Rye House Kart Circuit

Rye House Kart Circuit is a kart circuit, in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire, England, and is adjacent to the Rye House Stadium. The circuit is one of the oldest in the country, and has been used by drivers including Jenson Button, Anthony Davidson and Lewis Hamilton.^{[citation needed]}

The circuit

Hoddesdon Kart Club

The Hoddesdon Kart Club was an MSA approved club, which usually held its events on the third Sunday of every month from February to December.^[1] The club would run an annual event called the London Cup which has been televised on Motors TV in previous years. The event attracts competitors from the Super 1 National Kart Championships as well as other drivers from National kart clubs and associations.

Rye House Kart Club

In 2017, Rye House took over the running of all competitive race meetings, as 'IKR' (independent kart racing) events, independently of the MSA. This continued until 2024 when Rye House Kart Club^[2] resumed running MSUK (formerly MSA) affiliated race meetings. The annual London Cup event continues to be run as the final event of the year, after the club championship has concluded.

Circuit improvements

Since 2003, the circuit has undergone some major refurbishments. Early that year, the track was resurfaced, and since then a new cafe and hospitality area have been added. In between the March and April MSA meeting, a new covered grandstand was built at Stadium Bend, the fastest corner on the circuit. The grass on the exit of both hairpins one and two has been replaced with brickwork, in an effort to reduce the water-logging which plagues the circuit due to the close proximity of the wetlands and surrounding lakes and rivers. A new race control building was completed in late 2009.

The track was again resurfaced in early 2022. New drainage was added along with extended asphalt run off areas at the exits of turn 6 and 7.

In popular culture

The track featured prominently in the 1964 movie 'Go Kart Go' starring Dennis Waterman and Wilfrid Brambell.^[3]

51.767588°N 0.011287°E / 51.767588; 0.011287

References

1. Hoddesdon Kart Club
2. "Rye House Kart Club".
3. "Go Kart Go". Reel Streets. Retrieved 22 February 2016.