A great way to spend a day!!
Just on the outskirts of Leeds, not far from the royal armories, is a hugely understated building. From the looks of the industrial buildings around PPIK (Pole Position Indoor Karting) it doesn't appear to be up to much. Holy hell was I wrong.
There are a number of races available, all ranging in cost. I'll detail the one I chose and for more head to their very comprehensive website.
I got a group of mates together for an 'Iron man 50' karting session 50 minutes of warm up and racing. The cost per person was £50, which is quite expensive, but this is not something you do every weekend. Booked over the phone whilst in Japan they were obliging to process me really quickly, 10% deposit taken and dates confirmed. I also arranged to have trophies presented to the top three winners (out of our group).
On the day we arrived we were handed overalls, gloves and hairnets (hygiene). There are lockers on site and it's advised that you use them, becase you will lose your phone to a tire) and after some prep work on flags, which mean stop / go / stop what you're doing / you're out of here you crazy b*stard. We went out for our helmets and a warm up.
The track in fantastic. With two bridges and two tunnels it's a decent size. Plus with chicanes and choke points it's real fun with a group of mates. We had a few crashes, but the karts are nice and sturdy (Watch out for the sharp left under the bridge, I almost took a kart in the face).
Note*
When setting off on the warm up they recommend you leave some distance, between yourself and the car in front, to get a good time. Do it, and go hell for leather, because your best warm up lap will decide where you start on the qualifying grid. The higher up the better.
Anyway. The lads and I loved it. We headed to the PPIK bar (plenty of draft beers), received a detailed printout, a good laugh, trophy presentation and a bottle of champagne (on the house) for the winner.
Sadly I did not win, but I did get the fastest laptime of 47.600 - if you beat it let me know.
A seriously good out! read more