So I’m going to take a gamble and say that this is the most helpful video for new people getting into the sport of karting in 2020. (I can see @Alan_Dove crying when he sees this.)
Obviously, some of his guidance is going to be UK based, because that’s where he’s from, but the general advice is pretty sound.
Don’t buy the first kart you see
Find your local track and where to race
Don’t skimp on safety.
You can spend what you want to have fun.
Also, the forums got a shout-out, so I’m loving that. I did a similar article about getting started for newcomers for Build/Race/Party like five years ago, so I’m going to link that here.
I liked it and it was helpful to understand how it went from many engines in one open class to many classes with 1 engine.
The one area that was missing was the where to go to buy a kart. In the USA we don’t seem to have brick and mortar so it seems we all buy our karts from “the guy with the big trailer”.
I think that’s where the “find the local support” comment comes from, but you’re right.
I wrote an article that no one reads about how to buy a go-kart a few years ago.
Probably needs to be made into a short video, but I have no time.
Actually, that’s a simple and fun format to show the many different kinds of karts. Not so much the classes, but the groups like: kid kart, rental, superkart, laydown, vintage, outlaw., shopping
There was a time my pop wanted to adopt F.A.R.T (Fine Auto Racing Team) as our official logo. Thankfully it was already taken by the the “Fire and Rescue Team” at the Track. He loves to say, “Life is a Gas !”. I love my dad is a cheesy old man. LOL!!! I have to admit, Giraffe Sheep and Duck Puppy are kinda cute.
Seriously though, I think we probably need fun content from people who really are new to the sport. Real life experiences that normal non-karters can relate too. It doesn’t always have to be a ‘guide’ as much as something that is relatable so people have confidence they have the capability to get into karting. Guides help, but a sport as diverse as karting requires such bespoke advice for people it’s hard to have a one size fits all approach. I think cultural celebration of our sport is as important as anything else. But alas this kinda content barely gets an traction on youtube and alike nowadays.
Karting is at a huge disadvantage to other sports because we appear as one homogenous sport, yet are dividing into factions and this creates instant doubt. I don’t think we should shy away from that, there needs to be a certain level of self-awareness, acceptance and sympathy. For a newcomer it must be incredibly overwhelming.
I may do a video titled “why karting is so damn complicated”. I’ve explained it a million times but titles mean everything nowadays.
