K1 Circuit - Outdoor Go Kart Track and Event Venue — Attraction in Winchester

I’ve been to indoor K1 for decades and at first look you may assume this is the same experience.

If I’m being honest the name is probably not doing them any favors. K1 Circuit isn’t on the same planet and where do I begin.

The venue It’s not done yet, the restaurant and sim building are apparently going to be finished in only a few weeks and with that there are some minor temporary fencing and clear works in progress. That said, the site is actually really nice, plenty of parking, EV charging, vip parking for the trailers and BYOK (bring your own kart).

The staff Another major win, every single employee was beyond friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. I even witnessed an issue with another customer where they missed a session somehow and they did a lot to get them into a rave immediately and even though it wasn’t their fault they apologized. Safety is their primary focus and it’s done logically in a practical way.

The Karts Another case where the indoor and outdoor karts don’t even compare. The outdoor karts are well setup for high speed driving, they have plenty of torque, they have sharp and responsive turn in, they will oversteer predictably. There was absolutely zero perceptible battery degradation in any of the sessions I did. Every kart felt identical and unlike EVERY indoor kart there was no perceivable advantage from kart to kart. Lastly they were impeccably maintained and the mechanical staff payed close attention to any customer complaints and seemed to address them instantly. Lastly the obnoxious brake+gas issue where the kart shuts down on the indoor karts was not an issue at all unlike my experience the very same week at a indoor location where them Employees simply scoffed our group complains about it. Braking is evenly biased and is easy to use body weight to add a favored bias.

The track I did an arrive and drive first thing on Sunday morning, we only had access to the North course. It has plenty of room to pass safely (my guess is 4 karts wide at any point). A few times was 3 wide and didn’t seem unsafe. There is significant elevation changes, which adds to the challenge of a momentum vehicle. The surface was grippy and consistent throughout, it’s rubbered in so well you can really trust grip at the limit with a perfect amount of slip angle.

The bad They seem to have a tiered performance structure, starting at Bronze you buy the annual license at $50 and have to complete 5 races to move to silver and pay $50 more. This seems realistic to make sure drivers don’t immediately drive outside their comfort level. Here was my issue, at the end of my day I had completed 3 races and was in 1st, then 2nd and 2nd only off pole by 1 tenth. So on our way out I asked one of the friendly staff how they separate Bronze and Silver. They explained that they don’t and one could assume I was just racing with only Bronze drivers but I was told there were a number of silver drivers and “you can tell because they will be 1-2seconds faster per lap”. So I’m not really sure what to think about this… the Gold and Platinum tiers are still not available.

Will I go back? …. Yes 100%… first time out $160 for a partial day of fun (was there for 2.5 hours) is more than worth it! And given how much better it is than indoor karting, the value is fully there.

Thank...

K1 Winchester is a heck of a facility and we really enjoyed our visit. The OTL electric karts are a step above most concession e-karts and a joy to drive. While the power output is tied to licensing (you have to qualify for additional power levels) the base speed (bronze) is more than enough for most concession kart patrons. We got to drive the level 2 (silver) and it was reminiscent of 100cc TAG, and was good for 50-60mph with plenty of torque and powerful front brakes.

The facility is lovely and still under construction. The main building will offer food and other amenities when done, which seemed relatively imminent ( as of Jan 2025). The track caters to both recreational arrive and drive patrons as well as owner karters, and is open 7 days a week.

I've raced a lot, at some of the finest tracks in the country and this one will undoubtedly come to be regarded as highly as places like AMP, Trackhouse, PITT Race, etc. In its full configuration it is a world-class layout.

The staff was great and the operation, while very professional, was relatively low key and unhurried. We came on a weekday and I am told it gets very busy on the weekends.

This is a fabulous place and I highly recommend it to karting enthusiasts of all levels!

Edit: came back for a second visit Feb 2025 to get some serious track time. We came on a Monday and ran 12 heats. We had the track to ourselves, for the most part.

Again, the staff was great and very helpful. Isaac, the mechanic, gave us some pointers and helped us with strategies for a couple of the trickier corners, which was very kind. Really enjoyed the lapping and hope to be back again.

For the experienced racers... yes the tires are very hard and quite noisy, but the grip level is adequate and it's very drivable. There's quite a bit of push but it makes for an interesting challenge. I am told that 33.9 is current best for silver, with 34s being where you'd want to land, competitively. I think most arrive and drive patrons would be posting 36-38 on silver initially. It takes a bit to figure out where you...

Went on Sunday morning and got there right when they opened at 9 am. We were advised to go early to avoid long wait times. You have to pay for a race license and start off with bronze. It’s $49 + you pay for how many sessions you want to do. We opted for the 3 sessions which was an additional $105. They give you a tshirt, head sock, and you can use their race suits and helmets if you don’t have your own. We wore long sleeve shirts, long pants, and sneakers so didn’t have to wear them. I brought my own helmet so didn’t use theirs but the loaners they had looked decent.

You start off watching a 7 minute video on how to’s, do’s, and don’ts. Then wait for your name to get called. Walk over to where the karts are lined up. They assign you to go kart number. Get seated, wait for them to tell you “visors down”, and roll out. The sessions are 8 minutes long each. We noticed that a decent lap time for the karts we drove was between 35-38 seconds.

All the same flags apply as they do on the race track. Yellow, red, blue etc. they wave a white flag when you have one lap left the checkered when it’s time to end your session. The lap times get posted to the monitors by the lockers and they also get emailed to you.

We did notice that some of the karts are faster than others. When I asked what the deal was they said you have to do 5 sessions with bronze license / karts first. Then you upgrade to Silver race license by paying the difference. The silver karts are faster. Do 5 sessions which then allows you to go up to the gold license. Faster karts again. Do 10 sessions with the gold speed / license which finally unlocks your access to pro which are the fastest karts.

As of the day I went which was November 17th 2024 the place had only been open for 1 month. They had no food, water, or snacks for sale so make sure to bring your own. It also can be very sunny so bring a hat. They have small lockers you can use to put some stuff in as well. Over all great experience. My neck was a bit stiff the day after and...