15 Oct How To Become a Professional Racecar Driver Through Kart Racing
Wondering how to become a NASCAR driver, F1 driver, IndyCar driver, or some other kind of professional racecar driver? The first step that nearly all professional racing drivers choose to start them on their journey is go-kart racing. Read on to learn about the history of go-kart racing, why go-kart racing is the best way to start racing, which famous racing drivers have started their careers in go-karts, and where you can start go-kart racing today!
What Is Go-Kart Racing?
Go-kart racing is the sport of driving go-karts, and go-karts are fundamentally small four-wheeled vehicles, similar to a car. Go-karts feature many of the same components that cars have, including tires and wheels, a steering wheel, brakes, an engine or motor, gas and brake pedals, etc. But whereas cars typically have a door, roof, trunk, hood, stereo, comfortable seating, suspension, and so on, go-karts usually are stripped down to the bare minimum components and nothing else.
Why Drivers Start With Go-Karts When Learning to Race
So why do drivers that pursue a career in racing start with go-karts and not cars? There’s many reasons why, but for starters, karts can be cheaper, easier to maintain, are easier to transport, easier to store, and can accommodate drivers of most ages.
The fact that karts can come in a variety of sizes for a range of ages makes it possible for drivers to start as young as four or five years old which is when most of the professional racers you see today started racing.
But perhaps the biggest reason of them all for starting your racing career in karting is for the skills you’ll learn when racing go-karts.
The Racing Skills That Go-Kart Racing Teaches
Go-kart racing teaches a wide variety of foundational racing skills including:
- Car control
- Steering sensitivity
- Throttle and brake pressure
- Racing lines
- Passing and defending (racecraft)
All of these skills can then be transferred into whatever racing category you progress to later on.
Other Benefits of Go-Kart Racing
In addition to these skills, karting is also a great workout for an upcoming racer as it works all the key muscles that a driver needs to develop, such as their arms, legs, and core muscles.
And because things happen at a faster pace in a go-kart versus a car, reflexes are sharpened, even more so than in most race cars.
These previous benefits are partly why you still see professional racing drivers occasionally return to go-karts for one-off races or hot laps around a track.
How You Can Start Racing Go-Karts
There are several ways you can start racing go-karts and they can fall into two buckets: indoor go-kart racing and outdoor go-kart racing.
Indoor Go-Karts
The most popular way that people enjoy go-kart racing is at indoor go-kart racing centers. These centers typically cater to the general public versus motorsport-centric people and provide an amusement-level experience.
That said, K1 Speed, the world’s largest indoor karting chain, does put some effort into attracting and retaining the motorsport fans among the general public by offering a competitive racing league that then feeds into a very competitive and lucrative world championship.
These centers are usually the cheapest and easiest way to get into the sport of karting, and are typically found near all major cities.
Outdoor Go-Karts
While indoor karting centers like K1 Speed are a great way to get your feet wet in the world of racing, outdoor kart racing is where you really learn to develop your racing chops like the pros. In fact, outdoor kart racing is typically what the pros started doing, even at the young age of four or five years old.
Outdoor Go-Karts vs Indoor Go-Karts
Outdoor go-karts and indoor go-karts can be dramatically different from one another. The reason why outdoor kart racing is considered the next level of karting versus indoor kart racing is because they tend to produce much more speed. The increase in speed alone means that quicker reflexes are required. And the g-forces experienced in outdoor karts due to the speed increase are much greater, requiring more physical endurance.
The tracks are also quite different outdoors versus indoors in the world of kart racing. While indoor tracks are made to fit within a constrained area within urban settings, outdoor tracks are usually much larger and wider since there is more area to work with in their typically more rural locations. As a result of the larger track size, speeds are higher. And while it can be difficult to pass on a narrow, tight, twisty indoor track, on outdoor tracks you can really learn how to pass karts using different techniques as long as you’re faster than the driver in front of you.
Also, weather conditions are an obvious difference between indoor and outdoor kart racing. Indoor kart racing has the luxury of a fairly consistent environment, where the track is always dry and the temperature range, while varied at times, isn’t as wide. Whereas in outdoor kart racing, anything goes. The track can be dry or wet depending on the weather and temperature ranges can be more dramatic. This can also all change throughout the day outside, forcing you to adapt to the varied conditions.
How To Get Into Outdoor Go-Kart Racing
If you think you’re ready to step up to the world of outdoor kart racing like your heroes, there’s a couple of ways of going about it. You can either rent a kart, or buy and own your own.
An Easy and Affordable Way to Enjoy Outdoor Karting
The easiest and most affordable way to enjoy outdoor kart racing is by renting an outdoor kart at a track. At K1 Circuit, they have high-performance electric competition karts (the OTL E Pro Kart) to rent that allows you to just show up and drive. And the cool thing about K1 Circuit’s karts is that they can go faster as you develop your skills. This means you won’t get overwhelmed and intimidated when experiencing outdoor karting for the first time. You’ll start at a speed level that’s similar to what you experience at K1 Speed, while learning the kart’s different characteristics and adapting to a much larger track.
As you develop your skills, you can gradually move up to higher and higher speeds in the same kart. This way you’re familiar with how the kart operates, but will get used to different braking points, higher g-forces, and other inherent aspects of going faster in a go-kart.
Renting an outdoor go kart also means that you don’t need to worry about maintaining your kart, transporting and storing it, or plunking down the cash needed to buy a kart to begin with.
Competition Karting With Rental Karts
And once you’re ready to get into the world of competition karting, K1 Circuit will soon offer a monthly racing league series, the Semi-Pro series. The K1 Circuit Semi-Pro series lets you use the same rental karts in races for position and points.
Why Own Your Own Outdoor Go-Kart?
Most people who take their outdoor kart racing seriously own and operate their own kart. This way they are in complete control of how the kart is set up and can customize the kart to their liking. Owning your own kart can also open the doors to professional racing series as long as you meet the requirements for the categories they offer.
K1 Circuit not only rents their electric go-karts, but they also sell the very same OTL E Pro Kart. This means if you enjoy renting the kart and like the idea of buying a kart that you’re already intimately familiar with, you can do that at K1 Circuit. By owning your own OTL E Pro Kart you can also control how much speed you give yourself and can race the kart at its full potential, which gives you speeds of up to 80 miles per hour! And when you own your kart, you no longer need to have the protective bumpers that you find on the rental kart, thus reducing weight and making your kart that much faster and nimbler.
And as a kart owner, you can take part in open practice sessions at K1 Circuit. Instead of paying for each race like you do in rental karting, you pay a one-time fee that lets you participate in every open practice session that day.
Competition Karting for Kart Owners
And when you’re ready to get into competition karting with your own E Pro Kart. you can also enter the American E Kart Championship. This professional electric outdoor karting competition is the very first of its kind in the United States and will offer giant cash prizes that will rival or surpass the biggest karting events in the world. The championship also takes you to the greatest outdoor karting circuits in the country, while starting and finishing at its home track, K1 Circuit.
Go-Kart Financing & Rent-to-Own Competitive Kart Racing
If you’re concerned you can’t afford to own your own kart, K1 does offer a couple of ways to make it more manageable on your wallet. One way is by financing your OTL E Pro Kart purchase. Right now you can get 6 months of interest-deferred payments when approved with Synchrony.
If you want to participate in the American E Kart Championship but don’t own your own kart yet, you can also rent-to-own! This means the money you pay to rent your kart during each event will count as payments towards your eventual ownership of that kart. This way you can compete in the American E Kart Championship without having to worry about one lump-sum payment.
Transitioning from Karts to Cars
There may come a time when your karting skills will attract the attention of a manager or scout who can place you into a team. Or you’ll need to find a way to make that move yourself by seeking sponsors or long lost rich relatives to fund your career moving forward. Obviously the more successful you are in karting will somewhat determine how hard or easy of a path it will be for you to make that move.
Or Become a Lifetime Karter!
Of course, it’s not a bad thing to stay in karts, either! For some people, being competitive in professional karting is enough for them and they go on to great accomplishments and success in their own right – you just might have to think twice about those dreams of living in Monaco.
Start Your Journey at K1 Circuit!
So if you’re looking to pursue a path in motorsport, the best place to start is at K1 Circuit! For people brand new to the sport, we recommend trying out one of our rental kart programs first to see if you enjoy racing to begin with! Check out our Arrive & Drive rental program now and plan your visit!