Karting glossary

Also called: Regular session, Open session, Book and drive

A session in the circuit's own karts: you book, turn up, get your helmet and kit, and drive, with no licence or experience needed. You often share the track with other drivers, and you get your lap times afterwards. The term also covers rental-kart racing in general, as opposed to racing a kart you own.

Circuits that list arrive-and-drive sessions: K-Team Karting, Midland Karting and Paintball, Railway Karting, The Zone Activity Centre.

See also: Time trial, Owner-driver

Also called: Time attack, Speed trial

A session where only your fastest single lap counts: everyone drives at the same time, and the best lap wins, whatever order you cross the line in.

Circuits that list time trial or time attack sessions: Eddie Irvine Sports, KartSport Karting & Activity Centre, Lyons Karting, Nutts Corner Circuit, WhiteRiver Park.

See also: Best lap, Arrive and drive

A short race format: a quick qualifying session sets the grid, then you race once, sometimes after a practice session. Circuits often sell it to smaller groups than a Grand Prix, which adds heats and knockout rounds.

Circuits that publish a sprint format: Eddie Irvine Sports, Kylemore Karting, Need 4 Speed Karting, Nutts Corner Circuit, Raceview Karting, The Zone Activity Centre.

See also: Grand Prix, Qualifying

Also called: GP

The classic group race: practice, then heats or qualifying, then knockout rounds (semi-finals, sometimes quarter-finals) and a grand final, with a podium at the end. Every circuit runs its own version, so check how many heats you get and how many drivers reach the final.

See also: Heat, Grand final, Super Grand Prix

Also called: Super GP

A bigger version of a circuit's Grand Prix, with more track time, a longer final or an extra round. There's no standard definition: each circuit decides what the 'super' adds, so compare the two formats on the circuit's page.

Circuits that publish a Super Grand Prix: KartSport Karting & Activity Centre, Kiltorcan Raceway, Letterkenny Activity Centre, National Kart Centre Cork, National Kart Centre Limerick.

See also: Grand Prix

A race against the clock rather than over a set number of laps: whoever covers the most laps in the time wins. At rental tracks it's usually a team race, with drivers taking turns in one kart.

See also: Team endurance, Stint

An endurance race where a team shares one kart and takes turns at the wheel, swapping drivers in the pit lane. The team with the most laps at the end wins, so when you pit matters as much as how fast you drive.

Circuits that publish a team endurance race: Eddie Irvine Sports, Nutts Corner Circuit, The Zone Activity Centre, WhiteRiver Park.

See also: Stint, Driver change

Also called: Safety briefing, Drivers' briefing

The talk or video before you go on track: the circuit's rules, what each flag means and how to drive the kart safely. Circuits brief every driver before they go out, and at a licensed meeting the drivers' briefing is compulsory, so arrive in good time.

See also: Practice

Laps at the start of an event to learn the track and get used to the kart. Practice times usually don't count, though some formats use them to set the grid.

See also: Qualifying

Also called: Quali

A timed session that decides where you start: the driver with the fastest single lap starts first, and so on down the order. In some Grand Prix formats the qualifying races are heats that decide who goes through to the final.

See also: Pole position, Grid, Heat

One of several short races within an event. Everyone races a set number of heats (a big group is split across them), and the results, often turned into points, decide who goes through and where they start the next round.

See also: Quarter-final, Semi-final, Grand final

A knockout round after the heats, run when the group is big enough: the fastest drivers go through to the semi-finals. How many quarter-finals are run, and how many drivers go through, depends on the size of the group.

See also: Semi-final

The knockout round before the final. The top finishers in each semi-final go through to the grand final; at some circuits the rest race a lower final for the remaining places.

See also: Grand final

Also called: Final, A final

The last race of an event, the one that decides the winner and the podium. Bigger events split it into an A final for the fastest drivers and a B final, sometimes more, for the rest.

See also: Pole position

The starting order for a race, and the marked slots where the karts line up in that order. Some formats reverse the grid for a second race, so the fastest drivers start at the back. On GoKart Crew, joining a race's grid means signing up for it.

See also: Pole position, Grid forming

Also called: Pole

First place on the starting grid, earned by setting the fastest lap in qualifying. In licensed karting, pole is on the side of the track that's on the inside of the first corner.

See the fastest laps on the leaderboard →

See also: Qualifying, Grid

The race starts on the move: the karts drive a formation lap in two lines behind the pole-sitter at a steady pace, and go when the start signal is given, usually a set of lights. It's the normal start in licensed karting, and going early earns a time penalty.

See also: Standing start, Green flag

The karts start from a standstill in their grid slots and go when the signal is given, as in Formula 1. Some licensed classes use it instead of a rolling start, and so do some rental-kart championships.

See also: Rolling start

How long one lap takes, measured by a transponder fitted to the kart every time it crosses the timing line. Circuits give you your lap times after the session, printed or on screen.

See also: Best lap

Also called: Fastest lap

Your single fastest lap of a session. It decides a time trial, often sets the grid, and it's what our leaderboards record for each circuit and kart class.

Best laps by circuit and kart class →

See also: Time trial, Kart class

One driver's turn at the wheel in an endurance race, from leaving the pit lane to coming back in. Race rules may set a minimum and a maximum stint, and a minimum driving time for each driver.

See also: Driver change, Team endurance

The swap in the pit lane when one team-mate hands the kart to the next during an endurance race. Some races set how many changes you must make and how long you must stay in the pits; others leave it to the team.

See also: Stint

All clear: the hazard is behind you and you can race again. It also starts a practice session or the formation lap, and some tracks use a green light to start a session instead.

See also: Yellow flag, Rolling start

Danger ahead: slow down, don't overtake, and be ready to change line or stop. A bigger hazard gets a stronger signal (a waved flag rather than a still one in Motorsport UK's rules, two waved flags in Motorsport Ireland's), and in licensed racing you can't overtake again until you pass the green flag after the incident.

See also: Green flag, Red flag

The session or race is stopped. In licensed racing you slow down at once, don't overtake, and drive carefully to the pits or the start line, ready to stop; at some rental tracks you stop where you are and stay in the kart until a marshal tells you otherwise.

See also: Yellow flag

A faster kart is close behind and wants to pass. Under Motorsport Ireland's rules you mustn't swerve or block, and must give it room once it's alongside (in Motorsport UK's version, a flag held still just warns that someone is right behind you). Rental-kart series such as the Sodi World Series use it to tell you to let the faster kart through.

See also: Overtake, Blocking

Usually shown with your kart number: come into the pits and report to the officials. In licensed racing it normally means you're out of that race; at rental tracks marshals also call drivers in for a warning, a kart check or driving advice, so being called in isn't always a penalty.

See also: Black-and-white flag, Black flag with orange disc

Also called: Warning flag

Divided diagonally, black and white, and shown with your kart number: an official warning about your driving or behaviour. It's shown once, and if you carry on, the black flag can follow.

See also: Black flag, Blocking

Also called: Mechanical flag

Your kart has a mechanical problem you may not have noticed, or even a fire: come into the pits on the next lap. In licensed racing you can rejoin once it's fixed, but ignore it for more than two laps and you'll get the black flag.

See also: Black flag

Also called: Slippery surface flag

The track ahead is slippery, usually from oil or water. Held still, it warns of a slippery patch ahead; waved, that it's very close.

See also: Yellow flag

A slow vehicle is on the track, such as a service vehicle or a kart going slowly. Waved, it's in this part of the track; held still, it's in the next part.

The race or session is over. Slow down once you've crossed the line and return carefully to the pits; at some licensed meetings you do a slow cool-down lap first.

See also: Grand final

Karts owned and maintained by the circuit, which you drive in its sessions with the kit it provides. Some rental-kart championships draw the karts at random before each session, so nobody gets to keep a quick one.

See also: Arrive and drive, Owner-driver

A driver who races their own kart, usually in licensed club racing with a competition licence, rather than the circuit's rental karts. Several Irish tracks also sell track time for owner-drivers to test.

See also: Rental karts, Kart class

A kart with a four-stroke petrol engine of about 200cc (Honda's GX200 is 196cc). It's the adult kart at some indoor tracks and the junior kart at some outdoor ones, and it has less power than a 270cc.

Circuits that list 200cc karts: KartSport Karting & Activity Centre, Lyons Karting, The Zone Activity Centre.

See also: 270cc, Kart class

A kart with a four-stroke petrol engine of about 270cc, such as Honda's GX270. It has more power than a 200cc and is a common adult rental kart, indoors and out.

Circuits that list 270cc karts: Carrick Indoor Karting, Galway City Karting, Lyons Karting, National Kart Centre Limerick, Nonstop Karting Waterford, Nutts Corner Circuit.

See also: 200cc, Kart class

Karts with two engines instead of one, for more power: some UK tracks run twin-engine 'Pro Karts' with two Honda GX160s. Not to be confused with a twin-seater.

See also: Twin-seater

Also called: Twin kart

A kart with two seats, so an adult can drive with a child along as a passenger. Circuits price it per kart and set their own age rules for passengers.

Circuits that list twin-seaters: Adventure Park at Kartworld, Midland Karting and Paintball, Nonstop Karting Waterford.

See also: Twin-engine karts, Junior karts

Smaller, slower karts for children and young teenagers, with age and height limits set by each circuit, often from 7 or 8 years old. In licensed racing, junior is an age class (roughly 12 to 15), with cadet and bambino classes for younger children.

See also: Kart class, Twin-seater

Also called: E-karts

Karts driven by an electric motor and a battery instead of a petrol engine, so there are no exhaust fumes. Some circuits use them for small children's karts too.

Circuits that list electric karts: Elevate Athlone, KartSport Karting & Activity Centre, Raceview Karting.

A group of karts that race, and are timed, against each other: split by engine (200cc or 270cc), by age (junior or adult) or, in licensed racing, by engine make and age group. Lap times only compare like with like, so our leaderboards keep best laps per circuit and kart class.

Best laps by circuit and kart class →

See also: Best lap, Junior karts

Weights added to a kart so a lighter driver reaches the minimum weight. In licensed racing it's solid blocks bolted to the seat or chassis; in a rental-kart championship you use weights the organiser provides, placed in a box on the kart.

See also: Kart weight

Kart and driver weighed together, which matters because the same engine has to push both. Licensed classes set a minimum weight including the driver, checked on scales after each session, and rental-kart championships set a minimum driver weight, made up with ballast.

See also: Ballast

The fastest path around the track. Through most corners it runs wide on the way in, close to the inside at the apex and wide again on the way out, linking four points: braking point, turn-in, apex and exit.

See also: Braking point, Apex

The spot where you come off the throttle and brake for a corner, ideally while the kart is still going straight. Pick a marker, such as a mark on the track or on the wall, so you brake in the same place every lap.

See also: Racing line

Also called: Clipping point

The point where your kart comes closest to the inside of a corner. Once you're past it you can unwind the steering and get back on the throttle.

See also: Racing line, Hairpin

Two tight bends in opposite directions, one straight after the other. Take the first bend so it puts you in the right place for the second.

See also: Racing line

A very tight, U-shaped corner that turns you almost all the way back the way you came. Come in from the outside, brake in a straight line, and ease onto the throttle on the way out so the rear wheels don't spin.

See also: Apex, Overtake

Passing the kart in front. Karting is non-contact, so a pass has to be clean: usually you get alongside on the inside going into a corner, and once you're alongside, the other driver must leave you room.

See also: Slipstream, Blocking, Blue flag

Also called: Drafting

Following closely behind another kart on a straight, where it has already pushed the air aside, so you meet less drag and can pull alongside before the next corner.

See also: Overtake

Moving across the track to stop the driver behind from passing. Licensed rules allow one move to defend your line but ban weaving or changing direction again, and some rental tracks don't allow blocking at all. On GoKart Crew, drivers can report it after a race.

How reports after a race work →

See also: Overtake, Black-and-white flag

GoKart Crew's members: an invite-only community of amateur drivers who race each other at circuits across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Anyone can browse; to race, a member sends you an invite link or vouches for your access request.

Meet the crew →

See also: Karma

A race that's open for drivers to join but hasn't reached its minimum yet. Joining is free and commits you to nothing: no card, nothing charged, and you can leave any time before you pay.

How it works →

See also: Minimum drivers, Pay to confirm

The number of drivers a race needs before it can go ahead, set race by race. When the grid reaches it, an organiser books the race with the circuit and opens payments; if it never does, nobody pays anything.

Upcoming races →

See also: Grid forming, Organiser

How a seat becomes yours: once an organiser opens payments, you pay for your seat within the window shown on the race (12 hours unless it says otherwise), and paying is the confirmation. Don't pay in time and the seat goes to the next driver waiting, at no cost to you.

When do I pay? →

See also: Minimum drivers, Organiser

The member who puts a race on: picks the circuit, date, format and price, books it with the circuit once the grid reaches its minimum, and enters the results afterwards. Nobody is charged until an organiser has booked the race.

How a race works →

See also: Minimum drivers, Pay to confirm

Points you earn in the crew: +5 for finishing a race (a win pays 20), +10 for each passenger you give a lift, +25 when a friend you invited finishes their first race, and +5 for answering the post-race survey. You spend it in your Garage, and it has no cash value.

Karma and the Garage →

See also: Lift, Garage

A seat in a member's car to a race. Drivers offer their spare seats, passengers confirm the lift after the race, and the driver earns +10 karma per passenger; lifts are arranged between members, and we don't check cars, licences or insurance.

How lifts and karma work →

See also: Karma

The members-only page where you set your look: the badge, helmet, suit and kart your avatar wears, and the items you unlock with karma. New members start with the free Scarlet 1 kit.

Karma and the Garage →

See also: Karma