For many drivers, Karting is where it begins. Karting is a sport of speed, precision, and confidence, where young drivers establish their passion for racing and fine tune their skills.
The boom in F1 hype over the last 5 years, as well as the introduction of the F1 Academy in 2023, has seen more young women getting behind the wheel of a go-kart, to fulfil their need for speed.
But with women making up only 13% of karting participants, some may question whether karting is an inclusive sport. We’ve examined the primary challenges that aspiring racers will face when gearing up to kickstart their karting journey. So if you’re ready to rev your engines, and embark on a karting career, here’s what you need to know.
Money, money, money…
The world of karting comes with exhilarating highs and plenty of daunting challenges. But first, you need to ask the finance question: How much are you going to have to spend?
“If you have a degree of skill, and an awful lot of money behind you, there’s no doubt you can go a very long way, ” says Grahame Butterworth, the operations manager of the Association of British Kart Clubs.
“But even if you don’t have a lot of money you can still perform to a high standard. Jenson Button’s a great example. His Dad was a good driver and an engineer, but there wasn’t a lot of money behind them in Karting. Jenson was an astonishingly good driver, that’s what got him through.”
Starting a karting career from scratch requires a financial commitment to match your need for speed. A brand-new kart can set you back £5,000, and even if you’re buying second hand, you’ll still need to allocate at least £1,000 to kickstart your karting venture. Need a racing suit? A budget-friendly women’s race suit is at least £70, and the spending doesn’t stop there. Factor in the costs of a karting licence, a high-quality helmet, and entry fees, and you’ve racked up a hefty bill before you’ve even driven your inaugural lap.
That’s all true, unless you’re racing with Club 100.
Since being established in 1993, Club 100 has become the leading competition for ‘arrive and drive’ karting in Europe. You simply need to show up and rent a kart, making Club 100 the perfect championship for those who are looking to test their speed outdoors.
You can find out more about racing with Club 100 here.
Where can I Kart?
But money isn’t the only obstacle for aspiring racers. Take note of Jamie Chadwick, Jessica Hawkins, and Lando Norris. Some of the brightest talents in British motorsport, who share a common origin in the karting hub of the south.
“We live in Newport, South Wales, however my son’s home track is the Paul Fletcher International in Grantham,” says Glenn Allan, who drove his son to 22 race weekends throughout the course of 2023. “That’s 182 miles away, it takes at least three and a half hours every time.
“You have to plan these trips properly. I’ve just booked some hotels for race weekends 12 months away, just to keep the costs down. We also try to share driving with teammates, that way the fuel costs can be cut by half.”
And Glenn is by no means the only parent who spends most of their weekends on the road. Megan Chapman and her family drove over 7500 miles between March and October 2023, for her 7-year-olds race weekends.
“We live in Portsmouth and there’s not too many good tracks close to us. Whilton Mill is the best track closest to us, and that’s still at least 2 and a half hours away.”
“Last year we had a race in Sunderland which is 400 miles from us. The traffic was so bad it ended up taking 10 hours to get there.”
Karting isn’t like grassroots football or rugby, where you can get up at eight and be home by midday. Yes, it’s a commitment, but ask most karting parents, and they’ll tell you it’s 100% worth it. And with this commitment, comes a wonderful community unlike many others.
“What you see is these kids who are enemies on track, are great friends off track,” says Glenn Allan. “My son has lots of friends all around the world, that’s what keeps us coming back!”
The gender gap
Despite projects such as Susie Wolff’s ‘Girls on Track,’ looking to encourage more women to get involved in motorsport, karting is still a sport dominated by their male counterparts.
Many karting organisations are attempting to race away from the lingering stereotype that racing is for men. Garry Mitchell and his team at Midland Karting are looking to provide female enthusiasts with more opportunities to have the tracks to themselves, in order to build a more diverse karting community.
“We’ve got women that come down and race against the men and do brilliantly. But what we’ve found with women just starting up is that they feel more comfortable when racing against each other, so we’re definitely going to have more ladies nights and possibly a ladies championship this year,” says Garry.
There is a growing belief amongst racing enthusiasts that we will see a female F1 driver in the not too distant future, with this possibility relying significantly on girls participating in karting. Getting more girls involved in karting will not only expand the talent pool, but also increase the opportunities for girls to hone their skills and showcase their speed.
There’s no denying that karting is a more difficult sport to get involved in than most others. But don’t be fooled into thinking it’s a sport for wealthy men who live in the south. Whether you want to take it up as a hobby or challenge yourself against some of the UK’s most talented young drivers, karting is a sport where passion and commitment, not money, determine your ability to succeed.
