UK Karting, Arrive and Drive and Open events

I think its worth saying initially, I am not a pro in terms of Karting, it’s safe to say I am probably not even very good. However, this is really part of the point of karting, it allows us mere mortals to experience some of the intense experiences and sensations that racing drivers feel even if we have not spend every waking hour and every penny of our parents money getting there. The kind of UK based karting I do is based around using karts provided by venues, this often means just doing what is know as “arrive and drive” where you simply turn up and do timed sessions, essentially practice. The great thing is you are competing against the clock, but can also compare times with your friends. The next stage is to enter open events, you book, turn up and go through a series of heats to determine the winners over the day, this is the first step into competitive karting.

Karting is noisey, hot, a little scary and highly physical, it is simply great fun and a great way to engage in what feels like real motorsport. I came to karting quite late and had my first go in 2009 near Le Mans at the Circuit Alain Prost with just one other person on track. This person happened to be my friend, it was mid week and no one was there. We simply did back to back 15 minute sessions and all we did was attack and defend against each other, it was awesome, and I was rather hooked. Since then I go karting in the UK whenever I can but have really stepped this up recently after having the pleasure of driving and covering the Damon Hill Halow karting challenge at Daytona’s Sandown track in Esher, Surrey. I have done this event twice now and both times it has been a great deal of fun and a great learning curve. Being overtaken by the likes of Sam Bird and trying to follow their lines afterwards certainly makes you think about your position, entry speed, exit speed and everything else! As a motoring content writer its great to be invited to cover things you love taking part in and helping raise awareness for a charity at the same time, what more could you want!

This year I was invited to take part in the TW Steel DMAX Kart Champioship, the races stretch over 10 rounds and move to a number of different track in the UK including Daytona Milton Keynes, Whilton Mill, Ellough Park and Daytona Tamworth to name just a few. You can follow my progress on www.motor-heads.co.uk or by checling out Daytona Motorsport’s youtube channel.

Motorracing is expensive, UK karting, although not cheap, is almost nothing compared to running a racing car, it is also something you can keep doing for many years with certain groups running specific racing for older folk.

Karting is something I will continue to do, I will also continue to cover and write up events for the venues, publications and websites. If you would like to get in touch and discuss how I can support your UK karting venue or event please e mail me on ade@holdermotoring.co.uk