The full race weekend in miniature: qualifying to set the grid, heats, then a final with a podium at the end. It is the format that produces a story rather than a set of lap times, which is why it suits groups who want something to argue about afterwards.
Ask how many laps the final is. A 30-lap final is a proper race; a 10-lap one is a sprint with ceremony attached.
Six drivers is typical. Some formats need ten or more to fill a grid properly.
Some tracks run junior versions of the same format at the same price. Others set race events at 14 or 16 plus.
Printed results and a podium are what people remember. Live timing screens make the qualifying session matter.
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
Aviemore, Highland
A 550-metre outdoor circuit at Aviemore with the Cairngorms as a backdrop, and one of the more interesting layouts in Scotland — six metres wide for overtaking, sweeping bends on positive camber, undulations, and a long straight down one side.
Brentwood, Essex
Brentwood Karting runs an 825-metre floodlit outdoor circuit at Warley Gap, about fifteen minutes' walk from Brentwood station and half an hour from central London. It holds the International Rental Karting Award for Best Customer Experience.
Price not published
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
Rooksley, Milton Keynes, Milton Keynes
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
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
Tamworth, Staffordshire
Daytona Tamworth is on Robey's Lane just off junction 10 of the M42, with easy access from the M6, M1 and A5. It is one of three Daytona circuits, alongside Milton Keynes and Sandown Park, and the group's Midlands venue.
Price not published
Dunkeswell, Devon
750 metres of smooth tarmac at Dunkeswell Aerodrome in east Devon, averaging eight metres wide — broad enough that overtaking is a real option rather than a hopeful lunge.
Ellough, near Beccles, Suffolk
Ellough Park near Beccles bills itself as East Anglia's premier outdoor kart circuit and has been running for over twenty years. It uses 390cc Sodi SR5 karts, the same machinery raced in the Sodi World Series, with an adjustable pedal system that alters both distance and height.
Cerrigydrudion, Corwen, Conwy
Glan Y Gors Park sits in open country at Cerrigydrudion, on the edge of Snowdonia, and runs an 1,100 metre outdoor circuit. The briefing room has a balcony with panoramic views over the whole track, which makes it a better spectator venue than most.
Price not published
Canary Wharf, London, Greater London
K1 Speed Canary Wharf is the UK site of an international chain with more than a hundred locations, and it is one hundred per cent electric. The karts are indoor and battery powered, which puts it in a small group alongside Revolution Karting on the other side of the city.
Sparkford, near Yeovil, Somerset
A 400-metre outdoor circuit beside Haynes International Motor Museum, laid on the museum's own test track. Petrol karts on tarmac, and a layout with proper braking zones and room to overtake.
Purfleet, Thurrock
Lakeside Karting sits on the A1306 Arterial Road at Purfleet, about half an hour from central London and a few minutes from Lakeside Shopping Centre. It holds the International Rental Karting Award for Best Customer Experience, and is run by Lets Go Active, who also operate Brentwood Karting.
Price not published
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.
Upper Broughton, Leicestershire
Nottingham Raceway is a 550-metre outdoor kart track at Upper Broughton in Leicestershire, just off the A46 and around 25 minutes from both Nottingham and Leicester. The circuit is wide enough to overtake properly, which is the main thing separating it from the indoor tracks in either city.
Price not published
Brandon, Grantham, Lincolnshire
PF International near Grantham is the longest circuit in this directory at 1,382 metres, and the only kart track in the UK holding a CIK-FIA International A Grade licence, which it achieved in 2011. Paul Fletcher established it in 1994 and it has been extended since.
Price not published
Red Lodge, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Red Lodge Karting is a floodlit outdoor circuit in Suffolk with short and long layouts, running up to 24 karts at once. The operator describes it as flowing and technical, and it is unusually well equipped for a hire venue: solar-powered digital flags on every marshal post, a large LED message board past the tower, and live timing shown in the viewing area.
Price not published
Woodbury Salterton, near Exeter, Devon
Raceworld is a 400 metre indoor circuit at Woodbury Salterton, a few miles outside Exeter, and it has been trading since 1994. The layout mixes fast straights with flowing and technical corners and includes a flyover bridge.
Price not published
Mile End, London, Greater London
Revolution Karting sits in the arches on Burdett Road at Mile End, and is London's most central outdoor kart track. Genuine tarmac, 450 metres, open all year in all but extreme weather, and running for over twenty years.
Price not published
Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire
Rye House at Hoddesdon is one of the best known circuits in British karting, and the operator leans on that history, describing it as the track where champions began their careers. It runs a main GP circuit and a separate bespoke junior circuit.
Leicester, Leicestershire
Stretton Circuit is a 950 metre outdoor track in rolling countryside on the edge of Leicester, built and extended over the years rather than laid out in one go. It weaves around banks, trees and buildings, with high and low speed corners, chicanes and hairpins, grass run-off, raised kerbs and tyre walls either side.
Worcester Park, Greater London
Surbiton Raceway at Worcester Park runs three separate outdoor tracks, which is more than almost anywhere else we list, and it means the age bands are properly catered for rather than fudged with restricted karts.
Price not published
Whilton Locks, Daventry, Northamptonshire
Whilton Mill near Daventry runs three outdoor circuits on one site, which makes it unusually flexible. The 1200m International Circuit is the headline one, with a 960m National Circuit and a 450m Mill Circuit alongside it. The operator has been running for over 35 years.
Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland
Teesside Motorsports at South Bank Road in Middlesbrough claims the world's longest kart circuit, and it has grown into a multipurpose venue rather than just a kart track. Mondays and Tuesdays are given over to car and bike testing and track days, with karting running Wednesday to Sunday.