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Is It Possible to Roll Over on a Kart? Safety and Speed Explained

Learn about the maximum speed of go-karts, factors affecting their top speed, and whether it's possible to roll over on a kart.

Can you roll over on a kart

Safety is important in any sport. It is most often a concern for aspiring or potential athletes and their families. For example, seeing the speed of a go-kart may give the impression that the rider is putting himself at risk. But is this true?

The maximum speed of a go-kart

As with conventional cars, the top speed of a go-kart depends on the parameters of the powertrain, the total weight of the car and the driver. Depending on the class, sports karts are equipped with engines with a volume of 50, 60, 100 and 125 cubic centimetres. It should be taken into account that their specific power (the ratio of kart weight to engine power) can be higher than that of conventional cars. For example, sports models, as a rule, are equipped with motors with power from 15 to 40 hp. At an average weight of a bolide with a driver of 180 kg, its specific power reaches from 4.5 to 12 kg/hp. This means that per one unit of engine power (horsepower) there are 4.5 to 12 kilograms.


You can compare this to the same figure for well-known cars:
- Tesla S- 5.3-7.3 kg/hp;
- Audi TT- 6.5 kg/hp;
This allows the karts to accelerate to significant speeds. Athboy Karting rental Sodi karts are designed for speeds up to 80 km/h, and super kart can accelerate up to 260 km/h. At the same time powerful models for competitions can accelerate to 100 km/h in 3-4 seconds. Not a bad result even for sports cars. Of course, our rental karts on the track are not able to reach such speeds. Yes, no one will give them. After all, this requires considerable preparation.

As a rule, rental models are equipped with 9 hp engines (sometimes up to 13). Such machines drive at an average speed of about 60 km/h. In general, what can be said, the speed figures are solid. And even experienced riders note that controlling the car on the road and passing corners becomes more difficult at 35-40 km/h.

But is speeding dangerous? If the driver of a go-kart fails to cope with the control on a trip, then with a lucky coincidence of circumstances he will get off with a couple of bruises, and with an unlucky one - with serious bruises.

Is it possible to roll over?

On the one hand, there are consequences of accidents on karts, but on the other hand - they are much less than in many other sports related to high-speed riding and even less than they can be when breaking the speed limit on an ordinary car. This is due to the peculiarities of the bolide design. The centre of gravity of the kart is very low, so, as the pros say, it is almost impossible to overturn on it in normal conditions. But anything can happen! Even on rental karts there are fixed, though not frequent, but still cases of overturns. In our many years of practice at our track at Athboy Karting, this has never happened. Firstly, our Sodi karts meet all safety standards and secondly, we pay maximum attention to driving safety on our track
athboy karting safe race

Cornering

All experts, as one, agree that too high speed of entering a corner is unlikely to be the cause of overturning the kart on the track. It is believed that even with a steep turn it is almost unrealistic if the rules of cornering are observed. However, practice says that "foolishly you can break the steering wheel". Analyses of overturns bolides shows that they occur, as a rule, under special specific circumstances.

Among them:
- good grip of rubber with the track;
- the absence of a bumper;
- the presence of an obstacle;
- a sharp turn, usually a hairpin (180 degree turn);
- driver error.

Actually, the absence of a protective baffle just determines the danger of meeting an obstacle in the form of, for example, the wheel of another kart in the race. Sharp manoeuvres when passing too steep or complex corners, when you have to brake sharply, when the kart specifically skids and twists, lifts, can also cause overturn. After all, nobody cancelled the laws of physics.
But, as the analysis of accidents shows, the condition of the absence of a bumper must also be observed. Thus, despite the high speed that can develop modern bolides, karting can not be called a dangerous occupation. And although, as it was found out, there are chances to overturn the kart, the consequences of such accidents are usually unpleasant, but not life-threatening.

But the secret of safety is simple: following the rules, driving professionalism and careful driving! Remember this when pressing the throttle to increase your chances of reaching the finish line without consequences.

What are you waiting for? - book your race at Athboy Karting Centre now - call: 086- 806 8776