inception in 1971.
The motorcycle sport of racing includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and land speed record trials.
Birmingham Wheels Park is a now closed dedicated Wheeled-sports park with a short-track oval motor racing circuit, MSA approved kart circuit, drifting arenas, off-road rally stage and the UK's only purpose-built outdoor speed-skating arena. The site is in the Bordesley Green area of Birmingham, England. Formerly run by a Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee, and controlled by Birmingham City Council, it is now closed and planned for redevelopment.
Queensland Raceway nicknamed "the paperclip" is a motor racing circuit located at Willowbank in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. The circuit did host Supercars Championship until 2019, drifting as well as club level racing and ride days.
Motorsport is a popular spectator sport in Australia, although there are relatively few competitors compared to other sports due to the high costs of competing. The oldest motorsport competition in Australia is the Alpine Rally which was first staged in 1921 followed by the Australian Grand Prix, first staged in 1928. The most widely watched motorsport category is Supercars, especially at the Bathurst 1000. Other classes in Australia include Australian GT, Formula 3 and Formula Ford, Superbikes, as well as various forms of speedway racing.
İzmit Körfez Circuit is a motor sports race track about 17 km (11 mi) west of İzmit, in Körfez district of Kocaeli Province, Turkey. Sponsored by the Turkish Automobile Sports Federation (TOSFED) and built by the Istanbul Motorsports Club (İMK), it was inaugurated in 1993 as the first asphalted race track in Turkey. The venue is home to motor sport races in various categories.
Daytona Motorsport Ltd is a motorsports company that owns and runs karting circuits in Milton Keynes, Manchester, Sandown Park and Tamworth.. It caters for drivers aged 6–80 years old and holds monthly "Inkart" championships. Graduates from the individual circuits include Formula First champion Alex Kapadia, Ginetta Junior driver William Tregurtha, Formula Renault race winner Ivan Taranov, as well as Robert Huff and Howard Fuller. British GT driver Jordan Albert also originated from this track, as well as several established Super One drivers.
Raceway Venray, formerly known as Circuit de Peel, is a motorsport racing circuit in Venray, Netherlands. The track consists of a banked half mile oval with a flat quarter mile oval inside and features a karting track using portions of both along with dedicated sections. The track host its own local championships, national championships in cooperation with the Midland Circuit in Lelystad and Circuit de Polderputten in Ter Apel.
Trenton Estep is an American professional racing driver. Estep grew up racing karts from the age of 4 years old in New Braunfels, Texas. He competed in various karting competitions such as SKUSA Pro Tour, Florida Winter Tour, US Open and Rotax Grand Finals in Portugal. In 2016 he made the transition from karts to open wheel cars. He entered the Formula Tour F1600, Canadian F1600 Super Series and F1600 Championship Series winning two Championships. He also ran in the opening round of the Redbull Global Rallycross Championship in Phoenix Arizona. In 2017 Estep made his transition from open wheel to cars in the North American Porsche GT3 Cup Series, with JDX Racing. Estep finished on podium 11 of 16 races with multiple wins placing 3rd in the Porsche GT3 Cup Championship. In 2018 he returned to the Porsche GT3 Cup series with JDX Racing with renewed sponsorship by Hertz Global along with a new sponsor Byers Porsche of Columbus Ohio. Estep went on to finish on Podium in 14 of 16 races winning the 2018 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Championship. A final honor to end his season was being chosen by Porsche Motorsports to attend the Porsche Junior Programme Shootout in Le Castellet at Circuit Paul Ricard. Estep was only 1 of 11 and the youngest at age 18 of the top Porsche drivers from all over the world under the age of 25 to receive the exclusive invite. At the end of the 2022 Porsche Carrera Cup North America season Trenton was chosen by Porsche Motorsport North America as a "Porsche Selected Driver" for 2023. Starting in 2019 through present Trenton is a professional driver coach and driver for MDK Motorsports based in Pataskala Ohio.
Parker B. Chase is an American professional racing driver who competes full-time in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Michelin Pilot Challenge and driving the No. 98 Hyundai Veloster N TCR for Bryan Herta Autosport and part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driving the No. 24 Toyota Supra for Sam Hunt Racing. He has experience in sports car and stock car racing, including racing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and ARCA Menards Series.
Matthew A. Jaskol is an American professional auto racing driver and spotter who has competed in a variety of disciplines including kart, open-wheel, and stock car racing. He last competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 13 Toyota Supra for MBM Motorsports. Jaskol won the 2016 Indianapolis 500 as a spotter for Alexander Rossi.
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