Karting - A Profile

It's fun, demanding and exhilarating. It's seen by many as perhaps an activity for kids, associated unfairly with the bumper cars down at the local fair or the Go-karts we used to pedal around our back gardens. Karting is something else entirely, and is seen by everyone in the sport as the first stepping stone on a path that ultimately leads to Formula One. The sport was struggling to attract new drivers a few years ago, put off by the high participation costs, but with the emergance of Lewis Hamilton and the story of his rise to the top having started in a kart it's suddenly the place to be.

Of course it's not just Lewis who started his racing career in karting, but almost the entire current F1 grid did too. Massa, Kubica, Vettel and Raikkonen were all karting tyros. Even arguably the greatest driver of them all, Ayrton Senna, started out in these little rascals.

Tough Monkeys spends many weekends of the year and several weekday evenings at the track. Although the desire would be to own and run a full kart team, quite likely in the incredible Rotax Max series, extremely prohibitive ownership costs limit this option to all but a lucky few.

However, there is a strong and growing breed of hire-kart racers in this country. In its most basic form, this is simply a matter of turning up at a local kart circuit for a few laps for a few quid. After doing this, you can try a few competitive organised “open” races, where you can be involved in a number of sprint or semi-endurance races against similarly skilled drivers. If you then feel confident in your abilities, there are a small handful of venues across Britain that offer championship based races across a full season of racing.

There aren't many places like this, and you'll find that a single event can cost in excess of a hundred pounds. However, because of this, you can be assured of a high calibre of talent in each race you enter. Racing in grids of up to 36 karts is a breathtaking adrenaline rush, and the expense can soon become totally justifiable.

Tough Monkeys compete regularly throughout the year, either in single races at local short track venues, or hits the road and competes in various Buckmore Park championships. It's a 350 mile round trip, but we've found it to be the best run venue with the most talented drivers. It's worth noting that because of the expense of owner-driver karting, you'll often find drivers with far more talent at a hire-kart event then you will in the higher levels of the sport.