What Are The Kart Racing Formats?

In karting, there are three kinds of racing formats. These are Sprint racing, Endurance racing and Speedway racing. For those who are still unfamiliar of this type of motor sport, this article should help you learn getting through the basics especially for those who are planning to get themselves really involved in this sport.

In the US and United Kingdom as well as the other parts of Europe, Speedway racing is the most popular type.

Sprint Racing

Unlike the other racing formats, this is the type that is available to everyone as this is the ones normally offered in most karting circuits particularly for those who only want to experience the sport merely as a pastime instead of a racing competition. Children ages 8 and up can already take on the sprint racing.

This type normally takes place on tracks similar to that of road circuits having both the left and right turns. The tracks may range from one-fourth mile to over one mile in length. However, there are still other tracks that are longer and offer a greater period of racing time.

A sprint race typically lasts for only fifteen minutes thus, requiring only a number of laps to be finished. However, some may be shorter but others do not tend to really go beyond the average time period and the racing is usually done during daytime. In this racing format, it is the speed as well as the successful overtaking of the racer that is of utmost importance to truly succeed.

Normally, there are only three qualifying rounds to determine who will move forward to the last round wherein the scoring calculations will be used as the basis for deciding who takes home the trophy positions in the said event.

Endurance Racing

For Americans, Endurance racing is commonly termed “Enduro racing”. From its name, the race tests the endurance of both the machine and the driver that is probably why most of the time, the competitors are exceptionally experienced drivers. These races last much longer than the sprint type. Racing period may range from about half an hour or may even reach twenty-four hours in the track. However, longer races require the use of more than one karter. The tracks can go as long as 4 miles and at least 1.5 miles taking place on asphalt road circuits

Generally, for this type of race, skills such as reliability and consistency coupled with pit strategy are given great importance than speed.

Speedway Racing

With only left turns in the course, this race takes place on oval road circuits composed of either asphalt or clay. Ranging from one-sixth to one-quarter mile long, it has two corners with four corners for the left turns and may be run day or night but since this format is an excellent challenging race, it is already a usual scenario that these dirt track races are done during the night. The races take four laps for trophy dashes or may even reach twenty laps for main events.

The two formats of Speedway racing are:

• The IKF race which has two heats comprising of ten laps. The concluding positions serve as the basis for determining the starting positions of the twenty-lap race.

• The WKA race use the qualifying times and whoever has the fastest recorded qualifying time takes on the first position in the order of the race for the main event.