In Sicily, it's normal to distinguish, at times, between the "track driver" and the "street driver"—as Gaspare Anastasi, patron of street karting in Sicily and organizer nationwide of the National Street Circuits Trophy, immediately pointed out—a series with as many as 8 rounds, 6 of which are on the island that has given birth to many national and international karting champions, not least Angelo Lombardo, fresh winner of the KZ Masters World Cup at Franciacorta last September.
"On streets, you learn to drive in a unique way: one mistake here and you're out. On which tracks does the true driver, the superstar, emerge in F1? It’s Monaco, or generally street circuits where you must balance speed and pinpoint precision in your driving. Lombardo managed the feat of beating a champion like Forè last year not by chance: he's a great driver, and I can proudly say he honed his skills a lot on our streets here in Sicily," Anastasi recounts enthusiastically. At 70, he still has enormous energy to devote to his great passion.
"On streets, you learn to drive in a unique way: one mistake here and you're out. On which tracks does the true driver, the superstar, emerge in F1? It’s Monaco, or generally street circuits where you must balance speed and pinpoint precision in your driving. Lombardo managed the feat of beating a champion like Forè last year not by chance: he's a great driver, and I can proudly say he honed his skills a lot on our streets here in Sicily," Anastasi recounts enthusiastically. At 70, he still has enormous energy to devote to his great passion.
First a driver, then organizer, now a national reference for street circuit races allover Italy. "I started in the days of Calogero Vanaria (founder of Kalì Kart, ed.), at the dawn of karting in Italy. Then I moved from driving to organizing races, but always with the priority of entertaining people—not just drivers, but especially the people in the towns who get the unique opportunity to see these fantastic machines speed by right under their homes."
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Street circuits have a tradition of more than thirty years in Sicily, the elective land for this type of race, which today serves as a reference even for organizers from other regions of Italy
Each event in Sicily draws 3,000 to 5,000 people: children, families, grandparents, in an atmosphere that brings karting literally among the people. "It gives me great emotion to think that someone who's never seen a kart on a track can see it here in the squares, on the avenues of their city. Have you ever seen a street race or the images? They're impressive! They do it with Formula 1, where street circuits are becoming more fashionable, or in Formula E. Can't we do it with karting, which is moreover much simpler to manage?"
It's often said that organizing a street race isn't easy, with lots of paperwork issues or problems getting permits from municipalities, that "it's not like it used to be."
"Not true at all. There's a very clear ACISport regulation in Italy that applies to every race not on a track, which we follow to the smallest detail. There's almost always great collaboration from authorities and administrations, who actually welcome hosting a high-profile event like a kart race in their city. Often people come from neighboring towns to watch, generating economic spin-off that's certainly welcome by everyone: administrators, merchants, and largely residents too. The point is that it takes willingness. We provide a complete 'ready-to-go' assistance package to anyone wanting to organize a street race. We prepare all the documentation and handle the organizational and bureaucratic side: the local promoter just has to set up the circuit."
What can we say about safety: are street circuits safe?
"Let's start from a premise. As spectacular as they are, on street circuits you don't go super fast; rules on straight lengths, for example, are strict, and when speeds aren't extreme, safety risks are reduced too. Today, protections used to secure all risky areas are made of covered hay bales and soft-crash barriers identical to those on tracks. And between us: want to talk track safety? To be honest, you see few serious accidents on streets because the driver, knowing they can't go beyond, always thinks carefully about the maneuver before attempting the impossible and going off track. The direct consequence is fewer incidents—simple."
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ACI Sport regulations governing the layout of street circuits ensure that speeds are not excessively high, thereby maintaining a high level of safety and spectacle, with vehicles traveling on roads normally intended for car traffic
Even in Mini, where kids are often the wildest?
"Especially in Mini I would say: our kids are always very careful—if you crash, the fun's over, and they know it well. That's why from the Mini category onward, drivers develop great vehicle control skills. On 'real' tracks, they have run-off areas, which leads them to take excessive risks. Going back to the earlier point, tracks for those categories can paradoxically be more dangerous than streets: I just mean that when people say streets aren't safe, they're not looking at karting reality from the right perspective. Safety certainly isn't the problem; it's the willingness to organize."
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The youngest drivers have the opportunity to learn, on street circuits that do not feature run-off areas, that a mistake compromises the race without appeal
When we talk about streets, in conclusion, we're not talking about "tracks carved in a parking lot" but circuits running on roads normally open to traffic. Think of one of the world's most iconic karting events, the Supernationals in Vegas: in the end—though classified as street—the circuit is in a parking lot, far from the city.
"We don't like the idea of a track in a parking lot, honestly: we want to go to the town center, where the people are—the kids, the folks who've never seen karts. Parking lots are often on the outskirts, far from densely populated areas, so might as well go to a track. Real streets are in the city, on the roads with karts passing by homes. Back to Monaco, the world's most famous street circuit: there they go right through the houses, and that's what we want to do."
Have you ever had complaints from locals?
"Little or none. Think about it: some people complain even when the Pope visits or for concerts. There's always someone complaining, but the majority loves seeing the party, the engines, the passion. Plus, the format is a condensed event in one day, max two. A couple of free practice sessions, quali, and race: it doesn't overly impact neighborhood life, and the influx of people more than compensates for closing two or three streets for a few hours. That's also why street drivers are so strong—they give it all right away on unfamiliar asphalt: if they're not champions..."
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The 100cc categories can provide great spectacle on street circuits, evoking a fortunate period in karting history when street races were organized all around
Indeed, the San Carlo circuit is drawing national attention, returning after years to host a race on a historic Circuit, organized in collaboration with PKS Street Circuits. As for the most 'participated' categories, KZ leads, also due to the "thrill" of gear shifts given the many corners, always with the highest number of drivers (often around 25), but Mini and OK-N are increasingly filling the grids—with the 100cc, whose nostalgic fans often get their machines back on track, like driver Oliver Scullion, who raced at San Carlo last year, along with whom friend journalist Alan made the video you can see by clicking at the bottom of the article.
Regarding the 2026 calendar, it starts right at San Carlo in May, then continues on various circuits—mainly in Sicily—and ends in December at the Marsala (west Sicily) circuit with the Castiglione dei Pepoli (Bologna area) round—another out-of-Sicily event.
