Kaanaa Karting

In Velaatta, about fifty kilometres from Tampere, Kaanaa Karting offers an outdoor asphalt track of a thousand and eighty metres, eight metres wide. The layout strings together long straights and tight corners, where the karts reach up to eighty kilometres an hour: real fun once your lines are dialled in. You can bring your own kart or hire on site, with safety gear provided.

The place is built for racing: light-controlled starts, built-in timing and Grand Prix style formats with practice, qualifying and a final. It makes a good venue for putting on a competition with friends or as a group, in a friendly, competitive setting. Access is from age thirteen and a height of one metre fifty-five, and the track runs seasonally, from April to October depending on the weather. A trackside café lets you take a break between stints.

Velaatta is a small village north of Tampere, in a region of lakes and forests typical of Pirkanmaa. Tampere, a former industrial city turned cultural hub, is about forty minutes away and worth the trip for its museums, its waterfront and its atmosphere. The quiet surrounding countryside rounds off a day on track nicely, between water and forest. The site is part of a motorsport area north of Tampere, which makes it a spot well known to local enthusiasts looking for room to drive away from traffic.