K1 Speed - Indoor Go Karts, Corporate Event Venue, Team Building Activities — Attraction in Columbus

Is new so rounding up to a 2, should be a 4/5 if local manager and team get standards up. They lost 1 star for corporate decision to not have lockers, fine if a charge for it but zero way to secure winter coat. They make you empty pockets to Kart so your phone, keys, cash sit unsecured in a basket that dozens of people walk by. Bush league. With that, would be 4 star except the poorly trained crew with remotes target some drivers to slow down from speed 3 to 2 and others to boost from 2 to 3. They say it is for safety but is crazy to have 2 of 10 drivers able to go 40 mph while other drivers governed down to 25 mph. I saw kids hit by old man boy racer, t boned at 40mph while kid was doing 25. Management explains it that for the driver safety, and wear and tear on their equipment and their course they see a racer who’s hitting the brakes a lot we’re having other issues and they slow them from the standard race speed of setting three down to setting too. That’s all well and fine and there’s a modest difference between a three and a two. However, they also upgrade better drivers such as myself And others as fast as me, but much more careless to a four in that case you have young kids who don’t really know what they’re doing who’ve been slowed down to a two and people who do a lot of carting raised up to a four and those two things are not compatible on the course at the same time. They are very aggressive about putting kids down to a two and if they are on a course with others, there should be no case in which anybody else is raised up above a three. The safer version of it would be to take anyone under 18 or below a certain age and have them run in groups versus having All the desperate skill levels out there, but if that’s not possible, then they simply need to be allowing virtually everybody who can get around the course to stay at a three even if they’re breaking a little bit too much because then when they’re on the straightaways and turns, they’re not gonna get rear-ended by the guy who’s on a four Setting at a 10 or 15 mph differential. I’ve been here six times and depending on who’s working, they put me up to a four and I’m very careful with it, but I’ve also seen them take our kids and for the exact same skill level of racing they have taken them down to a two for no good reason or left them at three, just depending on The very subjective thoughts of somebody observing the course. Again, they are brand new at it so if they get consistent with it and really focus on leaving everybody possible as a three, unless they’re truly little kids that can’t handle it or hillbillies who are just taking the course too rough or dangerously that would be great. I’ll be there again next week and the week after and will update this once I experience how they’re...

Okay, listen. My opinion doesn’t reign supreme over anyone else’s, but when it comes to the go-karting experience, I’ve got a few races under my belt. If you “arrive and drive,” be prepared to wait—upwards of two hours just to get to the safety briefing. For context, we arrived at 7 PM to do two races and didn’t leave until 9:45 PM (On a coveted Monday night).

The variety of skill and ability you encounter on the track is completely out of the establishment’s control, but from a functionality standpoint, things were rough. The staff was so shorthanded that the guy stationed with a blue flag—right at the start of the timing point for laps—ended up screwing over racers trying to set their best times.

Better yet, and I didn’t believe it at first when my group started complaining, each kart apparently has a random speed limit. At one point, I was given an ungodly amount of speed for about 15 seconds, only to be dropped back to standard race pace. Meanwhile, other people in our group were flooring it and going nowhere, crawling like they were stuck in neutral. For the record, no one in our group had collisions or anything else that would explain this inconsistency. If the point of this experience is racing for your best lap, there are zero elements working in your favor to actually assess your ability.

I’ve been to other racing venues and have consistently been 3-4 tenths faster than one member of our party. This time, he dusted me by 1.4 seconds. Either he’s been practicing in secret, or these karts are completely unreliable.

To the guy who checked us in and said things would move quicker once he got out from behind the desk—I might’ve agreed if you hadn’t packed it up and left the premises before lifting a finger to help your colleagues. At one point, we were told there were no hourly staff due to call-offs. Sure, this place has only been open for two weeks, but that doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

To top the night off, we waited an extra race while two people got the track entirely to themselves for what felt eerily like a wedding’s first dance. Then we were thrown back into a Brazilian slum of nine people, all praying to the kart gods that the all-powerful track master would pick us to go full speed.

If you’re thinking about coming here for the thrill of racing, just know that you’re at the mercy of the staff, the karts, and a whole lot of...

My family and I visited today with minimal prior driving experience and signed up for three races. The staff at both the front desk and the pit area were exceptionally friendly and helpful. Everyone seemed to be in a positive mood and eager to assist, which made our experience enjoyable.

However, there was one aspect of our visit that impacted our overall experience. During the races, we were paired with 2 young individuals who appeared to have significant prior experience. Despite clear instructions that bumping was not permitted, it was evident that these individuals were given an exception to this rule. Within seconds of starting the first race, I was forcefully slammed into a wall, resulting in a sharp headache. While some incidental bumping can be expected, it quickly became apparent that the repeated contact was intentional, likely aimed at getting ahead.

I understand the rule that slower / newer drivers should stay to the right to allow faster drivers to pass, which makes perfect sense. However, by the third race, I was repeatedly signaled to move aside for someone who was already a full lap ahead of me, despite the fact that I was pushing the kart to its maximum speed with my foot all the way down on the accelerator. It became clear that these 2 individuals were focused on beating their personal best scores, rather than competing fairly with others.

While I appreciate the opportunity for individuals to challenge their own records, I believe that such activities should be reserved for private sessions, rather than putting general participants, such as my family and me, at risk. The favoritism and the enabling displayed by the race observers was odd and detracted from an otherwise enjoyable experience.

Despite this, I would still recommend the venue, as everything else, including the staff and overall atmosphere, was excellent. If you find yourself in a similar situation with overly aggressive participants, don’t hesitate to speak up to the staff in the pit area (where the helmets are) You are not being dramatic; your safety and enjoyment should...