Getting into karting is easy, just follow these simple steps

Go and try a hire kart to see if you like driving a gokart. This is the cheapest introduction into go kart racing.
Attend a NSW Kart School day and you’ll get to drive a real racing kart and learn the basics. You can do as many of these half days/days as you want.
Now karting is in your veins and you think you might want to race, you need to join a kart club and purchase a practice or racing licence.
Joining a Kart club needs to happen before purchasing a licence. links for your closest NSW Clubs below.
Once your club membership is approved, you can obtain a Karting Licence – Practice or Racing Licence
You can now buy your own kart and safety gear or lease a kart from NSW Kart Team
Go to a couple of local races and watch and see what it is all about.
If you have your own kart go practice, practice, practice.
Enter your first race, the morning of the race, you’ll do a track test to confirm you are ready to race.

Step 1: Hire Karts – Firstly we recommend that all drivers (especially kids) have some experience in hire karts. It really is the cheapest, easiest and safest way to get introduced to the sport. There are a number of hire kart sites throughout Greater Sydney and many of them hold regular races (see our listing below).

Most hire kart centers will use four stroke engines in their karts (more economical, slower speeds) and the popularity of electric arts is also growing. The vast majority kart racing is done in two stroke karts (much cheaper initially, much more power and acceleration for same capacity) although the popularity of four stroke karting is increasing. Some hire kart centers will also hire 2 Stroke karts.

Most hire kart centers will also build a layer of protection around their karts for the inevitable impacts that will occur with other karts and barriers. Racing karts have none of these features!
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Click here to learn more about the Hire Kart Centers in Greater Sydney and the features each of them have.

Step 2: Come and Try Day – Next Step is to try a two stroke kart. NSW Kart School is hosting come and try days for kids and seniors in conjunction with Karting NSW and Sydney Illawarra Kart Club (formerly Wollongong Kart Racing Club) at Sydney Premiere Kart Club (formerly Eastern Creek Karts). In 2023 we hope to be running come and try days at various locations throughout NSW!

Come and try days are the perfect first step to see if a driver is ready to step up from hire karts into fully fledged racing karts. Initially for kids accelerators will be limited and they will have to show a level of competency before the full power of the kart is unleashed.

Step 3: Training Days – Facebook Classified groups are literally filled with people who went all in with new karts, safety gear and trailers and then found out, usually that their kids, weren’t that interested. We found a few Level One training days really are the best way forward. Even when racers are ready (and competent enough) to enter official race meets, NSW Kart School does race hire packages.

Level 1 Kart School days – for people who have some experience in karts but need to learn and improve the basics in preparation for racing or have just started racing but need to improve their lines as well as braking and acceleration points.

Topics covered on these days include racing lines, acceleration and braking markers, starting procedures and practice starts, flags (written tests as well as flags being shown throughout sessions to test drivers ‘under race conditions), basic kart setup

Level 2 Kart School days – for people already racing but need help to find those extra tenths of a second to work their way up the field, work on racecraft and kart setup.

Kart Clubs in NSW

Age and Classes Guide

Age Classes
6yo

Can practice only
7 - 10yo

Novice Licence & Class
9 - 13yo

Rookie License & Class
12 - 16yo

Junior Licence - light, medium, heavy, performance light & heavy
15 - Adult

Senior Licence -

  • A: light, medium, heavy
  • B: TAG restricted light, medium, heavy & masters (over 40’s)
  • C: TAG Open Light & heavy
  • D: KZ2, E: 4 stroke light & heavy

Equipment required to start karting

Gokart
Kart Trolley
Fuel drum
Engine oil
Oil Measuring cup
Basic tool kit
Full face Helmet
Racing suit
Racing boots
Racing gloves
Wet weather wheels and tyres
A 3x3m marque is a good idea for sun and rain.
You can buy parts and other items at the track as you need them.