Motorsport is a strong part of the UK’s sporting history, with karting and its venues at the heart of it. From some of the highest profile drivers, starting on home made kit & small budgets, to businesses starting track side out of the back of vans, rebuilding kit & selling parts. They wouldn’t have got very far without a place to practice their trade. These places not only played host to the rich history of the parties above, but also to themselves and the areas they were built in. Starting out as a pipe-dream in the mind of an enthusiastic Motorsport fan, to a once famous landmark or place of business. This is a project exploring the birth of UK kart circuits, fueled by a brief history lesson to get my head around what spawned them!
Kart circuits have a rich history of being started on airfields, Rowrah Kart circuit and it’s originators had other ideas. After gathering plenty of noise complaints from the locals (nothing new here), Iredale Edgar (Great Grandfather of British racing driver Johnny Edgar) took matters into his owns hands, suggesting to buy the disused Kendal Head Quarry for a healthy sum of £300 in the early 1960’s, moving the club he helped form (West Cumberland Kart Club) from Haverigg Airfield. He set to converting the hollow pit into one of the most technical and picturesque Karting circuits in the country, with the help of plenty of volunteers and a further £4000.
Considering the surname of the man who helped found this now amazing track you can see why it is has the pedigree it does today. The Edgars have produced plenty of Karting champions over the years, racing against some of the best all while calling Rowrah home.
This was just the start for Rowrah, the track has continuously seen development throughout the years, with new sections of track, facilities and schemes aimed at finding the next big motorsport star. Most notable was the scheme ‘Racing for Buttons’ run by Cumbria Kart Racing Club, backed by various high ranking motorsport personnel and drivers. This was aimed at getting kids into karting for ‘buttons, supplying all their equipment and tutoring, cutting out the need for that hefty pay out to get started, typically the first major hurdle for anyone wanting to start karting. This has now been adopted nationwide via Motorsport UK’s ‘Lets go Karting’ scheme and continues on at Rowrah Kart circuit.
As far as I’m concerned Rowrah is the Mecca of Karting circuits in the UK. The journey north through the hills of the Lake District is just as good as entering the circuit for the first time… Granted the Cumbrian micro climate is being kind to you. The circuit is surrounded by craggy rock and steep cliff faces, with superb spectating spots over the entire 1030m of tarmac. It even has it’s own ‘lake’, no doubt full of kart chassis older than the majority of drivers in attendance. Natural elevation adds to the already great layout, quite literally splitting the track onto two levels, allowing the stadium to overhang the start/finish straight. Much like modern day F1, the best circuits are the ones that’ll never get made in this day of age… I could go on.
A lap of the track starts with the wicked climb into the first chicane, offering up a well used kerb on exit, of which you’d be a fool not to climb all over. Only to then to be greeted by McRaes, the first tight hairpin lined with one of the many punishing wood chip pits dotted around the circuit. You’ll then find yourself sailing up the middle straight into the second challenging hairpin rightfully named Iredales. Make sure you use the back straight to compose yourself before tackling the sweeping right straight into the tight and twisty Stewart Esses, again with plenty of kerb to climb on exit. The track then falls away, firing you downhill into the fastest corner on the circuit St Johns, flicking it right only to find Sunny Bend staring straight at you. Using as much run off as you dare on exit paddock bend will then draw you in, pushing you out on exit as you try to carry as much speed as possible, avoid that run off at your own peril! Then fire it down the home straight under the impressive stadium building to start the wood chip dodging rollercoaster ride all over again.
Rowrah and CKRC continues to be a staple for most British Karting championships, attracting the best drivers and organisations all year round, rain or shine! It blows my mind every time I visit, spectating or driving. I’ve already got my plot marked out to be buried up on that cliff side, morbid I know.