Image for Race ahead with Go-K
With summer vacations on, the latest craze among GenY seems to be go-karting. And it is catching on like wild fire. So, when Rishi Raj returned to the capital from Mumbai after his post-Board vacations last year, he was already hooked on to go-karting. A minor, he couldn’t legally drive a car on the roads, but he required a medium to satiate his need for speed and karting provided him with just that. A frequenter at the go-karting tracks in
Powai, in Delhi he found he could race at 32nd Milestone and like many his age, who are smitten by the Schumachers and Karthikeyans of F1 he was “sold”. Whether at a rental track or on a racetrack, karting offers fun and excitement. If you haven’t yet experienced all that karting has to offer, give it a try. It’s truly the world’s most affordable form of motor sports.
The karting centres provide customers with karts and helmets, for them to drive. The charge for four laps should be about Rs 100, but can vary depending on the size of the track. The karts should be fast and should provide drivers the thrill of racing.
The affordable motor sports that has brought enjoyment and pleasure to millions throughout the world, continues to surge in popularity. Nausher Wan, who is associated with go karting training camps and competitions in Mumbai and Kolhapur, enthusiastically informs, “Our’s is an effort to introduce the sport to the grassroot and to provide an opportunity for those willing to graduate to higher levels of racing, like in the pro circuit and races across the Asian continent.”
Frequent sessions are held for youngsters, who throng race tracks itching to take the carts for a spin.
Mahesh Patel of Patels Inn Resort, Bengaluru, informs, “The occupancy is fairly good, especially over the weekends and there is no age-restriction on riders. Anyone above four feet can drive a solo kart while those below that need to be supervised by an elder in a double-kart where the elder can manoeuvre while the young one steers.” Although only a handful like the 32nd Milestone at Gurgaon offer go-karting facility in the NCR, with summer vacations approaching, whirring engine, wind in the hair and face should entice many. Rs 150 for six laps shouldn’t be a deterrent for most in these times.
Mandar Bisne, an engineering student, who has tried his hands at go-karting in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru as well believes the one at Powai (Mumbai) offers the best facilities.
“The speed is exhilarating and it is so much fun bumping into friends and negotiating corners at high speed,” he says. He adds that for most teenagers it is often the only place where their parents would happily let them sit on the wheels, hence the fixation. Today the most popular motor sports in the world is certainly “go-karting”.
Hemant Abhishek
The Asian Age
