Go Kart Racing

Go Kart Racing

By: Jessie Stone

Definition

1:5 GP 2WD Racing Kart Birel R31 SE

Go kart racing is a popular sport wherein a custom-made four-wheeled motor vehicle is used for racing. Kart racing is largely considered to be the training grounds for future professional drivers in motorsports. Many famous professional race drivers had their first lesson in kart racing. Formula 1 drivers such as Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Alain Prost, Jenson Button, Ayrton Senna, Kimi Räikkönen, and Lewis Hamilton all grew up racing karts before moving on to professional racing. Many NASCAR drivers such as Lake Speed, Darrel Waltrip, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jeff Gordon, Ricky Rudd, and Tony Stewart also had their training wheels broken in kart racing. Kart racing is also sometimes used by drivers who have had accidents to train themselves in order to see if they are ready to go back to racing.

History

Go-kart racing is said to have been started by hot-rodder and race car builder Art Ingels while working for Frank Kurtis, who himself was a builder and designer of race cars, and founder of the company Kurtis Kraft. Ingels built the very first racing kart in Southern California in 1956. From then on, it became just a matter of time before kart racing grew in popularity and spread to other parts of the world. In the start, go-karts used modified engines of motorcycles and other vehicles as their engines. It wasn't long however when manufacturers saw the demand for kart racing engines and started building engines specifically for go-kart racing.

Safety

Go-kart racing is a relatively safe sport. However, just like in any sport, accidents happen. In order to avoid the worst of accidents, go-kart drivers are required to wear full safety gear whenever driving a go-kart. This includes wearing a full face helmet (certified), gloves, a driving suit (abrasion resistant with at least one extra layer of special fabric), and boots. Rib protector and neck collars are highly recommended but are optional in most countries.

Before racing, drivers are advised to perform some preliminary equipment check to make sure that all the parts of the go-kart are in perfect working order. A failure in any one of these parts can result in an accident. Tires must be checked to make sure inflation is just right, brakes must be made sure to be functioning, and steering wheels steered in both directions to see if the wheels are aligning correctly where they should align. In racing, if a driver hears any noise or feels an unusual vibration in the kart, they should stop immediately and have the karts checked for any problems.

Recreational Activity

As a recreational activity, Go-kart racing can be a fun and excellent way to spend time with family and friends. There are many kart racing circuits out there that lease or rent their facilities, including the use of their go-karts to the public. People who wish to go kart racing can just visit any of these establishments during business hours and race as long as they want. Safety gear and instructions for beginners are provided by the staff of such establishments.

Author Resource:->  Kellie is an expert when it comes to Go Karting. To find out the latest News and Reviews on Go Kart Racing, visit Go Kart Reviews at http://gokartreviews.org/

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