Go Karting For 9yr Olds - How to start?

[Frosties]

Hiya fellas,


As per title as per usual  :lol


My 9yr old lad is showing an interest in starting go karting so if possible I would like to give him the opportunity.


I don't have a scooby where to start or what to start with - can you hire go karts or do you just buy them & turn up on some track somewhere. Is there a certain group he should in etc.....................


We are in Wokingham, Berkshire so if anyone has any advice on where/how we should start out, to see if he likes it then any advice is much appreciated.


Daddy also likes the idea of buying a go-kart to test it first 


Cheers

[richfzs]

Drop Kosmic on here a line, he knows a thing or two about karting...

[Punkstig]

Ask at a local track for when the next official race meet is, go on that day and have a chat with the racers/ younger racers dad's

[Robbie8666]

don't know if Basingstoke bit far to travel but absolute Karting are in our work today selling their wares so will see if i can pick up a brochure & scan it in for you!

[alan sherman]

I think I went to this place on a Stag do a couple of years back. 

http://www.f1k.co.uk/tracks/west-london/

Has your lad raced yet?  Don't buy a kart until you know whether he would be into it enough / any good!

A mate of mine used to race, but as a tall person he became noncompetitive as the smaller, lighter drivers had an advantage!

[Frosties]

don't know if Basingstoke bit far to travel but absolute Karting are in our work today selling their wares so will see if i can pick up a brochure & scan it in for you!

Awesome Robbie, that'd be spot on. Much appreciated. Basingstoke is only a 20 min run

I think I went to this place on a Stag do a couple of years back. 

http://www.f1k.co.uk/tracks/west-london/

Has your lad raced yet?  Don't buy a kart until you know whether he would be into it enough / any good!

A mate of mine used to race, but as a tall person he became noncompetitive as the smaller, lighter drivers had an advantage!

Cheers for that also Alan, good shout on the West London site - looks good with Novice open days   
No he hasn't raced yet but just want to give him the opportunity. Best do it now 'cos I'm 6'3" and reckon he's on course for about the same.

Cheers fellas, much appreciated. Will let you know the outcome - hope he likes it cos ive already seen some nice 125cc package buys with extra wheels, engines etc for about a grand 

[Robbie8666]

well the girl that brought the stuff in was the corporate events sales exec so was more on the corporate side!!
however this is the link to the website http://www.absolutely-karting.co.uk/our-...stoke.html
the kart track is near Tesco's on Chinham side of Basingstoke

I did ask if i did the karting if we could exchange overalls but the look I got from her would have suited the comment from Steptoes son!!!  :rollin :rollin

[Frosties]

well the girl that brought the stuff in was the corporate events sales exec so was more on the corporate side!!
however this is the link to the website http://www.absolutely-karting.co.uk/our-...stoke.html
the kart track is near Tesco's on Chinham side of Basingstoke

I did ask if i did the karting if we could exchange overalls but the look I got from her would have suited the comment from Steptoes son!!!  :rollin :rollin

:lol :lol If you don't ask you don't get 

Cheers for the link Robbie, appreciated  :thumbup

[Kosmic Kartman]

Hi Frosties

I wasn't ignoring you, I've not had a land line or internet connection since I moved to Suffolk on the 4th July.... BUT NOW I'M BACK!

As said, the best place to start is to go and hire one to see if he likes it. It's a physically demanding sport and you can get bettered and a bit bruised as the foccers that I took to to Buckmore Park recently will testify.

Alan Sherman said that the lighter drivers always had an advantage. This isn't always the case as heavier drivers can have more grip in the corners over lighter drivers but lighter drivers get more acceleration out of the corners. Swings and roundabouts. In the championship I raced in (100cc National Formula A for classic karts - classic for karts over 10 years old) all drivers were weighed and given seat weights to match the heaviest driver. The weights were bolted to the back of the seats. Also nowadays the new 125 karts have clutches but when I raced the 100cc karts were direct drive so if you span and stalled you'd have to bump start your kart... A right bummer if you had a load of weight bolted to your seat. It's been over 20 years since I raced in any kind of championship but I think the carrying of weights is still the case in some RAC MSA run championships.

If your lad does take it up there is a brilliant book called Kart-Champion on a Shoestring http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kart-Champion-Sh...0850770955 a bit dated but will still give an excellent insight of what you can expect re looking after your kart, set up, sprocket sizes etc. Be prepared to travel, sleep in the Transit (Guy Martin stylee), and spend lots of money as it's not a cheap sport any more.

Above all have fun and practice, practice, practice. I remember I used to go to bed at night with a stopwatch in my hand, visualising racing around the tracks and counting the laps off with the stopwatch. I was nearly always within + - one second of a real lap time. That will help with consistency. When I got to the 7 hour lap... that's when I fell asleep.  :z

[Frosties]

Hiya Kosmic,

Going to aim for the Basingstoke track for his test ride.

As for the rest, buying a Transit and staying away from the Mrs.....sounds like a Brucie Bonus  :lol

Will let you know how he gets on, but if he likes it then will probably stay with the sessions at the track before pumping some money into it.

Cheers fella  :thumbup

[rustyrider]

My daughter started karting when she was 11.  A local indoor track did a 'Young Guns' kart school aimed at 8-12 year olds to get them started without having to go out and buy a kart only to find they didn't like it.  They used to do events with other circuits so it wasn't something they were doing locally but appeared to be all over the country.  Ask at your local tracks to see if they do something similar