What is Rental and Rotax Karting

Rental karting isn’t a series, it’s a way to describe going to a local track and driving the karts they have available. The karts you will drive are called 4-stroke karts and perform rather sluggishly. You will race against other random people or with select people depending on the track’ rules. This is a great way to develop interest in racing while understanding the absolute basics via driving with other racers and sharing knowledge. I remember starting with a two-day, 16 hour training session at Kartomania in Gurugram. That’s how it started, as I progressed, I was eventually invited to their Rotax team (Leap Frog Racing) which I would eventually transfer out of.

Rotax karting is a cut above rental karting, it marks the beginning of a racer’s racing career. The Indian Rotax series is called National Rotax Max Karting Championship. This is a the first series that requires a FMSCI license in the form of an FMSCI Karting license. You will be driving against other experienced drivers with proper teams in a 2-stroke kart. These karts are much faster and responsive but also much harder to drive than their 4 stroke counterparts and really dials up the difficulty. The series consists of multiple rounds, heats, and practices and the winner of the overall championship is decided via a points system based on per-race placement. When I first drove a Rotax kart I was incredibly scared, it took me a few laps to gain the confidence to go full throttle on the main straight or even to break at the right point! It can certainly be a shock, but you will get used to it much like I did.