Endurance karting in Kent
3 tracks in Kent run endurance events. Teams share a kart over an hour or more, swapping drivers through a pit stop.
The 3 tracks
Buckmore Park
Chatham, Kent
Buckmore Park at Chatham is one of the best known circuits in British karting, and the one where Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and David Coulthard all raced as juniors. It runs two outdoor layouts: an International circuit where an experienced driver laps in around 50 seconds, and a shorter National circuit nearer 35.
Price not published
Bayford Meadows
Sittingbourne, Kent
An 1,100-metre floodlit asphalt circuit on a twelve-acre site behind the Eurolink Industrial Estate at Sittingbourne. It was designed and built by Gerry Lilley on what had been wasteland, opened in 1997, and is now run by his daughter: a genuinely family-run circuit rather than a chain venue.
Price not published
Lydd Kart Circuit
Lydd, Kent
Lydd Kart Circuit sits on Dengemarsh Road out on Romney Marsh in Kent, and runs two separate circuits with an unusually wide age spread between them.
Minimum group sizes
The thing that catches groups out. Below the minimum you either pay for absent drivers or book an open session instead.
Elsewhere in the region
Absolutely Karting Maidenhead
Maidenhead, Berkshire
Absolutely Karting Maidenhead is an indoor centre at The Arena on Stafferton Way, close to Maidenhead town centre. Its circuit is built over two levels: adults can drive the lower section alone or the full double-level layout, while younger drivers use the top track.
Daytona Milton Keynes
Rooksley, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
Daytona Milton Keynes is on Dansteed Way at Rooksley, close to junction 14 of the M1 and about ten minutes by taxi from Milton Keynes Central. It is one of three Daytona circuits, alongside Sandown Park and Tamworth.
Price not published
Daytona Sandown Park
Esher, Surrey
Daytona Sandown Park sits inside the Sandown Park racecourse complex at Esher, just off the A3 and about ten minutes from junction 10 of the M25. It is one of three Daytona circuits, alongside Milton Keynes and Tamworth, and the closest serious outdoor circuit to south-west London.
Price not published
Formula Fast Karting
Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire
Formula Fast is an indoor kart centre on the Bond Estate off Bond Avenue in Milton Keynes, with a wide circuit of more than 500 metres. It hosts the British Rental Kart Championship.
Price not published
What to look for
Priced per kart
Split between four or six drivers, an endurance race often costs less per head than a sprint event, and gives you far more track time.
Race length
An hour is enough for a couple of stints each. Two or three hours turns it into a proper day with a real strategic element.
Pit stop rules
Minimum stop times and mandatory driver changes are what create the strategy. Ask how they run them.
Team size limits
Usually three to six per kart. More drivers means shorter stints, which suits mixed-ability groups.
Questions worth asking
- Is the price per kart or per driver?
- How many drivers can share one kart?
- How do the pit stops work?
- What is the minimum number of teams?