Vintage Karts
15/09/26
Running continuously, now for twenty five years, and always over the American Labor Day weekend holiday, The Big One, is an event dedicated to remembering and preserving the karts and engines of American manufacture that were raced from 1956 to 1972, a period that some would say was the heyday of American karting. Report and Photos: Frank Weir
Fremont Raceway Park, Fremont, Ohio, USA, September 4/5/6, 2026
Organized by Rob Voska and Bob Kurkowski, the principals of Rear Engine American Racers, the occasion attracted enthusiasts of...
22/05/26
The most important event on the Historic Karting calendar took place over the weekend of May 15–17. The joyful atmosphere and the passion shown by enthusiasts from all across the world confirmed that there is still a strong desire for a kind of karting that remains faithful to its founding principles: simplicity - in the machinery, in the rules, and free from the anxiety of results. (fm)
The historic reenactment of the Champions Cup was born almost by chance following an exhibition event at the Caselle di Altivole circuit (ironically, a track that permanently closed just a few weeks...
23/02/26
The every popular Race Retro was held over the weekend 20-22 February and as usual the British Historic Kart Club has a stand and a demonstration practice track (by Graham Smith)
The show is held at Stoneleigh Park near Coventry in the United Kingdom. On inside display were three karts this year, a 1978 Mounteagle Eagle / Hewland Arrow, a 1959 Trokart / Clinton and...
17/09/25
Mike Lotz is from Wapakoneta, Ohio, the same place as Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. Mike is definitely not one of the USA’s largest distributors of karting equipment and related hardware. He does not publish a parts catalogue because he does not sell parts, he collects them! Text and Photos: Frank Weir
Mike is certainly not a selfish man; if you need a part he will be happy to help you out. However, if Mike was to publish an inventory of his karts and engine parts it would be thicker than the old...
08/09/25
The Big One 2025, karts you will always remember, memories you’ll never forget (Report and Photos: Frank Weir)
Fremont, Ohio, USA, August 30 and 31, 2025.
Running continuously, now for twenty four years and always over the American Labor Day weekend holiday, The Big One, is an event dedicated to remembering...
22/07/25
The British Historic Kart Club was formed in 2005; it now has around 200 members with particularly strong connections with the Dutch, German and French historic groups. Each year the club organises what has become known as The Shenington Historic Revival, an event dedicated to preserving United Kingdom karting heritage via demonstrations and exhibition (Text and Photos: Patrick Ireland)
Shenington, Oxfordshire, England, 18 – 21 July 2025
Shenington has become the place to unveil one’s latest kart whether it be a restoration or 'barn find'. There are always '...
30/06/25
English man John Brise was a pork farmer who at the age of 24 acquired a Jaguar SS100 in which he raced to third place at both the May and June 1950 British Automobile Racing Club (BARC) members’ races at Goodwood.(Text: Frank Weir; Photos: Pete Adams, Tony Brinkworth, Karting, Karting News and Record, British Historic Kart Club Archive)
In 1951 John’s older brother Robert raced a 500cc Cooper-JAP and the following year John made his debut in the same class driving a Kieft at Castle Combe finishing fourth in the third heat to...
11/06/25
All sanctioned motorsport racing organisers are required to remind their competitors and those involved in the management of such events that motor racing can be dangerous; regrettably fatalities happen (by Frank Weir - photos: Mark Weaverling)
During the 1990 American karting season there were a number of serious injury accidents in laydown enduro karts. Such karts raced on car racing circuits such as Daytona International Speedway and Mid...
22/05/25
The twelfth year of the continuous promotion of the ASI Go-Kart Show was held at the Pista Azzurra in Lido di Jesolo located in north east Italy close to Venice. The event ran over 3 days starting on Friday 16 May and concluding on Sunday May 18, 2025. (by Frank Weir))
The meeting organised by the Kart Commission of the Automotoclub Storico Italiano is by far one of the most important vintage karting meetings anywhere. The event programme listed 264 karts ranging...
24/02/25
As always the British Historic Kart Club took a stand and practice track at the 2025 Race Retro show, held at the Stoneleigh show grounds in England. (by Graham Smith)
The star of the stand was the 1969 Birel Drag owned and restored by Tony Brinkworth. It is a very unusual and rare kart. In 1968, 1969 and 1970 the revolutionary “A” frame...
28/01/25
The Vintage Karting Association opened their 2025 schedule at the Musselman Honda circuit located at 11800, Harrison Road, Tucson, Arizona, on January 16th, 17th and 18th, 202 (Text and Photos: Frank Weir)
The Musselman circuit was particularly suited to the 150cc singles and 300cc twins; it also provided a short track using a cut through for the historic karts from the late fifties and early sixties....
18/10/24
The July 2024 British Historic Kart Club Shenington Revival held at the historic karting venue close to Banbury, Oxfordshire, England, featured an interesting 1962 Skeeta Mark III kart made in Cheddar, Somerset, by a company trading as Lanason Limited owned by a gentleman called Ken Lane.(Text: Frank Weir/Photos: Tony Brinkworth, BHKC and Frank Weir)
The Skeeta was a member of the small select band of karts that were manufactured from the introduction of karting in Great Britain. In fact it may even have been the first kart to go into quantity...
22/07/24
Quick Kart was an Italian marque manufactured during the early to mid sixties in Vedano al Lambro, approximately 15 kilometres northeast of Milan close to the Monza motor racing circuit. (Text: Frank Weir - Photos: Frank Weir, Tony Brinkworth)
An Italian advert for the Quick Noleggio (rental) kart listed E Giostra and Company located at 20 Via Ambrogio Villa, Vedano al Lambro, as the fabricator of the Quick Kart. Incidentally sixty years...
07/06/24
Back in 1959 The M. Mitchell Company located at 249 Streetsboro-Windham Road in Hudson, Ohio, were primarily in the business of making sprockets and gears. Then along came a new form of low cost motorsport known as karting which resulted in the formation of the Bantam Racer Division within the M. Mitchell Company.Text and Photos: Frank Weir
Mitchell’s first production kart featured square tube construction. The main chassis legs looked as if they had been formed from inch and half box section. The steering column support in front...
24/05/24
Jesolo, Italy, May 17, 18 and 19 – The 2024 annual Jesolo ASI Go Kart show, which has become the premier vintage kart gathering in Europe, lived up to its usual high standards. The meeting programme listed 245 entries. There were also many other karts present that were on display to prospective new owners plus the vendors selling various parts such as wheels, engines, rear axle components, front spindles and plastic parts. Many of the parts were new remanufactured items such as DAP steering wheels, fibreglass seats and various rear axle components. Text and Photos: Frank Weir
ASI divided the karts into six sections for the meeting, namely CIK 1, CIK 2, CIK 3, CIK 4 and modern plus those karts that participated for the Tony Kart Historic Cup. The CIK 1 karts ranged in age...
20/05/24
DAP was the first manufacturer to design, develop, and race with a 100cc liquid-cooled engine from 1978 to 1984. It won practically everything before someone decided to ban it from competitions… (p.m.)
For the 1978 homologation, Angelo and Achille Parilla’s DAP surprised the karting world by launching the first water-cooled engine: the T73. Even in those years, DAP was at the top with a...
08/05/24
Following the demise of Go Kart Manufacturing Incorporated in 1963 company principal Duffy Livingstone, considered by many to be the father of karting, went back to earning a living at his former business of GP Mufflers. (Text Frank Weir - Photos Frank Weir and Gary Moline)
Duffy nevertheless, still dabbled with karts and during early 1966 he came up with the Flexible Flyer frame which was his idea on a sidewinder kart. The Flexible Flyer featured a rear portion of the...
10/04/24
The Birel Drag was introduced in 1968. Birel invested heavily in the development of that particular chassis which impressed with its innovative characteristics especially on bumpy street circuits from the first time it appeared. Text: E.Barbiani – Photos: A. Scudieri
The triangular shaped frame owed much of its inspiration to the Swedish Robardie kart. The Drag was easy to handle and much faster compared to its rivals at that time. The agreement between Birel and...
02/04/24
When I hear Ronnie Dunn perform his hit country song 'How Far To Waco' I cannot help but think of Richard Peck and his fantastic Hornet karts (Text and Photos: Frank Weir)
It required 2 issues within the vintage section of Vroom International Karting magazine, namely the May and June 2017 editions, to tell the karting story of Richard Peck and Mercury Tool and Machine...
22/03/24
The Gilson Brothers Company was a Plymouth, Wisconsin, based manufacturer of outdoor power equipment and recreational equipment. It operated independently between its founding in 1911 until acquisition by Lawn-Boy in 1988. Text: Frank Weir - Photos: Enzo Falconi Collection
In 1961 according to their advertising literature the Gilson Company was well known for being America’s largest producer of rotary tillers. The company also produced snow blowers and garden...