Construction of Formula One race cars is unprecedented. The first rule of thumb in designing a bonafide piece of framework is to make it weigh as least as possible. Less kart weight correlates to faster speeds. For this reason, team brains use lightweight material that is hard to construct. The minimum weight of a kart must be 600 kg including driver. This ensures a level playing field, although teams are allowed to keep their money making construction methods a secret from other teams. Team staff is very highly regarded in Formula One business. Their technological and dynamical know-how of machines they build is a valuable asset to any team. And like free agents, they are lured and signed by likes of companies creating a recruiting war for their services. Of course, there are restrictions for creating karts. You cannot add nitro boosts to your machine or use technology that resembles life in year 3000. Teams are always looking to bend rules slightly and coming up ways to beat competition legally.

Professional kart tires have to have optimum characteristics to ensure smooth driving. For one, tires have to have grooving technology built into them. For novices, grooves are indented lines in tires that allow for it to slow down considerably on turns and to adapt to track surface. No matter what technology, kart tires are simply not adept at withstanding rigors of asphalt, concrete, and dirt. For this reason, Formula One racers are allotted two pit stops during course of a 57 lap race to change tires. If you’ve ever watched a Formula One race, team staffers with lightning quick hands have an extremely limited time for which to remove and replace tires in pit stop – often times not exceeding over 7 seconds! Regulations are placed on tire grooves (a minimum of four) to allow for an even playing field for all racers. Remember enthusiasts, grooves serve more to slow down kart than to speed it up.

Chassis construction with its illustrious carbon fiber material, tires with indented grooves, team specialists with a knack for speed, and engines which burn heat like calories is epitome of a Formula One race car. All of these attributes contribute to performance of vehicle in racing lap after lap. As a result of all this technology, Formula One cars leave people breathless reaching consistent speeds of 200 mph. on race track. More impressive is time needed to go from 0 mph to 100 mph – 5 seconds! Formula One is only moving forward with advent of new features - like improved horsepower engines, more lightweight materials, new ballasts to add weight to car, and more. Behind that stylish, mind blowing chassis that pique our interest is that top-class technology that makes Formula One racing so great.

900 BHP horsepower engines are norm for souped-up Honda Formula One karts. Capable of reaching speeds of 200+ mph, they represent all-out nature of karting technology. For novices, a simple 2-cycle engine will do! Running on gasoline and electricity instead of petrol (typically mixed with other fuels to suit environmental conditions for Formula One,) sprint karts run on either 2-cycle or 4-cycle engines. 4-cycle engines are weakest engine around, with horsepower topping 20 HP. Think of power needed to run a heavy-duty vacuum cleaner – that’s how much power a 4-cycle engine exerts. 2-cycle engines are typically associated with likes of Vespas (European motor scooters) and mopeds. These go up to 90 HP. Added cylinders (individual horsepower generators in go-karts) can boost horsepower, adding pure speed & power to your machine. Perhaps 10-cylinder Formula One kart engines and its incredible capabilities ring bells to you now!

Want pinpoint control over speed of your go-kart? No problem here! Go-karts have basic transmission systems with gears that control speed to its desired amount. Coming with clutches, shifter karts (a popular type of sprint kart that allows you to move at a certain amount of speeds) make best use of engine power when zipping along a straight path or maneuvering over short or wide curve. Depending on amount of cylinders and engine, shifter enthusiasts can lay opponents in their dust blazing trails up to 90 mph. Shifters usually run on larger road courses known as road racing. It is flush in structure with qualification criteria like class of kart, weight of driver, etc. Honda, Kawasaki, and Yamaha are popular suppliers of engines. These companies are at forefront of karting technology, regularly tinkering with what’s already available or creating new concepts of their own.

Sprint karting opportunities are available to everyone. If you want to enjoy it as a form of recreation instead of competition, visit your local track and rent a kart! Make sure to sign any insurance waivers and become acquainted with rules and regulations! If you like to compete, inquire from within. Sprint karting is one of least expensive sports out there. People from all walks of life and all economic backgrounds can drive a kart, or even purchase their own with a powerful engine. There are many karting schools available all over nation that will let you ride their karts for a nominal fee. In essence, karting is more than a pastime. It is a bonafide sport capable of preparing you for more advanced karting by helping you shape your judgment, hand-eye coordination abilities, and technological/dynamical know-how of instruments you’re using.