15 circuits in East Midlands, compared on the things that actually differ: what a session costs per minute, how long the track is, and how young drivers can be.
Grantham, Lincolnshire
Ancaster Leisure is an outdoor multi-activity site at Wood Lodge near Ancaster, north-east of Grantham, where karting sits alongside paintball, airsoft, archery and laser tag. Its outdoor track can be run as a 1,200m International circuit, a 700m Brooklands layout or a 600m Club circuit, with a separate junior circuit and a small electric track for young children.
Grimsby, Lincolnshire
Chequered Flag is an outdoor hire-kart circuit on Cheapside, between Waltham and Holton le Clay on the southern edge of Grimsby. Third-party listings describe a track of around 700 metres.
Price not published
Newark, Nottinghamshire
ELK Motorsport runs an outdoor kart circuit on Drove Lane at Winthorpe, on the edge of Newark in Nottinghamshire. The circuit is 1,200m long.
Price not published
Lincoln, Lincolnshire
Gridline Racing is an indoor kart centre in a former cash-and-carry warehouse on Dunford Road, south of Lincoln city centre. It has been running since 2006 and, being indoors, operates whatever the weather.
Price not published
Towcester, West Northamptonshire
Kart Silverstone is an outdoor kart circuit within the Silverstone motor racing complex on the Northamptonshire–Buckinghamshire border. The track can run in five layouts, the longest at 1,377 metres, and is built to FIA-CIK standards.
Skegness, Lincolnshire
Kartworld Extreme Leisure is an outdoor kart circuit at Croft, on the southern edge of Skegness on the Lincolnshire coast. It runs petrol hire karts for the public, with adult drivers using OTK karts fitted with Honda GX270 engines.
Upper Broughton, Leicestershire
Nottingham Raceway is a 550-metre outdoor kart track at Upper Broughton in Leicestershire, just off the A46 and around 25 minutes from both Nottingham and Leicester. The circuit is wide enough to overtake properly, which is the main thing separating it from the indoor tracks in either city.
Price not published
Brandon, Grantham, Lincolnshire
PF International near Grantham is the longest circuit in this directory at 1,382 metres, and the only kart track in the UK holding a CIK-FIA International A Grade licence, which it achieved in 2011. Paul Fletcher established it in 1994 and it has been extended since.
Price not published
Gainsborough, Lincolnshire
Race Kart Centre is an outdoor kart track on Kirton Road at Blyton, near Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. It runs hire karts for children and adults as well as open days for people with their own karts.
Price not published
Leicester, Leicestershire
Stretton Circuit is a 950 metre outdoor track in rolling countryside on the edge of Leicester, built and extended over the years rather than laid out in one go. It weaves around banks, trees and buildings, with high and low speed corners, chicanes and hairpins, grass run-off, raised kerbs and tyre walls either side.
Sutton in the Elms, Leicestershire
Sutton Circuit is an outdoor hire-kart track on Sutton Lane at Sutton in the Elms, on the edge of Broughton Astley in south Leicestershire, a short drive from Leicester, Lutterworth and the M1/M69.
Leicester, Leicester
TeamSport Leicester is in a unit on New Star Road in Leicester (LE4). Its indoor circuit is about 500 metres long with 12 corners and runs over two levels connected by ramps.
Price not published
Nottingham, Nottinghamshire
TeamSport Nottingham is an indoor electric kart track on Victoria Business Park at Netherfield, on the eastern side of Nottingham. The 750-metre circuit runs over more than one level, with 15 corners, hairpins and a flyover section.
Price not published
Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire
Teamworks East Midlands is an indoor kart track on the edge of Sutton-in-Ashfield, in the Huthwaite area close to the M1. It is one of the Teamworks chain's venues and runs adult 200cc karts alongside cadet karts for younger drivers.
Price not published
Whilton Locks, Daventry, Northamptonshire
Whilton Mill near Daventry runs three outdoor circuits on one site, which makes it unusually flexible. The 1200m International Circuit is the headline one, with a 960m National Circuit and a 450m Mill Circuit alongside it. The operator has been running for over 35 years.
Cost per minute is calculated the same way everywhere: session price divided by minutes on track. Where a track sells sessions in bundles we show its best rate, since booking more up front is usually cheaper. Compulsory extras are listed on each track's own page.
The youngest age accepted anywhere in East Midlands is 4 , at Ancaster Leisure Karting and Activity Venue. Height matters as much as age — most circuits also set a minimum of 130cm or 140cm, and a child who meets the age but not the height will be turned away at the gate. Each listing shows both.