Art Ingels is normally 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. Karting has quickly widened to other countries, and presently has a large following in Europe.

First kart manufacturer was an American company, Go Kart Manufacturing Co. (1958). McCulloch was the first company, in 1959, to produce engines for karts. Its first engine, the McCulloch MC-10, was an modified chainsaw 2-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.

Kart racing or karting is a variation of open-wheel motor sport with small, open, four-wheeled vehicles called karts, go-karts, or gearbox/shifter karts depending on the design. They are generally raced on scaled-down circuits. Karting is usually professed as the stepping stone to the top and more exclusive ranks of motorsport.

Karts vary extensively in speed and some (known as Superkarts) can reach speeds exceeding 160 miles per hour (260 km/h) while go-karts intended for the general public in enjoyment parks may be limited to speeds of no more than 15 miles per hour (24 km/h). A KF1 kart, with a 125 cc 2-stroke engine and an overall weight with the driver of 150 kilograms has a top speed of 85 miles per hour (137 km/h). It takes a little more than 3 seconds to go from 0 to 60 mph with a 125 cc shifter kart (6 gears), with a top speed of 115 miles per hour (185 km/h) on long circuits

Go-karting is a footstep stone to bigger things in international motor sport. Even as the motor racing culture prevalent down south took over 40 years to create a Narain Karthikeyan, we are sure that go-karting will do the trick to spring a dozen Narain Karthikeyan in the next few. We have always had the talent but didn't have the equipment or the enthusiasm to get involved.

In an age where the normal cosmopolitan Indian family boasts of cable television and at least one or two family members do get to watch the Formula One Grand Prix races live through the course of the season, go-karting can be said to have come to India at the right time. Weighing the profit of the sporting aspect of go-karting is always a most pleasurable chore but there is an even more inspiring social cause which we see in this activity. Today's youngsters have a new cause to indulge themselves in a most clean and wholesome manner rather than whiling away their free time on pursuits like pool, pin ball games and such. There is a whole new meaning to their creativity and also a channel of expression which they can identify with.

On the topic of the sport though, there is some apprehension. The go-karting circuits have all been made to give a taste of the game to the uninitiated. That's very good. But now these very same folks are clamoring for the sporting aspect. Sadly there is quite a load of grey because of there being no karting federation or any framing of rules. As always the FMSCI in its infinite wisdom is yet busy studying the karting scenario and has yet to frame rules for the sport. We sincerely hope the FMSCI plays no role in this form of the sport and lets those who have set up the tracks to form a national karting federation. Indian motorsport can do with this sort of an approach. This highlights the role karting has played in the careers of some of the world's best Grand Prix drivers. We seek your feedback to make this form of motor sport a major success.

Go Kart is the First

For the majority hope racing champions, the racing bug starts to bite the first time they drive a Go-kart. Indoor and outdoor activity Go-kart tracks have turned into very popular all over the world. For a small sum, young drivers can get their first flavor of racing. The sheer thrill of driving fast and the adrenalin rush linked with motorsport competition often leads to a lifetime participation with motorized sports.

And other than once the young driver has persuaded his, or her, parents that this is the career they want to follow, the decisions made from this point ahead will make or break their goal. Most parents will be supportive of their child's ambitions, but they will almost certainly temper their enthusiasm and encourage them to work hard at school.