A couple lines I use often with new families:
Everyone that makes it to the top in racing began in karting but almost no one that begins in karting makes it to the top in racing.
Between karting and the top tier in racing is just a wealth redistribution system designed for the eternally cynical to take money from the eternally optimistic.
Agree with you Dan! In my home country thereās only 1 guy made it to top tier racing. I mean f1. Most of em didnt make it to that top tier ncluding myself.
It depends what you want.
If you want to reliably race 30 of the best drivers in the world just about any weekend, stay in karting.
If you want to focus on racing in its purest form and use that as a platform to test yourself to the maximum, or become one of the best drivers in the world, stay in karting.
If you are a young Junior driver and you want to race the very best drivers in the world for your age group stay in karting.
If you are a āmatureā driver and want to race the most committed, tough, fastest and dedicated racing drivers of similar age, stay in karting.
If youāve done a bit of formula car racing, and want to race against a densely packed grid bursting with talent instead of a diluted grid, karting.
If your ribs hurt and you donāt want to have to go full David Goggins in order to just be physically able to race, have a look into cars.
What about if i can only hold 10 laps and body hurts, should stay in karting? 
10 laps sounds good to me. Definitely stay in karting!!
The next thing after karting is more, cheaper karting and also talking about karting on the Kartpulse!
4stroke kart like lo206 is a lot cheaper than Tag engine right?
IMO, the most enjoyable and fun people in the pits are the ones who are racing because they love kart racing not because they see karting as a āstepping stoneā to something else. Many of the club locally have done other forms of racing and found their long-term āhomeā in karting. In my opinion, karting strikes a very nice balance of cost, physical risk, ease of logistics and time commitment to be a very fulfilling long-term hobby for many people (both families with kid drivers and adult drivers alike). I donāt fault any kid racing karts for dreaming about being a pro driver some day (just as any T-ball player has dreams of the MLB). However, I think its important for parents and clubs to measure how they talk about healthy motivations and karting for kartingās sake. Let the kids dream, but parents should be realistic about it and focus on the fun, not hammer down on their kids thinking they can ācreateā the next Senna if their kid would just focus!!! ā¦ Just my 0.02.
Sometimes I wonder what motivates / demotivates people regarding racing.
Theres a fella Iāve raced that quits every race heās losing in. Which strikes me as odd. It begs the question if one has paid to race why would one elect to abandon the effort if itās not going well? Whatās the motivation to pay the entry fee if the only acceptable result is podium? Racing is way too much of a crapshoot to rely on consistent podium performance as a measure of value for dollar or of self-worth.
Is it that for some the result is what matters as opposed to the race? But in order to win a race one must complete the race and in order to get good enough to win races, one must first lose many races. And, ironically, the wins are usually less meaningful/fun/engaging than the races you donāt win, at least, in my experience.
Further, if one were a genius of talent that wins every race he/she starts, would one even have the desire to continue the racing longer term?
In the absence of learning and growth, what would be the point? Wouldnāt Verstappen ultimately get bored of winning by 20s and decide āeff itā Iām done with this and off to try racing unicyclesā or something? Take up composing music because itās a challenge?
Which brings us back to the whole racing karts as a stepping stone thing mentality. Deny karting its inherent gravitas and consider it a stepping stone and you might as well just go drive racecars immediately and forget the whole thing. You gonna find no benefit from the kart that you wouldnāt get from a formula ford or whatever. And ultimately youād find no purpose in cars either.
Frankly, pro sounds kinda shitty. Youāve got a job like the rest of us in that case. Why is that being held up as the brass ring? Iād rather be a fat and happy rich dude of modest talent aspiring to be the best of the amateurs, but never actually getting to that finish line. (But I need a little taste every once in a while to keep the old spirits up and remain motivated).
I feel called out
20 character
You are the exception. Due to your love of violence, racing is the only avenue available for your unique skill set. Its pretty much racing or bust for you, Iām afraid.
If you stop bringing me to rental races Iāll probably end up in federal prison
I donāt know how to explain it, but karting was a lot more fun before I got a taste of winning. Just having fun. Spending time with friends, driving. It was an outing. Ever since I got a taste of what winning is like, thats now what drives me.
Everyoneās goals and abilities are different, but for me, I measure my success (not my fun) by how high on the podium I finish. Are there days where I absolutely will not win due to talent, age, depth of field, etc? Of course, but the competition is still what drives me.
My goal is always to be āin the mixā. I donāt need to win or podium, but I want to be dicing it up and be competitive. If Iām not anymore, it isnāt nearly as fun.
Oh absolutely, donāt get me wrong.,. Iām not saying being competitive isnāt importantā¦ Iām about as thin skinned and ego driven as it getsā¦ and without being driven by the desire to excel and hopefully win, I wouldnāt be engaged.
But to have wins be the be all and end all of the why isnāt enough for anyone to sustain over the long haul. Love of the whole experience is what I see as necessary and ultimately the point. The experience of it and the journey and how it shapes you and challenges you, thatās the silver we mine in them there hills.
Trophies are great but itās the journey that gets you there that matters.
And not recognizing the value of the silly little vehicle and treating it as a stepping stone is a bad ideaā¦ itās a disservice to a form of racing that is actually sustainable for most of us. Cars aināt that, too expensive and too complex
Hereās another thoughtā¦ youāve all earned your driving and not just because of talentā¦ but because of starts and laps. Lots and lots of them. Karts allowed us to have driving become baked in, instinctual, automatic.
For the vast majority of us, if we had only a few race starts a year, only some weekends of practice, weād never have gotten to the point that racing is like breathing. If we were beholden to car racing for that, very few of us would have the means and opportunity to get to that point. But with karts, we can race every weekend and practice every week without having to be exceptionally wealthy.
Absolutely, itās fun for me as long as I have someone to battle with! My favorite race ever I finished 4th after a race long battle with ten other drivers.
Iāll be honest and call myself out here. I envy people who can enjoy the experience for the experienceā¦I am not that guy. While I can logically recognize that the experience is enjoyable, what really drives me is the pursuit of improvement.
Itās been that way since I was a kid. Ice Hockey, Rugby, Mountain Biking, Surfing, etc. As soon as I plateau for too long I lose interest. I try not to, but I just do. Iām 37 and under no illusion that my karting will lead to anything other than karting, but Iāll admit I just got my first LO206 kart and Iām already thinking about progressing my skills enough to get to TAG classes.
I totally agree. My son is 14yo racing KA Sr. Since he was in Kid Karts he always been mid to upper pack, maybe sniff a top 5 now and then. Heās really picked it up in the last few months and has been in the lead pack, finishing as high as 2nd. Itās WAY more stressful for me now!
As a side not, itās not that my son wasnāt good, itās just that at our club, 50% of the KA drivers run regional events on a regular basis, and a handful are national racers. So itās REALLY tough competition.
You can just go straight to tag. In my neck of the woods that was the only option. The point of starting lower hp is to get a handle on the driving in a less expensive/physically demanding/less mentally loud way. But you can totes just go straight to 125tag. 100cc tag is probably the ideal starting point if you see yourself racing 2-stroke.
Hitting 16k pipe howling end of straight is worth it, feels so good.
I remember when I was 10 and started riding dirt bikes. Everyone said you āneededā to start on a four stroke like an XR100. I bought a CR80 for my first bike and the learning curve wasā¦steep. But I quickly figured it out and the bike lasted me a lot longer as a result. I will never forget hitting that power band for the first time though! Iāve never found myself on my derriĆØre so quickly.
My reasoning behind the LO206 was more about the time commitment outside of actual track time. I know what it takes to maintain a 2-stroke and until/unless my son really takes to karting with his little Comer 50 Kid Kart, I just donāt see myself having the bandwidth to dive headfirst right now.