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Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as or shifter karts. They are usually raced on kart circuit, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motorsport circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher ranks of motorsports. Most modern Formula One drivers, including Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, and Max Verstappen, have begun their racing careers in karting.
Karts vary widely in speed, and some (known as ) can reach speeds exceeding , while recreational go-karts intended for the general public may be limited to lower speeds.
The first kart manufacturer was an American company, Go Kart Manufacturing Co. (1957). In 1959, McCulloch was the first company to produce engines for karts. Its first engine, the McCulloch MC-10, was an adapted chainsaw two-stroke engine. Later, in the 1960s, motorcycle engines were also adapted for kart use, before dedicated manufacturers, especially in Italy (IAME), started to build engines for the sport.
First ever Karting World Championship was held in 1964. First ever Karting European Championship was held in 1972.
The stiffness of the chassis enables different handling characteristics for different circumstances. Typically, for dry conditions, a stiffer chassis is preferable, while in wet or other poor traction conditions, a more flexible chassis may work better. Temperature of the track can also affect handling and may prompt additional chassis adjustments. The best chassis allow for stiffening bars at the rear, front and side to be added or removed according to race conditions.
Braking is achieved by a disc brake mounted on the rear axle. Front disc brakes are used in most shifter kart classes and are increasingly popular in other classes; however, certain classes do not allow them. Shifter karts have dual master cylinders, one for the front and one for the rear, and are adjustable to allow for front/rear bias changes.
Professionally raced karts typically weigh , complete without driver. Avanti Kart, Tony Kart, Jarno Trulli, Birel, CRG, Gillard, Intrepid Kart, Monaco Kart, Kosmic, Alex Zanardi or Fernando Alonso and EKS Motorsport are a few well-known examples of the many European manufacturers of race-quality chassis. Emmick, Coyote, Bandit, Shadow, MGM, Titan, PRC and Margay are American companies producing kart chassis.
Karts do not have a differential. The lack of a differential means that one rear tire must slide while cornering. This is achieved by designing the chassis so that the inside rear tire lifts up slightly when the kart turns the corner. This allows the tire to lose some of its grip and slide or lift off the ground completely.
Power is transmitted from the engine to the rear axle by a chain. Both engine and axle are removable. Their ratio must be adapted to the track configuration to obtain the most performance from the engine.
In the early days, karts were direct drive, requiring push starts. The inconvenience of that configuration led to the centrifugal clutch for the club level classes. Dry centrifugal clutches are now used in many categories; Rotax Max is one example. They have become the norm as the top international classes have switched to 125 cc clutch-equipped engines as of January 2007.
Similarly to other motorsports, kart tires have different types for use appropriate to track conditions:
Some of those systems are able to record (logging) laps data from the sensors, allowing replay of an entire running session or/and direct download to a personal computer equipped with a data analysis software. More sophisticated systems allow for more information such as lateral and longitudinal acceleration (g-force), throttle position, steering wheel position and brake pressure.
In the United States, there is not as much FIA involvement; instead, many organizations regulate racing, such as the IKF (International Kart Federation), WKA (World Karting Association), KART (Karters of America Racing Triad), USPKS (United States Pro Karting Series) SKUSA (SuperKartsUSA).
In the UK, the Motor Sports Association (MSA) regulates most "owner driver" Karting. Some associations, such as Natska (National Schools Karting Association), organize race meetings throughout the country under the authority of the MSA. Various four-stroke "hire kart" series such as EPEC (European Prokart Endurance Championship) or BRKC (British Rental Kart Championship) fall outside the governance of the MSA. Billed as the UK's first national karting league, the Elite Karting League also falls outside of MSA governance.
In Australia, kart racing is administered by one of the following Karting bodies:
Racing classes start at age 7 or 8 (5 in the United States with "Kid Karts") and generally run in 3-year age groupings or weight divisions until "senior" status is reached at age 15 or 16, depending on the series.
The sprint format is a series of short-duration races, normally for a small number of laps, that qualify for a final which last 20 minutes or more, with a variety of point scoring calculations to determine the event's overall winner. Typical duration does not normally exceed 25 minutes. Here, speed and successful passing is of the most importance. It normally occurs in the format of qualifying, one to three heats and a final race for trophy positions.
Sprint Racing in the United States and Canada are held at three primary levels, club racing (local races at purpose-built tracks), regional racing - like the California ProKart Challenge, the Texas Sprint Racing Series, the Florida-based Sunshine Karting Championship Series, Route 66 Sprint Series in the Midwest, and the F-Series Gearup Challenge in the Northeast. National level karting takes place across North America in dedicated national series like the SKUSA Pro Tour , the USPKS Championship Series, WKA Manufacturers Cup and the ROK Cup USA. The SKUSA Pro Tour championship is one of the most coveted, and the SKUSA SuperNats event held in Las Vegas annually is one of the largest kart races in the world, attracting drivers from every continent. The SKUSA SuperNats event has been run continuously for 25 years, and a SuperNats win is considered a legendary win in karting circles.
The FIA championships, including the Karting World Championship, SKUSA SuperNats and all SKUSA Pro Tour, USPKS and ROK Cup USA Nationals take place in this format.
Sprint racing can be held at a dedicated purpose-built track (most of which also rent club karts for family fun), and sprint races are also held at kart tracks that exist at many major auto sports complexes like Daytona International Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Pittsburgh International Race Complex, NOLA Motorsports Park in New Orleans, Homestead-Miami Speedway, and Road America. Sprint races are also held at temporary kart circuits that can be built in parking areas at large stadiums and casinos throughout the United States. Additionally, there are street races where races take place on city streets on temporary circuits like some of the IndyCar races.
Called "enduro" racing in the United States, most WKA and IKF sanctioned events typically last 30 minutes (sprint enduro) or 45 minutes (laydown enduro) and are run continuously without pit stops. Enduro events are held on full-size road racing circuits that are usually between 1.5 and 4 miles in length.
As well as the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race for automobiles there is also a 24-hours event for karts which takes place at the kart circuit Alain Prost at Le Mans, France. Kart circuit Alain Prost – 24 hours This race has taken place since 1986 and its winners list include four-time Champ Car champion Sébastien Bourdais (in 1996).
Endurance racing is also considered a more affordable way of getting into karting. In South Africa, the 24 Hours of Karting Festival race is held annually and lasts 24 hours with multiple classes participating. This event is hosted by the Prokart SSS Club near Johannesburg. The most popular class runs the Honda GX390 four-stroke engine, which is both affordable and durable, keeping running costs to a minimum. The Prokart Super Single Series, also known as Prokart SSS, has been running for more than 20 years and has proven to be a very popular entry platform for drivers of all ages who want to get into karting. Many clubs worldwide have taken on four-stroke endurance karting for this reason, since two-stroke karting can be very expensive.
"Offset" kart chassis have been developed for precise handling and adjustability in left-turn-only racing competition taking place on oval and tri-oval tracks. Depending on the track material, different tires are used on the kart.
Speedway kart races range in length from 4 laps for a trophy dash, to 20 laps for a main event.
The two chief racing formats used in dirt speedway karting are heat races and timed laps qualification:
Non CIK-FIA categories: The Kart World Championship (or KWC) as opposed to the FIA's "Karting World Championship" uses 4-stroke rental karts and travels to a different country each year.
Other UK National Championships include: Birel BirelART series UK: Cadet 60cc, Junior 100cc, Senior Light 125cc, Senior Heavy 125cc, British Indoor Karting Championship (BIKC)
The BRKC is the UK's rental karting National championship, and the UK's official feeder series to the rental Kart World Championship.
Natska is a budget karting association set up for schools and youth groups in the UK, with 13 classes.
In the United States, Dirt oval classes (which often use Briggs & Stratton industrial engines) are prominent in the Southeast and Midwest. In the West, European style sprint racing is much more common. In particular, 125cc shifter karts using Honda CR125 power units have gained tremendous popularity in recent years.
In Australia, classes include Cadet (previously called Midget),Junior KA4, Junior KA3, X30, KZ2, Senior KA3, Senior TAG (Restricted and Unrestricted). Most classes run a light and heavy category.
Many people race worldwide in Spec series such as X30 125cc (a TaG class).
License classes differ between countries according to age groups or levels. Most of the time a Practice License can be easily obtained, while a Racing License might require a capability assessment. Karting - British Motor Sports Association (MSA)
Rib protector, racing balaclava and HANS device, although highly recommended, are optional in most countries. None of the above need to be made of fire retardant material. Superkart drivers are required to wear leather overalls, similar to those used in motorcycling.
In August 2009, in anticipation to a possible return to F1 with Scuderia Ferrari, Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher did some preparation driving a kart in Lonato, Italy. Michael is karting in Lonato – Michael Schumacher official website, 5 August 2009 Schumacher also raced at the SKUSA SuperNationals, an event taking place each year in Las Vegas, along with F1 drivers Sébastien Buemi and Nelson Piquet Jr. SKUSA Supernationals/Michael Schumacher – YouTube video Felipe Massa also used karting in September 2009 to test his condition in Brazil, two months after his Hungarian Grand Prix accident during qualifying. Felipe Massa takes wheel for first time since accident – The Times, 29 September 2009
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