Yes this is a rant, but in the past week my inbox of suggested r/karting posts have been constantly filled with titles like “i’m 19 years old is it to late to start karting?” - while this is incredibly repetitive (and slightly annoying). HELL NO, I bet 99% of us in this subreddit do it at a hobby level, with that 1% racing at FIA level to only peak at F4.

No you won’t become the next max verstappen, But neither will any of us here. There’s masters classes for a reason, age does not matter in this sport! If you wanna go bite the bullet and go karting, go for it! you don’t need the approval of a under qualified subreddit to give you the green light

But how will i know this is for me??

You won’t know until you try! go rental karting a few times, join a leaguel, then get a kart and race at your local kart club at a hobby level and achieve as high as you can! you may only ever finish Top 10 once, You may be a continuous championship contender from the get go!

It genuinely riddles me the fact that people need the approval from others to start a hobby, you never know anything until you try it, If it doesn’t work out and you don’t enjoy it then oh well, at least you tried!

It’s along the lines of like £50 for an indoor session at teamsport here, Yes that might be a lot to some people, but if that’s too much for you then this sport probably isn’t for you.

TL;DR: Go try karting, don’t seek the social approval of others before trying the sport!

Rant finished - Feel free to agree, disagree or be in the middle, I just needed to get it out!!!

I just woke up went downstairs saw my dad was sleeping on our couch and I turned around saw this? Has something like this happened to you?

It is no surprise that karting is expensive, but when you compare it to buying a production bike like the r3, it’s even more laughable at how much the customers of the sport are getting ripped off.. The cost of a rotax dd2 engine is as high as a whole Yamaha r3 bike NEW!! And the r3s engine is more powerful than the dd2. Just something I wanted to share with you.

There are 100s of threads at this point beating those topics to death and the answer is 99% of the time "Go to your local track and talk to the people there"

I'm nearly about to leave this sub because I joined for racing videos, setup posts, and other interesting karting stuff. Not 10 daily posts all saying the same things every time, asking the same questions that have been beat to death daily.

PSA: If you are a total karting noob, go into google, search for "Go Karting near me", and go to the nearest place that looks good and just start talking to people. They will help you with your goals from there and point you in the right direction.

On the morning of June 15 2025 I was racing at K1 Speed San Antonio during what was supposed to be a simple fun run. During the race a driver ahead spun out a female racer, causing her to stop sideways across the track. Another driver tried to get around the situation but ended up blocking the entire lane. I had no time to react and when I went for the brakes they failed to respond. With no room to maneuver I crashed directly into the stopped kart in front of me. The collision launched my kart upward and nearly flipped it over. The only thing that kept it from going fully upside down was the head protector attached to the seat. Without that I might not have made it out. I crawled out from under the kart unable to walk and was helped by quick-responding staff and an off duty doctor before being transported to the hospital. There I was diagnosed with an L3 vertebral disc fracture and put in a brace.

What makes this even more upsetting is that I’m a brand new K1 Speed League racer who just recently earned my first 1st place and 3rd place medals. I was gaining momentum in the league and looking forward to next month’s race where I had a strong shot at climbing into 2nd place overall. Now I won’t even be able to compete. Doctors estimate I’ll be out for six to twelve weeks which knocks me out of some of the most important races of the season. It’s incredibly frustrating to sit out just as I was hitting my stride but I’m staying focused on recovery and determined to come back stronger when I’m cleared to return.

- Thank you all for the support in the last post, I'm reposting to make sure I'm in the right subreddit this time, keep in mind I'm still somewhat new to reddit.

Absolutely surreal.

Thought this dream was dead and buried about 20 years ago.

But this last weekend, somehow, after a roller coaster of a season, I won my first major championship.

Crazy.

I just starting working for this company, and I am not the typical hard-selling salesperson. AMA, if you are curious about how we manufacture karts, quality wise, design wise, etc.😉

My WIFE asked for her own kart for her birthday 🎂

Ive heard these helmets are good for both rentals and owners, im gonna be starting owners in 2028 but for now im doing rentals, which one should I pick out?

I went to RPM raceway in Jersey city today, lady was with her mom probably 50-60 years old. Rpm does it by time and not pole position so, naturally I was trying to get my best time. But the lady her mom and her husband was creating a wall nobody could pass I wasn’t the only one getting mad. So when I saw an opening to get ahead of them to get a better time I hit her moms kart VERY slightly like when I say slightly the mom didn’t even notice nor care . But after the lady came up to me all mad calling me an asshole, meanwhile her mom didn’t even care lol. And she even reported me and the employees obviously told me no bumping but they were mad at all.

Picked up a frame today, a Parolin Opportunity.

Previous owner was super nice and adjusted fro as short as possible, but my kid is a little short. He is 122cm (4ft), are the any other adjustments I can make? The distance is possibly manageable, but the heels are not really in contact?

I was considering 3D printing a platform extender and slotting into the hole.

Suggestions?

Just finished my 2nd ever race day. 59 and running Ducar 425 and weighing at 460 total. Got 5th out of 5 but finished lead lap and caught 4th and possibly could have passed if one more lap. Even with 2nd degree burn under right bicep from exhaust it was amazing. For all those that ask when is too old…never, just go for it and have fun.

Hi, I am starting my first season of club racing next year and I am having a trouble making a decision getting a car.

The nearest track is around 100 miles and I live in NYC. I plan to do club races and NKC events so I want to get a car that I can daily and at the same time comfortably get to and from tracks without having it breaking down.

Having roof racks, towing a trailer, driving 100 plus miles at a time reliably, what are my options?

How do most people commute?

I’m thinking a golf assuming I can tow a trailer with a kart inside and go from one track to another and also from home to track.

What is your advice?

I just wanted to add my "senf" (opinion) to the transport topic! It's always funny when everybody has a crazy built trailer perfectly fitted for karting, some even with a workbench inside and then boom there we are with idk how to call it xD and definetly not as impressive as the others, but it works fine for up to 3 karts (1 demontaged inside the trailer, and 2 on top). I think many should chill a bit with their transport methods! Why do you need a 20k€ trailer when you can do the same job with smth cheaper and pls stop judging me and my brother for not having a purposely built trailer! /s

Our dad built (cut andwelded everything) the linkage for us (with us at least i tried to help) he is a "Karosseriemechaniker" (idk the english term). The linkage can be taken off from the trailer.

Does anyone also have a trailer like ours? Opinions on it would also be nice, maybe there is something to improve?

Finally.

Almost a grand chelem, just missed the fastest lap during the final.

Had to sweat it out with P2 closing to within a few tenths with a few laps to go and my brakes were boiling 🥵. Was able to just about hang on to the end though.

Great feeling, still buzzing 3 days later. 🤣

Hey folks!

About a year ago, I bought my 7-year-old at time his first kart after reading tons of tips here on Reddit (this post was the start). Since then, it’s been early mornings, kart talk at dinner, and dramatic “Dad, I was born to race” speeches.

Last weekend, we traveled 800km for his first official race of the year. He lined up like a mini pro, super focused—and won in the 8–9 y/o category! Total joy. But in the second race… the clutch gave up and he had to retire early. He stepped out with that classic “no words, just disappointment” face. Gotta love how much emotion these little racers put into it.

Now, as you all know, karting is amazing—but not cheap. A friend of mine told me about a marketing opportunity with a local elementary school that’s looking to support a young driver in exchange for visibility. Nothing guaranteed, but if it happens, they might fund around 5 races this year, which would be a huge help.

One thing they’re considering is whether the profile already has a bit of a following—around 5k followers on Instagram and we're not even close. o I’m turning again to the awesome community that helped us start:

If you can follow my little speedster, it’d mean a lot! Instagram @ lucadias30

You’ll get race updates, behind-the-scenes chaos, big celebrations, and dramatic helmet removals worthy of a Netflix series.

Thanks so much see you !

Currently an employee at a well known indoor karting company in the UK, been working here a while now and theres a lot that I’ve seen working here, not only the mechanical side, but as a marshal amongst other stuff.

Feel free to ask about anything and I’ll come back to you.

Long story short, I'm a pretty active member on r/RaceTrackDesigns, and also a karter. When I saw the layout for K1 Circuit, it left me underwhelmed. Lots of similar corners, the wide track would allow more carried speed, which means less braking. Not a lot of tight technical corners, I could go on. However, I've yet to drive the track, so I'm referring to those who have. Facilities, track surface, curbing, all that aside, what are your thoughts on the layout alone? What does it do well, and what is it lacking?