Ms B & I recently tried our hand at kart racing for the first time in our life. We had found a £49 voucher on Buyagift.com for 50 laps each for 2 persons on TeamSport’s indoor race track in Mitcham, South London, about an hour by public transport from central London. With each lap stretching over 400 metres on the multi-level circuit, this is a 20km distance.
TeamSport holds a Tripadvisor Certificate of Excellence and has been rated ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’ by 92% of all reviewers. According to their website, the karts go up to 64km/h, which might be true if driven by Warwick Davis, but certainly is a long way off the top speed when I’m driving. After a few practice rounds I stopped taking the foot from the gas pedal except for one half-second bit just after you descend to the lower level and there is a tight right turn. I doubt that I ever reached 50km/h, but that did not matter to me at all. It was an absolutely crazy amount of fun.
Each round takes roughly 25 seconds, so the fun lasts for more than 25 minutes, taking into account slower practice rounds, the times when the flag is out and you’re waiting for the track wardens to pull your car out of the rubber tyre walls.
I’ve recently been driving supercars around a race track (post here), and I won’t lie to you, that was even more fun. But the kart racing felt more immediate in many ways, as you’re sitting just two inches above the track. Best of all, of course, you don’t have to feel too bad if you crash into rubber tyre walls or other cars (even though you are obliged to do your best to avoid this). The G-force around the corners is surprisingly significant, because the karts don’t usually break out and lose grip. They feel like they’re going on rails and the radius you choose for your corners is only limited by your imagination.
I liked the fact that the atmosphere is very friendly, even ‘family-friendly’, and not at all testosterone-laden or sweaty-oily. As a matter of fact, the women on the circuit that day were much faster than the men. They were just as fearless and only put half the weight on the scales.
We will definitely be back for more soon, probably with a group of friends and booking the whole track for ourselves for an hour or so. 5 out of 5 in our book.
Looking for more adventure? Check out our posts about our Norfolk seal safari, horseback riding in the New Forest, or punting in Cambridge. For restaurant reviews, feel welcome to eyeball our posts about Beso, London, the Porch House, Stow-on-the-Wold, and L’Ange 20, Paris. Our travel writing covers our trips to the Sahara, to Burghausen, and to Norfolk.
1 Comment