2 tracks in Nottinghamshire run birthday parties events. The single thing that decides whether this works is age and height, and it catches people out constantly.
Nottingham
TeamSport Nottingham is an indoor electric kart track on Victoria Business Park at Netherfield, on the eastern side of Nottingham. The 750-metre circuit runs over more than one level, with 15 corners, hairpins and a flyover section.
Price not published
Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire
Teamworks East Midlands is an indoor kart track on the edge of Sutton-in-Ashfield, in the Huthwaite area close to the M1. It is one of the Teamworks chain's venues and runs adult 200cc karts alongside cadet karts for younger drivers.
Price not published
The thing that catches groups out. Below the minimum you either pay for absent drivers or book an open session instead.
Grantham, Lincolnshire
Ancaster Leisure is an outdoor multi-activity site at Wood Lodge near Ancaster, north-east of Grantham, where karting sits alongside paintball, airsoft, archery and laser tag. Its outdoor track can be run as a 1,200m International circuit, a 700m Brooklands layout or a 600m Club circuit, with a separate junior circuit and a small electric track for young children.
Lincoln
Gridline Racing is an indoor kart centre in a former cash-and-carry warehouse on Dunford Road, south of Lincoln city centre. It has been running since 2006 and, being indoors, operates whatever the weather.
Price not published
Towcester, Northamptonshire
Kart Silverstone is an outdoor kart circuit within the Silverstone motor racing complex on the Northamptonshire–Buckinghamshire border. The track can run in five layouts, the longest at 1,377 metres, and is built to FIA-CIK standards.
Skegness, Lincolnshire
Kartworld Extreme Leisure is an outdoor kart circuit at Croft, on the southern edge of Skegness on the Lincolnshire coast. It runs petrol hire karts for the public, with adult drivers using OTK karts fitted with Honda GX270 engines.
Always check both. The gap between a 1.20m and a 1.40m minimum is the difference between an eight-year-old driving and watching.
Purpose-built junior karts fit smaller drivers properly. Some tracks also fit remote speed limiters so staff can build a nervous child up gradually.
Children mixed in with adults have a worse time. Ask whether junior sessions run separately.
Food, a private room, a podium and a trophy make it a party. Without them it is a driving session with cake in the car.