Lamest kart track

[Muzza]

Folks,

Considering only full-time kart tracks (I mean, excluding make-shifts in parking lots and temporary ones, but including indoor tracks) what is the lamest kart circuit you have ever raced on? (or visited)

My vote goes for Zandvoort - I was there for the last time in 1998 and it was absolutely pathetic (as the other two visits there had been). The track was very short, dumb and not challenging (the lay-out was a sort of Dijon-Prenois... sanitized!), the facilities were a joke, the timing system was completely faulty, most of the electric outlets were short-circuited, there was no air compressor available (we got all crews together, loaded a van with all tyres and drove to a nearby gas station to have them filled...) - and I think if I say that the first help crew were the lifeguards at the beach in front of the track I would not be exaggerating too much.

I hope the Zandvoort kart track has been re-developed/modernized after those events: Zandvoort is a racing circuit that has a honor place in motorsport history, and that dump of a kart track just masculated it!

What about you? What is the worst kart track you've been to?

[TomS]

Has to be one of those indoor tracks that are so thin its impossible to pass!!

[avsfan733]

especially the indoor one i used to go to in Virginia...the first corner which was at the end of the longest straight, was so narrow that it was hardly possible to get around it much less pass without wall contact...there was literally one passing oportunity unless the person in front of you screwed up...then you would both get passed by the person behind you who had time to react

[Sile]

Adams Kart Track in Riverside, California! It's the sh*te's & flipping bumpier then a flaming motorcross track!

[crozier74]

Out of all the officially licenced tracks in the UK I've raced at, in decending order:

Glan-y-Gors, Conwy
Three Sisters, Lancashire
Rowrah, Cumbria
Larkhall, Lanarkshire
Golspie, Highlands
Boyndie, Moray
Crail, Fife
Fulbeck, Lincolnshire

So that means that the worst track I've raced at, by far, is FULBECK! The facilities are rubbish, only a clubhouse which only the officials use, a freezing concrete "thing" for toilets, a burger van instead of a cafe, and an entry road that is unbelievably bumpy. As for the track, it's the most mickey-mouse I've ever seen: chicanes all over the place, a stupidly tight hairpin, cracked surface, high and rough kerbs.

I've also driven at the following unofficial tracks:

Kartstart (indoor), Aberdeenshire
Knockhill, Fife
Raceland, East Lothian
Silverstone, Northamptonshire

... But none of those are any worse than Fulbeck. And I'll hopefully race at these other tracks in '04:

Buckmore Park, Kent
Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire
Lydd, Kent
PF International, Lincolnshire
Whilton Mill, Northamptonshire

Also, for anyone who's interested, I might start up a database of official kart circuits next year, so if anyone can provide names, info and/or circuit diagrams for tracks that they know have been licenced at some point for the National Sporting Authority for your country (list of worldwide ones here: http://www.fia.com/homepage/selection-a.html, click on ASNs in the top menu, not online as I posted this message), I would be very grateful if you could send me a PM with the info. Thanks.

[Muzza]

Hello, Crozier74,

1.) Buckmore Park has got some international reputation because of the ads they have on Autosport, and also because Johnny Herbert endorses the track. I have never been there (actually I have never been to any kart track in the UK!), but the pictures sure look nice (as my friends here in Wisconsin would say).

2.) You listed Three Sisters as a poor track. Is it not that place with a fancy website? Or am I mistaken?

3.) Regarding a database about karting circuits, I suggest you to get in touch with Daniel King at the Racing Circuits website (in my humble opinion the best, most accurate racing circuit website in the internet. Dan King carries extraordinary efforts to ensure that all he publishes is precise and updated. Racing circuits also offers features that are simply peerless).

Dan King is working on a database about karting tracks (including even the relative location between karting and car track! Say, for example, Interlagos for cars and Interlagos for karts), and I am sure you could work together on this subject. I am a collaborator to Racing Circuits and it is a pleasure to work with Dan. He has his hands more or less full with car tracks, maybe you could help with the kart ones.

The website address is http://www.racingcircuits.net, and the e-mailbox is info@racingcircuits.net.

(I just published - still on a preliminary stage - my own racing website (nothing to do with circuits, though, at least not directly) and a revival of such collaborative, "open source" approach to projects and to life is one of the most significant social changes that the internet is bringing to mankind. Share the vision, share goals, share the work, share benefits).

Cheers,


Muzza

[diz]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Muzza
[B]Hello, Crozier74,


2.) You listed Three Sisters as a poor track. Is it not that place with a fancy website? Or am I mistaken?

My reading of the post was that Three Sisters was his No.2 favourite kart track - of those he had raced on - not a poor track.

[crozier74]

Hello Muzza and diz.

Yes diz, you're right, I wrote that list to show ALL of the circuits I've raced at in descending order of I've how much I like them, so yes, that means that Three Sisters in my 2nd favourite track. To be honest, Three Sisters through Crail are all really close as being tracks I quite like, only Glan-y-Gors and Fulbeck are at the extremes of love and hate .

Muzza, I am aware of and am a frequent visitor to Dan King's website, and I agree to your points about it, it's definately an extremely well put together resource, and one that I would strive to get even remotely close to the standard of! The idea of having my own webite is to not only provide a database of circuits, but also to promote my own racing career and sponsors, so I'd still like to do it. But I'd be very happy to give Dan a helping hand in the karting section of his website, it's just the fact that kart circuits, when covered in their entirety, take up a huge amount of space on such databases, there are around 40 active ones in the UK alone, so include all the defunct circuits and ones in all the other countries of the world, added to all the info which he already has,
and we're talking BIG numbers. As I said earier, if he does want any info I'll gladly oblige, and as you suggest...

I am sure you could work together on this subject. I am a collaborator to Racing Circuits and it is a pleasure to work with Dan. He has his hands more or less full with car tracks, maybe you could help with the kart ones

...I would be very happy doing a joint venture with him on this project .

P.S. Geez, no posts whatsoever on this forum for a full 9 days, then the place just comes alive!

[Muzza]

Thanks diz and Crozier74 for clarifying that Three Sisters is not lame!

Hey, diz, are you close to good old Oulton Park?

Cheers,

Muzza

[diz]

Originally posted by Muzza
Thanks diz and Crozier74 for clarifying that Three Sisters is not lame!

Hey, diz, are you close to good old Oulton Park?

Cheers,

Muzza

Muzza,
1. Stood corner for Three Sisters as I used to work there.
2. Yep, 12 miles from Oulton and there a lot. Find loads of Oulton photos, info etc. at brsccnw.com
Diz

[Revracing]

Hello ppl,
I don't often comment on the karting scene since I haven't been closely involved for many years now, but C'74 you really must visit the likes of Rye House, Tilbury and Sittingbourne (all in south east) especially if you think the hairpin at fulbeck is tight, beleive me it isn't.....

[#15 tkm 4/]

Tracks i raced on in order of best to worst:

Buckmore Park- Loverly track with the differnet cambers and all.Great facilties.
Kimbolton- Nice Fast flowing track with great facilties too.
Lydd- Another fast flowing track with good facilties.
Sandown- Good Track, the facilties let it down a bit.
Bayford Meadows- Ergh too twisty, but the facilties are better than anywhere else.
Ellough- Good track, no facilties what so ever.
Blackbushe- Good fast track (lil bumpy) no facilties but nice people race there.
Llandown- To narrow and not fast enough (somewhere in wales)
Matchams- To narrow, too bumpy, not fast AND the surface has glazed over, so its like driving on ice!!


Sam (racing at sandown sunday!)Dimelow

[speedy king]

Kimbolton- Fantastic, track facilities everything

Ellough Park Raceway - my personal favourite, as has been said the facilities aren't super but they have got better over the last month or two and are good enough and it's my local and there is just something about the place that i love.

Red Lodge- Bit Mickey Mouse, the new track should be better though

Anglia Kart Centre- Truly awful, that sums that up!

#15 TKM 4/, when did u go to Ellough? They now have the club house finished and food stool, timing centre and Race control tower replacing the little thing that had been used.

[#15 tkm 4/]

i went to it mid-summerish and they had the timming centre up but that was bout it. I went for the f6 races. another thing i dont like is the rubbing strip on the exit of the chicane on the last corner, there got bolts sticking out where it is joined and it shattered one of my rear rims, while leading!!

Otherwise brill track

[speedy king]

I enver noticed the bolts. There is a nasty hole on the run off area fromt he double apex hairpin in the middle of the track. The chicane is lethal. £200 worth of damage done to the rear of my kart there!

[#15 tkm 4/]

i noticed the bolts, nd it was dodgey when getting down to the end off the straight and the tyre was flat nd my backend sundenly overtook me and i was facing like 15 other people!! aint noticed that hole but i sure as hell noticed the tyre wall on the chicane, its dodgy cause then ur left rite in the middle of the track too for the others to try and miss

[speedy king]

exactly what happened with me. It was on lap two and everyone was still really close and the guy infront went through the chicane sideways, clattered the barrier on the left spun across the track backwards towards the pits however he then turned and came back across where i was and forced me in to the barrier on the right, his kart went on top of mine and then someone smashed in to the back of me at a hell of a force and stoved the rear of my kart in, but if there is an accident there you just can't avoid it because you have a barrier each side of you and you are turning on full lock anyway!

[#15 tkm 4/]

yea it is. i was lucky that i only got hit by one other person (a novice) cause someone pushed me off on the first left hander, so i was kinda lucky really

[AndyM]

Tracks I have raced on this year in Club100, in order of best to worst:

Glan Y Gors
Whilton Mill
Clay Pigeon
Buckmore (it was wet - miserable!)
Warden Law (raced there in 2002)
Bayford Meadows
Rye House
Lydd (again wet, running without hairpins)
Birmingham Wheels

Looks like Glan Y Gors might lose its 2 stoke license though, some dispute with a new lcal resident about noise...

[crozier74]

NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

It can't be true. But it's only *ONE* resident that's complaining, right? And who are they, some old codger member of Friends of the Earth determined to stop everyone else from enjoying life as they attend to their garden? Who's gonna listen to them? Hopefully nobody. If they don't like the noise, then it's their fault that they didn't take a close enough look at the area before settling in there, the track was there before they were, and they should just move out again.

We cannot lose the right to race at such a fantastic track, a track so young and yet so promising, a true driver's track, and one that could turn out to be one of the UK's best venues in time with some slightly updated facilities.

Maybe I'm overreacting here, but I feel very strongly about GYG, so I ask what's your source for this info, and how likely is this to happen (in %)?

Maybe we need to start a new petition, similar to the one about saving the Monza banking:
"SAVE TWO-STROKE RACING AT GLAN-Y-GORS!"
What do you guys think?

[AndyM]

My sources are the guys at Club100, who have been in contact with the guy who owns the circuit. IIRC, the guy has either had to go or is going to go to court to try and keep the operating license. From what I gather, it is one old woman who has moved in and is complaining.

If i understand it correctly, it might just be 2/ license that may be at risk, but I am not 100% sure. I'll try and find out a bit more. Club100 has double booked GYG with another circuit for 2004 incase the local resisdent gets here way. Pi$$es me off to say the least, I loved GYG!

[superbird]

Crozier, (I don't know how long you've been around so please don't think I'm being patronising) but I've been at this game 10 years and I seriously can't remember a track losing it's 2 stroke license because of noise. There's been a bit of whinging about Sheny, PF, Fulbeck, Kimbolton and probably everywhere else but most tracks that close are due to the landowner wanting the land for other things

[crozier74]

Crozier, (I don't know how long you've been around so please don't think I'm being patronising)

Answer: 3 years, certainly not as much as your 10, but still a fair amount of time. To be honest, I haven't heard of a track closing due to noise either, and I'm sure many tracks have problems with the locals like this. But the fact that it hasn't happened recently doesn't mean that it won't happen in the near future, and none of us know exactly just how intent this resident is on stopping GYG, so all I'm saying is we might just have to be wary of the situation before it dies down. Maybe AndyM has exaggerated the info and perhaps I've overreacted, if so I apologise.

[speedy king]

Ellough is miles from anywhere but for some reason they can only have 2/ at the weekend on their specified practice or race days because of noise

[paulzinho]

Theres supposed to be a BUKC round at Glan Y Gors but the championship is having to make back up plans because there appears to be a pretty serious threat from what I understand.

Bloody ridiculous if you ask me, its like moving next to an airport and asking them to stop flying planes near it. If you dont like it, dont go there!