While many might particpate out of pure enjoyment, for others it is a serious stepping stone towards a professional racing career. All current Formula-1 drivers have started racing with karts, and many still drive karts between seasons to keep their reflexes and skills honed. Because it is relatively affordable, it is a perfect venue for learning the basics about competition racing, vehicle setup, engine tuning, etc. All of this while having a whole lot of fun.

1. Classes

All classes of karts have in common that the vehicles are relatively straight forward, in order to keep cost low. Karts do not use any suspension, and the rear axle is stiff, i.e. without differential. The driver is not restrained by any seat belts (except in some more exotic classes of karting, e.g. the cage karts). The engine(s) is/are typically mounted next to the driver. The power is transmitted by a chain, and a centrifugal clutch may or may not be used. Some classes (so called shifters) actually utilize a sequential 6 gear gear-box.

Sprint or Enduro?

There are two types of kart racing: Sprint and Enduro. Sprint karts are typically raced on shorter, dedicated kart tracks, either on asphalt or dirt, either on ovals or road courses. This type of karting (sprint, asphalt, road) is what we are doing, and it is the area we know most about.

Enduro karts are typically raced on the bigger race tracks which are also used by NASCAR and CART, e.g. Sears Point, Road America, etc. A variety of the enduro karts is the lay-down enduro, in which the driver is laying flat, with the whole kart being longer and slimmer looking than sprint karts. These are the fastest karts. Events often last more than a day, and require travelling to the various race tracks, which makes this form of karting often more expensive than sprint racing.

For the rest of the document, we will concentrate on sprint karts. However, much of the information may apply to enduro racing as well.

Shifter or non-shifter? Clutch or direct?

Shifter karts utilize a sequential 6 gear gear-box, which allows the driver to operate the engine in the optimum RPM ranges. Thus, shifter karts tend to be significantly faster than non-shifter karts. Non-shifters themselves come in two varieties: Direct drive, i.e. the engine drives the rear axle through a chain directly, and clutch (centrifugal clutch, to be exact), i.e. the chain drives the rear axle only once the engine has reached a certain RPM (called stall speed). Direct drive is popular all over the world, while here in the US most classes are using the centrifugal clutch. Direct drive karts need to be push-started, while clutch-karts can actually run the engine while standing and use a separate starter to start the engine.

So, which type is for you? Shifter karts are more expensive up-front, even though some are saying they may be cheaper in the long run. Since they are so fast, however, you might want to consider them to be for the more experienced drivers. Also, many describe shifters as 'a handfull' to operate. Not only do you need to concentrate on driving the line, passing, preventing being passed, etc., but also on the rapid gear shifts. Therefore, the non-shifters are most often recommended for the bginner. And among the non-shifters, the clutch karts are a good choice, since the clutch karts are most common here in the US, and you might enjoy racing against more than just one or two others.

The non-shifter karts with clutch are probably the most popular type of kart, and is recommended for the beginner. This is also exactly the type of kart we are racing.

2-cycle or 4-cycle?

As you can imagine, the differentiations continue. You can now choose either to run in a 4-cycle class, or in a 2-cycle class. Frankly, we really don't know much about the 4-cycle racing, if it is cheaper, faster, slower or what. In the beginning a 2-cycle class was recommended to us, which is why we have concentrated on that. A reason is probably that the 2-cycle classes are popular enough to have a competitive field, and also that one can participate in different classes with the same 2-cycle engine. Since 2-cycle is what we are racing, that will be what we are focusing on.

Sportsman, Super Sportsman or Pipe?

There are several classes of 2-cycle racing in which different kinds and brands of engines are mandatory. In the US, the most widely used 2-cycle engine today is the KT-100 from Yamaha. Within the Yamaha (or Yammi) class of 2-cycle racing, there are again various sub-classes, which distinguish themselves by the horse-power output of the engine. The horse-power output is regulated by the type of muffler which is mounted.

The Sportsman muffler is the lowest horse-power muffler. Sportsman therefore is a good beginner class. The karts will need very smooth driving, since it takes longer to recover from a driving error, which cannot be masked by raw engine power and acceleration. A great way for a new driver to learn the racing line, and proper competitive driving. Typically, Sportsman is divided into Novice Sportsman and Senior Sportsman. Technically, the karts are identical, but the novice class is for those racing in their first or second year.

Super Sportsman uses a slightly higher horse-power muffler. It almost looks the same as the ordinary Sportsman muffler.

Yamaha Pipe or KT100 finally are the fastest Yamaha classes and use an exhaust which actually deserves the name 'exhaust pipe'.

Oftentimes, kart clubs also run a Junior Sportsman class, which is technically identical to the Novice or Senior Sportsman classes, but is reserved for drivers 16 and younger.

Each kart class has a minimum weight which driver and kart together need to weigh. For that reason, Sportsman classes are often also split up in light and heavy, to accomodate the heavier drivers.

We are racing in the Novice Sportsman class, so again, this is what we know most about.

2. Governing bodies

3. Getting more information

And one more thing: Kart racers are generally a genuinly nice bunch. It is my experience that they will always be more than happy to help and to answer questions. They are your very best source of information, so go to a track and ask questions. Lot's of them. Subscribe to some karting newsgroups and ask even more questions.