2 tracks in Dorset run grand prix events. The full race weekend in miniature: qualifying to set the grid, heats, then a final with a podium at the end.
Christchurch, Dorset
South Coast Karting runs the outdoor Chapel Gate Circuit at Parley, on the edge of Christchurch near Bournemouth Airport. The track is 580 metres long with 14 corners.
Bournemouth, Dorset
TeamSport Bournemouth is an indoor electric kart track on Wallisdown Road, on the Bournemouth side of the boundary with Poole. The 450-metre circuit has 10 corners and runs over more than one level.
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.
Gloucester
JDR Karting is an indoor karting and activity centre on the Madleaze Trading Estate off Bristol Road in Gloucester, a few minutes' walk from Gloucester Quays. The main circuit is a 300-metre tarmac track with three banked corners, where laps take around 25 seconds. Senior drivers use Sodi SR4 karts with Honda 200cc engines.
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.
Liskeard, Cornwall
Kartworld is the karting operation at Adrenalin Quarry, an outdoor activity park beside the A38 at Menheniot near Liskeard in east Cornwall. The main track is an 800m all-weather circuit, and a separate 80m track is used for the smallest drivers.
Price not published
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.