Kart racing

Kart racing, often shortened to karting, is a motorsport where drivers pilot small, open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles called go-karts or racing karts. These races typically take place on circuits built specifically for karts, though some variations, like superkart racing, use full-sized motor racing tracks. The sport serves as a common starting point for drivers moving up through car racing, but it is also pursued as a serious competition on its own.

Karting is enjoyed both for fun and in organized competition. Competitive karting includes sprint, endurance, speedway, street, and international championship formats. Classes are usually divided by driver age, engine type, chassis design, and weight. Many Formula One champions—including Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen, and Lando Norris—began their careers in karting.

International karting is overseen by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile through its FIA Karting branch. National and regional karting is managed by local motorsport authorities and karting organizations.

**History**

The modern kart was born in Southern California during the 1950s. Art Ingels, an American race-car builder who worked for Kurtis Kraft, is widely recognized as one of its inventors. According to FIA Karting, the first kart—the Caretta-West Bend—was built in August 1956 in Glendale, California, by Ingels and Lou Borelli. It featured a simple tubular frame and a small two-stroke West Bend engine.

Early karting grew as a grassroots activity in California. Ingels’ prototype and other homemade karts were driven in parking lots, including at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, before organized racing began. The sport spread quickly across the United States and reached Europe in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Early karts often used engines adapted from lawnmowers, chainsaws, or motorcycles until specialized kart engines became common. By the 1960s, dedicated chassis and engine manufacturers had appeared in both the United States and Europe. Italian manufacturers later became especially prominent in international karting.

International competition took shape in the 1960s. The first Karting World Championship was held in 1964 under the structure that later became the Commission Internationale de Karting. European-level competition also developed during this period, with FIA Karting recording the European Nations' Cup from 1962 and later individual European Championship events.

Indoor karting emerged as a commercial and recreational form of the sport in the late twentieth century. The New York Times reported in 1995 that indoor karting had started in London in the mid-1980s and became popular during the 1990s.

**Organisation and governance**

Kart racing is organized at international, national, regional, club, and commercial levels. Internationally, FIA Karting governs the sport, while national and regional karting is run by motorsport authorities, karting associations, sanctioning bodies, clubs, and commercial organizers.

**International**

At the international level, FIA Karting (formerly the Commission Internationale de Karting) oversees regulations and championships, including the Karting World Championship. International categories have included direct-drive karts, gearbox karts, and superkarts.

**United Kingdom**

In the UK, karting falls under Motorsport UK, the national governing body for four-wheel motorsport. Motorsport UK describes most karting as short-circuit racing, with more powerful superkarts (or long-circuit karts) also competing on full-size tracks. Categories include Cadet, Inter, Junior, Senior, and Gearbox classes, with events typically comprising practice, qualifying, heats, and finals.

**United States**

In the United States, international motorsport representation is handled by the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States (ACCUS), the FIA-recognized national sporting authority. Domestic kart racing is organized through a mix of sanctioning bodies, national and regional series, and local clubs, rather than a single national authority. Active organizations include the World Karting Association, SuperKarts! USA, and the United States Pro Kart Series.

**Australia**

In Australia, Karting Australia states it is the sole body recognized by the FIA and Motorsport Australia to organize, regulate, and control karting. It says authority to do so has been formally delegated through Motorsport Australia.

**Racing series**

Kart racing is organized through international championships, regional series, national championships, one-make engine series, rental-kart competitions, and club-level events. The following examples are not exhaustive but show how karting series are structured in different regions.

**International and global series**

At the international level, FIA Karting organizes world and continental championships, including the Karting World Championship and FIA Karting European Championship events across direct-drive, gearbox, and Superkart categories.

The Rotax Max Challenge is a global one-make karting series using Rotax engines. Rotax describes it as a mono-brand series with drivers competing in more than 60 countries, leading to the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals.