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Kart racing
Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motorsport circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher ranks of motorsports. Most modern Formula One drivers, including Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, and Max Verstappen, have begun their racing careers in karting.
Karts vary widely in speed, and some (known as superkarts) can reach speeds exceeding 160 kilometres per hour (100 mph), while recreational go-karts intended for the general public may be limited to lower speeds.
American Art Ingels is generally accepted to be the father of karting. A veteran hot rodder and a race car builder at Kurtis Kraft, he built the first kart in Southern California in 1956. Early karting events were held in the Rose Bowl Stadium car park. Instantly popular, Karting rapidly spread to other countries, and currently has a large following in Europe.
The first kart manufacturer was an American company, Go Kart Manufacturing Co. (1957). In 1959, McCulloch was the first company to produce engines for karts. Its first engine, the McCulloch MC-10, was an adapted chainsaw two-stroke engine. Later, in the 1960s, motorcycle engines were also adapted for kart use, before dedicated manufacturers, especially in Italy (IAME), started to build engines for the sport.
First ever Karting World Championship was held in 1964. First ever Karting European Championship was held in 1972.
The chassis are made of chromoly tubing. There is no suspension, so chassis have to be flexible enough to work as a suspension and stiff enough not to break or give way on a turn. Kart chassis are classified in the United States as "Open", "Caged", "Straight" or "Offset". All Commission Internationale de Karting–, Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile–, or CIK-FIA-approved chassis are "Straight" and "Open".
The stiffness of the chassis enables different handling characteristics for different circumstances. Typically, for dry conditions, a stiffer chassis is preferable, while in wet or other poor traction conditions, a more flexible chassis may work better. Temperature of the track can also affect handling and may prompt additional chassis adjustments. The best chassis allow for stiffening bars at the rear, front and side to be added or removed according to race conditions.
Braking is achieved by a disc brake mounted on the rear axle. Front disc brakes are used in most shifter kart classes and are increasingly popular in other classes; however, certain classes do not allow them. Shifter karts have dual master cylinders, one for the front and one for the rear, and are adjustable to allow for front/rear bias changes.
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Kart racing
Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motorsport circuits. Karting is commonly perceived as the stepping stone to the higher ranks of motorsports. Most modern Formula One drivers, including Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, and Max Verstappen, have begun their racing careers in karting.
Karts vary widely in speed, and some (known as superkarts) can reach speeds exceeding 160 kilometres per hour (100 mph), while recreational go-karts intended for the general public may be limited to lower speeds.
American Art Ingels is generally accepted to be the father of karting. A veteran hot rodder and a race car builder at Kurtis Kraft, he built the first kart in Southern California in 1956. Early karting events were held in the Rose Bowl Stadium car park. Instantly popular, Karting rapidly spread to other countries, and currently has a large following in Europe.
The first kart manufacturer was an American company, Go Kart Manufacturing Co. (1957). In 1959, McCulloch was the first company to produce engines for karts. Its first engine, the McCulloch MC-10, was an adapted chainsaw two-stroke engine. Later, in the 1960s, motorcycle engines were also adapted for kart use, before dedicated manufacturers, especially in Italy (IAME), started to build engines for the sport.
First ever Karting World Championship was held in 1964. First ever Karting European Championship was held in 1972.
The chassis are made of chromoly tubing. There is no suspension, so chassis have to be flexible enough to work as a suspension and stiff enough not to break or give way on a turn. Kart chassis are classified in the United States as "Open", "Caged", "Straight" or "Offset". All Commission Internationale de Karting–, Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile–, or CIK-FIA-approved chassis are "Straight" and "Open".
The stiffness of the chassis enables different handling characteristics for different circumstances. Typically, for dry conditions, a stiffer chassis is preferable, while in wet or other poor traction conditions, a more flexible chassis may work better. Temperature of the track can also affect handling and may prompt additional chassis adjustments. The best chassis allow for stiffening bars at the rear, front and side to be added or removed according to race conditions.
Braking is achieved by a disc brake mounted on the rear axle. Front disc brakes are used in most shifter kart classes and are increasingly popular in other classes; however, certain classes do not allow them. Shifter karts have dual master cylinders, one for the front and one for the rear, and are adjustable to allow for front/rear bias changes.