3 tracks in Essex 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.
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
Purfleet, Essex
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
Harlow, Essex
TeamSport Harlow is an indoor kart track on River Way in Harlow, west Essex, reached from the M11. The 500-metre circuit has 14 corners over more than one level, with changes in height along the lap.
Price not published
Ipswich, Suffolk
Anglia Indoor Karting has operated for over 30 years from an industrial unit on Farthing Road, on the western side of Ipswich. The building holds two separate multi-level circuits, each with flyover sections, plus a laser maze.
Price not published
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.
Cromer, Norfolk
Karttrak Cromer is an outdoor kart circuit on Hall Road in Cromer, on the north Norfolk coast. The 550-metre tarmac track was resurfaced in 2022 and runs 160cc cadet karts and 200cc junior and adult karts.
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
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.