K1 @ Winchester - A Rebel Scum Reconnaisance

Bimodal_Rocket · January 1, 2025, 8:10pm

I happen to be in Southern California and it appears we are within barking distance of the new K1 facility in Winchester. Ergo, a day trip is in order.

I am with my family on vacation so my son Nick will come and perhaps even my spouse, who will get to experience a kart facility for the first time. I thought this would be a good one to bring her to since it’s shiny, upscale, and undoubtedly impressive.

It appears that one can get there in about 1.5hrs from the Newport Beach area. Looking at the map, there is a big old mountain that separates the coast from the inland fun. Google suggests driving around the mountain on the freeways.

However, there is a route 74 that goes up and over the mountain, and then drops you by a lake and, I think ultimately, Palm Springs desert. This scenic 2 lane appears to clamber up switchbacks, through varied terrain.

AI Overview
To drive from the coast to the desert on “RT 74” in California, you would take State Route 74 (SR 74), also known as the “Palms to Pines Scenic Byway”, starting near the coast in Orange County and driving inland towards Palm Desert in the Coachella Valley, essentially traversing through the Santa Ana Mountains and San Jacinto Mountains to reach the desert landscape; this route offers stunningii views of both coastal and desert environments.

So, I think we will head there inefficiently and go up and over the mountain.

I tried calling the facility but wasn’t able to get anyone, so I think we will just wing it and show up to do arrive and drive rentals. I assume we won’t be able to go fast, as it appears that they have tiered their offerings, unlocking speed as you progress through their licensing system.

Their website describes the licensing model as thus:

Level 1: $50 ANNUAL BRONZE MEMBER – SPEED L1
This unlocks arrive and drive at lower speed. 0 races required.

Level 2: $100 ANNUAL SILVER MEMBER – SPEED L2
REQUIREMENTS: 5 Races as Bronze License Member (or proof of current karting / automotive racing experience. Review subject to management discretion.)

Level 3: $250 ANNUAL GOLD MEMBER – SPEED L3
REQUIREMENTS: 10 Races as Silver License Member: Upgrade your experience by unlocking even greater speed in our outdoor electric karts and enjoy all the perks of our Bronze and Silver Membership Licenses PLUS a special 2-Hour Race Class that includes three race sessions and a track walk. You’ll also enjoy free rental cameras each day you race. (ugh, I bet they won’t let me film).

Level 4: $350 ANNUAL PRO MEMBER – SPEED L4
REQUIREMENTS: 15 Races as Gold License Member. With the Pro Membership license, you’ll unlock the maximum speed of our E Pro Kart, and will enjoy all benefits from our Bronze, Silver and Gold Membership Licenses.

The Pro Track is the largest layout at K1 Circuit. The track is 5280 feet (1 mile) long and has 12 turns with 33 feet of elevation change. The front straight is 400 feet and the back straight is 750 feet. This track layout will be used predominately for high-profile competition karting events such as SKUSA, TRI-C Karters, and K1 Speed’s E-World Championship.

So, this is a bit more involved than most places and requires time/financial commitment to unlock the speed. As we are doing a quick day trip, I suspect we will be Bronze speed unless I can convince them via my YouTube channel that Nick and I are competent and perhaps open level 2.

From what I have read, the max speed is not open for business yet, as the karts can push 80mph in full send mode. Presumably they have to figure out how to gatekeep this level of speed appropriately. It’s probably not a great idea giving that sort of power to just anyone. Would you put a novice in a KZ? Same sort of issue at play here, I think.

Unsure what base speed is but hopefully it’s better than Supercharged and it’s pathetic speed 3 pub sessions like in NJ.

Cost wise it’s not unreasonable but it is on the pricier side. While the heats themselves aren’t crazy costly, one does have to consider the additional fees for licensing annually as well as all the other revenue generating opportunities they no doubt leverage. (Cams, for example).

I’d say that $35 for the bulk session online pricing is on the high side, but not outrageously so. It is a new track, and the karts appear to be more like race karts than typical electric rentals.

Bear in mind that one must additionally pay an annual license fee (even if visiting just once), however.

We will head out in the next day or so. I will update the thread with pics and thoughts as we go along.

Bimodal_Rocket · January 2, 2025, 2:38am

I recall someone saying it gets hot at the new K1.

Average Temperature in Winchester

The hot season lasts for 3.1 months, from June 18 to September 22, with an average daily high temperature above 87°F . The hottest month of the year in Winchester is August, with an average high of 92°F and low of 65°F.

Seems reasonable for inland.

Bimodal_Rocket · January 2, 2025, 3:36pm

A promising sunrise…

Online reservations are down but I did manage to get through and they said to just show up, that it would be fine. We shall see!

calebgilbert · January 2, 2025, 3:56pm

Hey, you’re going to make it to K1!

…let’s just get this out the way…I’m a little jealous…

But seriously, it sounds like an amazing opportunity for anyone who has the slightest interest in karting. Offhand, do you know what the track’s availability is for anyone who brings their own kart? (e.g., do the rentals and self-owned just split time at the track on a daily basis, or are there just separate days)

Bimodal_Rocket · January 2, 2025, 4:07pm

Lemme ask when I’m there. I am pretty sure they split time for practice. Also, it appears the track can be chopped up into 4 configs. I am thinking that they run rentals on one and then maybe owner karts on another?

Open practice for kart owners is Tuesday through Sunday, 9am to 4pm . We are open 7 days a week but may be closed for an event.

Kart owners must meet a dB noise limit that is measured from a set ‘sound station’ with an industry standard measuring device.

2-stroke kart engine noise limit: 95dB
4-stroke kart engine noise limit: 85dB

(Not sure if this means you need a special pipe like at Trackhouse).

Bimodal_Rocket · January 2, 2025, 4:12pm

Oh, here’s the rental e-kart that they use. It’s quite nice looking.

calebgilbert · January 2, 2025, 4:46pm

Wow, yeah that’s a smart looking kart. I have a feeling something like that might make some progress on changing a few minds and turn a few heads with the ICE kart owners. Interesting about the noise regs. That is very timely subject for me as I get my backyard track operational…

Looking forward to your reports about the track!

Bimodal_Rocket · January 2, 2025, 6:31pm

I enjoyed this gentleman’s video. He and his SO live down the way and went to check it out. They aren’t karters but I’d like to think they were inspired to get in the seat and have a go!

Also, why does time seem to expand when you are waiting for your family to get ready to leave for the track?

calebgilbert · January 3, 2025, 12:12am

I don’t think they did any driving - it looks like they got there during a SKUSA race weekend. Nice looking place though.

Bimodal_Rocket · January 3, 2025, 12:39am

2 words…

Holy Cow!

(More when I get home)

Bimodal_Rocket · January 3, 2025, 5:05am

K1 Winchester: The jewel in the desert

Well, that was epic. What a lovely place! We came and did 3 sessions and it was well worth the trip. The facility is one of the nicest I have seen and it’s not done yet. The main building is still being built and much is yet to come.

There is now a sign to prevent the young ones from using the astroturf hill as a slide

The track is fantastic. It features plenty of elevation changes and is fast and flowing. We drove on one of the half-track layouts (of which there are two). The full track seems like there’s significantly more straights and more speed into corners. I wasn’t able to do enough sessions to get familiar and push, but even with my cautious approach, I found it plenty engaging.

The start/finish

The e-karts were fabulous. The gentleman who checked us in gave us “silver” speed and it was plenty fast to start learning the track. I imagine the “bronze” is more than sufficient for most arrive and drive patrons. Hard to say exactly but silver felt like it was capable of north of 50mph and pulled plenty hard.

The karts themselves are unusual in that they had front brakes and a reclined position. The seating position reminded me a bit of a photo of one of @Alan_Dove’s powerful karts with a rather laid back seat. It also feels like the seat position was back and off center, relative to normal. The steering was heavier than a normal rental kart, but at speed, very nice to drive.

Another satisfied customer

Tire was relatively hard, but sufficiently grippy. My third kart pushed alot, but the first two were great. The front brakes were neat to experience (never driven a shifter so was new to me). Plenty of stopping power, but a bit different than I’m used to and rotates a bit differently. I felt like you’d probably rotate more with throttle than brake.

The OTL karts await

I’d love to come back and really dive into it and learn the karts and track. I’d need a lot more sessions to learn corner entry speeds and where to roll speed, where to brake hard. Despite babying the kart around the track, I got some glimpses of the potential, and there’s plenty of it to be had.

The briefing room

The folks I interacted with on the staff were great and I chatted a bit with a gentleman named Lance who was very pleasant and helpful. We also had a fella in one of our heats come up afterwards and chat, who also worked there, and gave us some pointers, which was cool!

Lance and Mikaela chilling between sessions

Surprisingly, this K1 is very chill in ways I didn’t expect. They had zero issues with using a GoPro, didn’t require neck braces, didn’t need abrasion resistant jacket, and it wasn’t crowded. I brought some printouts from race monitor to show that Nick and I had experience and they accommodated silver speed with no issues. (Bring actual printout, don’t wave a cellphone webpage at them).

There is merch and once the main building is done, food

I gotta say that I’m a bit jelly, that I wish this was near me. It’s kind of got it all and it’s open 7 days a week. The rental karts are on another level than the usual concession rentals. There’s breadth to their power and have plenty of “room to grow” for drivers. While they haven’t opened up to taps to the top level speed, the first three tiers are really quite powerful, relative to most e-kart facilities I have experienced.

If I lived here, I’d definitely want to participate in their league ($150 per race night) when it starts and I would even consider plonking down the substantial investment in one of these bad boys and their chargers. It’s a very feasible alternative to gas (albeit heavier).

The temporary home of the rental ops. Will become more garage space eventually

So, in short, should you have the opportunity to get out here, do so. It’s well worth the visit. I’m contemplating perhaps coming out again for a race at some point, should they decide to host endurance races. I would even consider coming out for a multi day lap fest just to get competent on the karts and track. Would be a cool karting vacation, imo.

The drive wasn’t bad at all and we did take the 74 route, which was very cool and well worth the extra time. Theres some fabulous geology/landscapes, including a part where a big fire torched the mountain that was oddly beautiful. It’s a twisty 2 lane road, so I wasn’t able to take much in the way of pics for fear of falling off the road!

RT 74

Nick is annoyingly quick despite the little karting he does these days but I’m ok (sometimes) with him being faster than the old man

Thanks to the folks at K1 for building this awesome place and thanks to the folks working there for having us. They have their act together and were very professional and pleasant. We hope to be back soon!

calebgilbert · January 3, 2025, 6:32am

Man, what an awesome trip and karting facility. Great job documenting.

Bimodal_Rocket · January 3, 2025, 6:46am

Why thank you! You deffo should go.

No special pipe needed. Lance said that they have a machine to test db but that most engines in use conform to the sound limits.

Pippen_001 · January 3, 2025, 1:08pm

Great write up Dom. Thanks

Bimodal_Rocket · January 3, 2025, 4:49pm

On the subject of cost…

I think that their pricing, upon reflection and experiencing the facility, is quite fair and possibly even, a good deal.

While on paper, 35 a session for 3 pack ($105) is high for rentals, I’d argue that these aren’t normal rentals. They are a hybrid between a race kart and a concession kart, and offer considerably more power than the usual concession rental karts.

As we are aware, should one want to go pound laps in a gas race kart, you’d likely need to arrange something on a day rate with mechanic, which can run anywhere from 350-1k depending on what you want to drive engine wise. Also, it requires planning etc. These OTL e-karts offer what appear to be ka100 through KZ (eventually will be available) speeds, on an arrive and drive basis, which is compelling as heck.

To unlock the speed, one must pay a license fee annually. I am not exactly sure how it works but let’s think it through.

Walk in day 1: bronze license… $49
5 heats required to achieve Silver = about $175.

Let’s say you now want silver… thats $100 for license.
You now need 10 more sessions at silver to get to gold… $350.

Gold will cost 250. You will then need 15 heats to unlock platinum. That will cost you $525.
Now that you’ve done the gold heats, you will pay $350 for platinum license.

So, all in you need 30heats total = $1050
And you paid for each license on way up = $750 in license fees.

So there’s some upfront cost to get unlocked but not outrageous. And the license is an annual one time fee. Presumably once you qualify you don’t need to ever again.

There are some goodies you get for each license, for example (gold + platinum):

ANNUAL PRO LICENSE

T-Shirt or Hat
2-Hour Class (Includes 3 sessions w/ track walk)
Free Use of Rental Suits
Free Use of Rental Helmets
10% Off K1 RaceGear Apparel (excludes helmets, head & neck restraints, karts)

So, in my case, silver got me a nice goodie bag with a cool silver members card.

So, given the overall quality of the experience and the convenience of its offering, I think this is all quite reasonable pricing.

johnu97 · January 8, 2025, 11:44pm

Thanks for all that info Dom!

I only live 35 miles from the track Going to drive out there tomorrow and check it all out. Just going to see first hand what it’s all about.

I would like to give the e karts a try but also want to take the Rotax max out there for a practice day.

Bimodal_Rocket · January 9, 2025, 4:30am

You are most welcome.

Good news! Owner kart Practice is tues-sun 9-4 I think. I am very jelly, its really nice and cant wait to see its final form. I wish I could participate in their league, which seems awesome and is a good deal.

HAVE YOUR OWN KART?

An easy drive from anywhere in Southern California, K1 Circuit spans across 27 acres located off the 215 in Winchester.

K1 Circuit is a 1.1 mile, 16-turn, world-class race track built by industry professionals with meticulous emphasis on safety and usability.

We offer customers who own a racing kart the ability to practice and test year-round. Please see our Requirements below. We also offer a number of storage options if you would prefer to keep your kart at the track, with everything from stands, to lockers, to complete team garages. Turn-key service is also available. With a simple phone call we can have your kart pulled, serviced and ready to race when you arrive.

Open practice for kart owners is Tuesday through Sunday, 9am to 4pm. We are open 7 days a week but my be closed for an event. Please verify on our Calendar page prior to scheduling for open practice.

REQUIREMENTS

Kart owners must meet a dB noise limit that is measured from a set ‘sound station’ with an industry standard measuring device.

2-stroke kart engine noise limit: 95dB
4-stroke kart engine noise limit: 85dB

There is no set tech inspection that karts must pass. However, K1 Circuit reserves the right to deny entry onto the track if a kart is deemed unsafe, too loud or has the potential to damage the track surface.

Kart owners must have gloves, close-toed shoes, and a homologated kart racing suit in order to use our facilities.

johnu97 · January 12, 2025, 7:53pm

Again thanks for posting up owner kart info!

I actually didn’t make it out there this anyway so what you posted is interesting. I think I may have one regarding both of my karts, they only have the frame width bumpers not the full width plastic type. That might be frowned upon although I have not had an issue at other tracks.

One part of there requirements is intersting and that is that your suit needs to be homolgated And then there is not even a mention of helmets which I would deem to be the most important part of safety gear!

Anyway I can’t wait to get down there and give it a try.