27 Aug Join the World’s Largest K1 Go-Kart Race!

We’re celebrating 70 years of go-kart racing at K1 Circuit on Friday, August 28, 2026!

Brief History

Art Ingels and his buddy Lou Borelli invented the go-kart in August 1956 in a Los Angeles garage. Ingels, a fabricator for racecar shop Kurtis Kraft, came up with the idea of a miniature racer that resembled the kinds of chassis Kurtis Kraft created for their midget racers. Borelli then found a way of mounting a surplus lawnmower engine to the kart, and, voila! The go-kart was born. You can learn more about this moment in history by watching K1 Speed’s video about the invention of the go-kart.

Needless to say, the go-kart went on to become an instant success in the late 50s and 60s and nowadays, the sport has become a worldwide proving ground for nearly every professional racer today.

About the Race

To celebrate, we are hosting the “World’s Largest K1 Go-Kart Race”. This is not one single race, but rather the culmination of all rental kart races held at K1 Speed and K1 Circuit centers on August 28th. We’re going to count all the racers, laps, and distance completed to see just how big of a “race” we can make!

Free Patches for the First 50 Racers!

As a token of our appreciation to our participants, we’re giving away 50 exclusive patches commemorating the anniversary. To score one of these patches, you’ll need to be one of the first 50 racers to complete an Arrive & Drive rental kart race at either K1 Circuit location (or at most of our K1 Speed locations worldwide). So don’t wait!

Here are our A&D times for that Friday:

Winchester Arrive & Drive: begins at 4:00 pm after practice for Champions of the Future America

Whiteland Arrive & Drive: begins at 9:00 am and lasts until 2:30 pm, when our IKC practice begins

Be Part of History!

So play a role in K1 history on Friday, August 28th, and join the “World’s Largest K1 Go-Kart Race”! And if you want one of our cool patches, make sure you’re at the track as soon as our Arrive & Drive races begin!