Is it time for a British Street Race?
Back in the 60’s, when the sport of karting was young and fresh in the UK, the early races were held in closed off car parks, with cones marking the track. Fast forward to 2020, karting is as professional as it has ever been, with some of the best circuits in the world for drivers to race on. But is there something missing over here?
Lets jump across the pond. One of the biggest races in the world, the Superkarts USA Supernationals takes place in a closed off car park in Las Vegas. And it’s not the only street race on the US calendar. The first round of the Florida winter tour takes place on a temporary circuit at Isle Casnio, FL and there is the annual ‘Streets of Lancaster Grand Prix’ to name just a couple of other events. So is it about time that we get street racing back for British karting?
It wouldn’t be the first event of it’s kind. Back in the crazy 80s and 90’s, Superkarts raced around the Isle of Mann at barely believable speeds, but it would be one of the first on the main land. So the first question is, where could it be held? Here are a few of our ideas.
NEC Birmingham
In just over a week, the NEC in Birmingham will host the Autosport International show. Thousands of visitors will pile into the venue from around the country. That requires quite a lot of real estate in order to park all those cars. Situated near Birmingham airport, our idea would be to take over some of the North car parks to create the circuit and paddock area. Using google maps, the 3 most northern car parks could house the entire event: One for the track, one for the paddock and one to be used as (surprisingly) a car park.
Wembley Stadium
Back in 2007, Wembley stadium played host to the Race of Champion’s. That brought some of the best drivers in the world to London to compete for ultimate glory. The circuit was housed within the ‘out field’ area, while the pits and paddock areas were all contained behind the scenes. Should that not be enough to contain all the teams, there is plenty of space around the outside of the stadium which could be cornered off to be used for the paddock. Like the NEC option, this wouldn’t require any significant road closures, meaning the event would be less of a logistical nightmare.
Your home town!
Come on, who hasn’t walked/driven around their home town/city and thought ‘wouldn’t it be a laugh to race a kart around here.’ I know I have spent far too many hours drawing tracks on google maps around my home city. Quite a few cities have already hosted street events like the Birmingham SuperPrix, the London E-Prix and the Red Bull drift shifters in Liverpool.
Do you have an idea for a British street race? Let us know in the comments, one day it could become a reality.
