We’ve shown you some crazy superkart racers before, namely the fools strapped to 250 cc of two-stroke rocketry hurtling around the Isle of Man on (closed) public roads. That’s actually considerably more crazy than this video since there are no potholes on the “track” or brick village walls in the “runoff” area. However, pretty much any video of these 100-horsepower missiles is going to be absolutely batty because, as it turns out, the karts only weigh about 470 pounds with a driver. That’s better than five pounds per horsepower with no real bodywork between you and fate in the form of head-high bundle of tires.
The track in question here is Lédenon, a somewhat obscure French racetrack that is actually pretty awesome for being carved out of a hillside. The track rips down from the start-finish line, basically switching back and forth across the hill face until reaching the bottom, where there’s a massive climbing turn onto the front straight. Despite the huge climb, the karts are well north of 200 kph, which is 124 mph for the stateside crowd, as they cross the start-finish line.
So who is taming these massively powerful, ultralight machines? Well, SuperKarts are one of many paths into the huge and competitive world of European open-wheel racing so would you believe most of these racers are teenagers and young twentysomethings? I suppose you need youthful reaction times—these karts seem to spend most of a given lap sideways—and lack of fear to conquer the world of SuperKarts on proper road courses like Lédenon.
That was cool watching Mr. Camera kart get passed and reel those guys back in and shut them down. Well at least as long as the video lasts?