Get started in karting

You don't need your own kart, a licence or any kit to find out whether you love it.

• Arrive-and-drive track time starts from about £30 a session, with all the equipment provided. Motorsport UK
• Indoor tracks are a good start. The British Indoor Kart Championship at TeamSport venues uses a K-I licence that comes with TeamSport Elite membership. Motorsport UK
• For outdoor arrive-and-drive racing, Motorsport UK names Club100, the Daniel Ricciardo Series and Global Karting League. These use a free K-X licence, and neither K-I nor K-X needs a starter pack or ARKS test. Motorsport UK Licences
• Club100 takes drivers from the year of their 14th birthday. Motorsport UK
• At school or university? NatSKA runs karting for school pupils aged 8 and over, and the BUKC is an arrive-and-drive team series for students. Motorsport UK
• Several ABKC clubs also run their own arrive-and-drive championships and practice days. ABKC

See the arrive-and-drive series

For owner-driver club racing you need the Motorsport UK starter pack and an ARKS test.

The starter pack: £78

• Motorsport UK sells it as Your First Kart Competition Licence (ARKS). The price includes your first Kart Interclub licence. Motorsport UK shop
• For drivers under 18 it also covers the parent or guardian's Entrant PG licence, which is needed for every under-18 driver and normally costs £30. ABKC NCR
• No medical or eyesight test is needed for short-circuit karting, at any age. Motorsport UK

The ARKS test: up to £100

• ARKS, the Association of Racing Kart Schools, trains and tests new drivers for Motorsport UK. You can take the test at an ARKS school, or with a club examiner at one of the clubs below. The fee is the same either way, but at a club you bring your own kart and kit. Motorsport UK
• It costs up to £100 including VAT, plus kart hire, kit and practice-day fees. Retakes are up to £50 for the written part and £60 for the driving part. ARKS
• There are two parts. A 20-question written paper, where flags must be 100% right and the rest at least 80%, and a driving assessment where your best lap must be within 10% of a target time. ARKS guidance notes
• Book directly with the school or club. Take two photos of the driver, and one of the parent if the driver is under 18. ARKS
• Once you've passed, you can race straight away using the completed ARKS form while your licence is processed, usually within a week. Motorsport UK

• Helmet A full-face helmet with a visor and the Motorsport UK approval sticker. Drivers under 15, and all Cadet and Bambino drivers, need a Snell-FIA CMR or CMS helmet of no more than 1,550 g. Don't fit a camera to it: that voids its approval. NCR NCR
• Suit Leather, or a CIK-FIA homologated kart suit, on short circuits. NCR
• Gloves Full gloves, not mitts or open-backed gloves. NCR
• Boots Boots that cover and protect the ankles. NCR
• Rib protector Not compulsory, but Motorsport UK calls it a wise buy. Motorsport UK
• In the pits A fire extinguisher (EN3, at least 55B) at your pit space at every meeting. Ear plugs are strongly recommended. Yearbook p.88

• You start as a novice on black number plates, at the back of the grid, until you've collected six race signatures from the stewards. NCR
• To move up from Kart Interclub to Kart National you need ten signatures from Interclub races at three or more different venues, one per meeting. NCR
• Upgrading costs £52 plus the difference in licence fees. NCR

Plus a £1.95 handling fee per application. NCR 2026

Find your first race