This is part of my series where I kart across all of Thailand, publishing them in the order I visited them. For more about deciding to do this and how I went out and about and got from place A to B you can read my intro article to the series, I Kart Raced Across the Entire Country of Thailand. Also worth checking for some general safety comments for karting if you’re new to it, as safety is not always priority #1 out there…
Name: Phuket Kart Speedway aka ‘the one on the left’, ‘the fast one’, ‘the one you don’t see from the street’
Website: http://www.phuketkartspeedway.com
Facebook: Phuket Kart Speedway
Location: map
Cost to get there: I don’t know what a good price is, I didn’t have munch to anchor off of. I went to this area twice, both times with tuktuks. You can visit it and Patong GoKart Speedway on the same trip, if you’d like. They are very close, you could even walk from one to the other. I ended up paying 200 baht to be driven out to the track, wait for me to race, then drive me back. Both times I started/ended on Patong Beach, near the big beach sign and at the end of Phuket’s walking street (Bangla road). The tuk-tuk drivers started high (400, and 800) but were both pretty cool and I gave them 20 baht extra. I also karted for a while, like a couple hours each day. This ended up being some of the cheapest kart transit I took. That’s the back of my tuktuk above.
Cost: These guys took credit – a rarity many places in Thailand, and I thought cash was king in the Philippines! I’m not sure how much the 4-stroke karts are, maybe 800 baht? I raced with the 100cc 2-strokes every race but my last. 1000 baht. Double that to 2000 baht and you have the 125cc karts. Their website also mentions a ‘by invitation only’ race kart – I don’t know how much these are or if they are rotax, nor how that invite happens to come. 🙂 10+ minute sessions.
Track: The track is fun and challenging and flows nicely. It’s used in national kart championships in Thailand. 750m in length, a pretty good distance!
Popularity: Similar to my comments on Patong, this place is frequented pretty well, especially since it is known as the faster/better track. I never went out alone here. Locals and others who race karts in Thailand occasionally had sessions with some wicked fast karts as well. A guy named Bruce Polkinghorne commented on my camera rig and we ended up chatting a bit, he advised me some places to visit including a contact at Bira, which is not a track that has an arrive and drive facility. Bruce and his race partner were out lapping and looked really fast – they are a championship race team out in Thailand and sure looked the part.
Karts: What I’m sure are 2xx cc 4-strokes, 100cc and 125cc 2-strokes, and apparently some by invite kind of race karts (if you were really interested in these I would recommend asking.) I did all my races except the last one in the 100cc karts. As far as maintenance/feel, the 100cc’s had me at different levels of confidence pushing them and each had some of their own characteristics. I only did the 125cc karts once, although mine pooped out partway through and I ended up swapping eventually with a guy who completed the race. My initial kart felt a lot more controllable, the second one faster but looser. I did set my fastest lap in the latter. Bruce thought these had the same tires as the 100cc karts. I was surprised to find my top speed was just a little bit faster and that my overall lap time only dropped a few seconds. Rather than me blaming driver limitations I could try and claim they were tire limitations, but… we both know it’s probably driver limitations don’t we? ;p
Timing: Surprisingly enough to me, no – the first of many places in Thailand that I found did not take or provide timing.
Overall: I visited the track twice and had a lot of fun. It’s a short trip from town and a great track to drive, with good rentals as well.
Video: If you click the title on the embedded video, it will open up in youtube and you’ll be able to full screen it.
First, the karts I spent most of my time in, 100cc. I think the vast majority of people rent these.
I did the 125cc for twice the price for my final session. Some dudes who just got there were signing up and looking for what to do and discussing these – I recommended the 100cc and told them they were plenty fast and I was a bit scared of the 125cc even. Yet they were pretty set on these. I asked if they had karted before and they said yes… keep in mind half the people showing up to this place are wearing flip-flops though and just looking for something to do. I don’t think these guys knew what these things were capable of. In any case, they all did sign up for 125cc karts, so I thought great! Well I guess we have ourselves a real race! Although I think they were more interested in selfies about karting than the actual karting though.
Other tracks in Thailand:
Phuket
1. Patong Go-Kart Speedway
2. Phuket Kart Speedway (100cc and 125cc 2-strokes)
Hua Hin
3. Go Kart Hua Hin
Chiang Mai
4. Chiang Mai X-Centre Drift Karts
5. Chiangmai Speedkart
Ko Samui
6. Samui Go-Kart
7. EasyKart Samui
Krabi
8. Krabi Kart (420cc and 560cc 4-strokes)
Pattaya
9. EasyKart Pattaya
10. Bira International Circuit (no arrive and drive; rotax rental)
11. Pattaya Kart Speedway
Bangkok
12. MSL Motorsports Land
13. EasyKart Bangkok (RCA)
