Well yes, indoor karting is definitely not a new thing here. What I meant is the frequent articles, press releases, discussions in karting about the “grassroots level” of karting, usually associating the LO206 with it these days. Some won’t even consider indoor/rentals as a legitimate form of karting and I’ll admit, indoor karting is a little different from the competitive type of karting people do here.
But when I think “grassroots”, I think it means something that is accessible to most people, for the “masses” as they say. And when you consider how much it takes to even get an entry-level kart on track, the masses aren’t willing to invest the time and money it takes to buy and race one, not even an LO206.
Back in the mid-90s and before that, if you wanted to go karting there was no choice, you had to race your own kart, there were no indoor karting facilities, or rental kart programs, at least not in this country. That’s not the case anymore.