So does a national listing of tracks and clubs exist? I’d really like to see what locations are viable.
To elaborate a bit further, it’s not so much the individual G forces but rather the consistency of the G’s. On a midsized track, you’ll be pulling G every 3-5 seconds. This adds up over 10-15 min heats.
New drivers don’t have the core strength and neck muscles to deal with this. The more power and stickier tires, the greater the effect.
Your typical, semi-sedentary adult gets a real workout from a humble 9 hp rental kart. X30 is a whole nother beast. Shifter is again, more bonkers. (I sim shifter and it’s tiring in sim!).
I seem to have found my happy place endurance racing rental karts. It’s a fabulous workout and who doesn’t want to drive 2-6hrs at a time?
1 Like
We have a track locator tool. I am not sure if current.
In NJ:
(CIK-FIA track in its full config. Bring your own kart or rent a kart. FullTilt racing now does TAG rentals there)
(Karting go bye-bye, soon, I am told)
NY:
(Club facility with everything you’d want under one roof)
Md:
(Has shop and does rentals. Is very unusual track and really fun. Rental series as well as owner racing).
That’s it for serious sprint tracks (outdoors) near me.
Pennsylvania has stuff too but I can’t think of any Philly area stuff that isn’t indoor.
There are other indoor facilities, some are very good. But that’s not what you are looking for. Of note, GPNY has a fun multi level setup indoors with disco lights etc.
There’s probably a lot of dirt oval in PA/NY that’s off my radar, as well.
1 Like
At 56, I’ve gotten back into karting in the LO206 4 stroke class. Even though they’re only 9hp or so, it’s the 2g’s that still bring that thrill and because you’re literally sitting a golf ball height off the surface, 50mph seems so much quicker. As others have mentioned, even in a low up kart a rib protector is a must. 12 laps takes its toll on the body, especially at my age. But I’m enjoying every minute of it….and the camaraderie and support at my local track has been amazing. I grew up in MX and eventually grew that desire to race something again. I hesitantly thought I was probably too old and this was a younger persons sport, but the field of 206 drivers ranges from young to older than I. Probably one of the most popular classes in the nation due to its relatively low cost to run and maintain the kart. Glad I started again…I may eventually go up to a KA but for now, I’m having a blast in the “lawnmower” class 
2 Likes
Welcome @StardogGT !
+1 to just about all that was said. I’m new too - almost 34 and started karting this year. A few motors and a solid chassis seem to be a great combo for you. I race KT100 and love it, but that’s more of a hardly-surviving/old school class. KA100/X30 would make sense.
Oh, and another +1 for 
. I’m on week 4/6, recovering from a cracked rib from my first race. Wasn’t a racing incident either - I hopped a kerb and got tossed in my seat, without rib protection. Seat bolt right in my side. I’ve since gotten a Bengio.
Here’s a link to our club on the Central Coast of California, if you’re ever in the area - http://www.smka.org/.
2 Likes
Battling anywhere is good but battling for the lead is better 
I’m just getting back into karting at age 62 after a 30 year hiatus and I’m loving it. I raced supermoto’s for several years but finally decided I don’t want to keep getting injured. Bikes are a lot of fun but the consequences of a crash is usually going to result in some kind of injury.
Your age will not be a hinderance but it helps if you are in decent shape to be honest (not saying that you aren’t). As far as classes and equipment I have no knowledge as I have been out of the sport for so long and all of my racing was in the UK on road courses anyway. All I can say is that I was given a Rotax max which I found out are not used for racing anymore but it is a lot of fun at open practice days. I never wore a rib protector when I use to race but we had wrap around seats and contoured them for a perfect fit. I purchased a Ribtect protector to use in the Rotax and I had absolutely nor soreness or bruising the day after driving.
Maybe do a couple of the arrive and drive things first to get a feel for it, you are going to love it.
Good luck!
1 Like
38 is no issue, gives you a good excuse to get in better shape to fight the mid-life slowdown anyway. A KA 100 kart will feel plenty fast for you coming from a SV650. I’d recommend KA due to the simplicity over X30 which can be helpful when getting into karting and trying to learn everything else involved in the sport at the same time.
As a long-former bike track day person your ability to manage friction circles, understand maintenance throttle, and accelerate through and out of corners will be a big benefit in karting.
With your various moves around the country your biggest hurdle will be classes to run with. Not everywhere will have masters classes and even fewer might have KA masters. If you can get down to 180-ish lbs that would open many more options as you could make Senior weight in most areas of the country.
1 Like
180 might be tough. But that is my goal weight. I’ve dropped about 40 pounds in the last year. I was out of work for about 8 months in '20/'21 and just ate brisket and drank beer. And let me tell you, my wife can smoke a mean brisket. Was not great for me. Sure was tasty though.
BTW arent i too old for Seniors?
No one said you can’t punch up. You can race senior if you want. A senior couldn’t race masters, however. Age is the gatekeeper.
Running Senior at 38 is not easy. I ran Senior until I was 43 (with 10 yrs of karting experience) and I was mid pack on a good day. 10+ yrs later I will still jump in a Sr race at the local or regional level.
Since you are starting out, if there is a decent Masters class near you, run that. It will be more rewarding for you. That will answer all your questions about engines, etc… Just run the same engine all the others are racing. It is unlikely that there will be 2 (popular) Masters classes locally. In the NE, for Masters, it looks like Rotax is/will be the ticket.
31 had to run Senior for Rotax since the limit is 32. Was really tough keeping up at the end of Saturday. After a warm-up, qually, 2 heats, a prefinal, and working on the kart, my 2nd half of the races were rough. I consider myself in really great shape and it still kicked my butt. All the “youngsters” around me were not slowing down at all 
There is no max age for Senior, just depends on how willing you are to dice it up with 15 year olds. Personally, I enjoy it, though some prefer racing Masters (30 or 32+) where everyone is more on the same mindset of competition.
I am 45, run senior with the “kids” just because I am not willing to add 50 lbs to my kart. Our track has seniors at 360lbs and that means 20lbs ballast. Masters is 390lbs and it is just too heavy to lift and lower the kart 6x per day + my son’s kart 6x.
Senior is the biggest group and there are always people around my pace, its my 1st season.
1 Like
The classification “senior” is a bit odd in karting as it is basically 15 and older. Masters is for the older person but that is generally around 35 and older.
1 Like
Yeah I’m not sure what’s going on with that. I tried to replace the heart with a thumbs up some weeks ago and it seems to have the opposite effect.
1 Like