KartPlanet

In Prague, in the Vysočany district, the KartPlanet lays out a covered track of six hundred metres, in asphalt lined with kerbs, stringing together nineteen corners with a five-metre gradient. The layout comes in around ten configurations, enough to vary the runs from one visit to the next. People drive petrol Sodi RT10v2 karts of two hundred and seventy cubic centimetres and ten horsepower, able to reach sixty kilometres per hour.

A ballast box lets the weights of drivers be balanced, for fairer races. The track, sheltered from the weather and lit for evening sessions, opens all week, earlier at the weekend. Reachable by public transport and with a car park, it appeals to families as well as groups and regular drivers out after the best lap time under cover, whatever the weather. The ten or so possible configurations and the ballast box change things from one visit to the next: you never quite find the same circuit, and the races stay balanced between drivers of different builds, a real plus for consistency.

Vysočany lies in the north-east of Prague, a former industrial district turned into a dynamic part of the capital. The historic centre, its bridges over the Vltava and its castle listed as world heritage remain easy to reach. At the gates of central Prague, the KartPlanet adds a dose of covered driving, open all year round.