Coaching is the fastest way to stop being slow. An hour with someone who can read your lines will usually find more time than a year of turning up and driving. Race schools also run the ARKS test, which is the route to a competition licence.
If the goal is a Motorsport UK licence, you need an ARKS test. Not every circuit has examiners.
Individual coaching costs more and is worth it. Group sessions suit a first taste.
Walking the circuit with a coach explains braking points in a way that laps alone do not.
Some schools review timing data or onboard footage afterwards. That is where the improvement sticks.
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
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.
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
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
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.