Grand prix karting in Kent
3 tracks in Kent 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.
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.
AR Kartz
Burgess Hill, West Sussex
AR Kartz is an indoor electric karting centre on the Panattoni Park business estate at Goddards Green, on the western edge of Burgess Hill. The track is 350 metres long with 15 corners.
Price not published
Brighton Karting
Albourne, West Sussex
Brighton Karting is an 800-metre outdoor tarmac circuit on London Road at Albourne, near Hassocks in Mid Sussex, about ten miles north of Brighton. The track is 7 metres wide and floodlit.
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
What to look for
The format, in laps
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.
Group minimum
Six drivers is typical. Some formats need ten or more to fill a grid properly.
Whether juniors can enter
Some tracks run junior versions of the same format at the same price. Others set race events at 14 or 16 plus.
Trophies and timing
Printed results and a podium are what people remember. Live timing screens make the qualifying session matter.
Questions worth asking
- How many laps is the final, and how long is qualifying?
- What is the minimum number of drivers?
- Is there a junior version, and from what age?
- Do we get printed results and trophies?