Pattaya Today's lifestyle, travel and culture guide
Vol. 02 No. 18 | Sep 16-30 2014
L iv I N G
i n
stY L e
Suggestions
INDIBA® Treatment
Eat Asia
dining out L6
fff L9
explore L11
expanding fast
throughout Thailand Fun for beginners and experts alike by Barry Kenyon
The word is spreading fast among tourists and Thais alike that go-karting is for just about everyone. You don’t have to be good at sports, or even particularly strong behind the wheel. Everyone from the age of eight to old-age pensioners can enjoy the thrills, and you don’t even need a driving license.
Billed by TripAdvisor as one of the best attractions in the ever-diversifying Pattaya, EasyKart is situated at the end of Walking Street just across from Bali Hai pier. This is the ideal place to live out your Grand Prix fantasies – assuming you have any – and experience first-hand the thrills of this unique and rapidly expanding motorsport. American Art Ingels is generally believed to be the father of karting. A veteran hot rodder and a race car builder at Kurtis Kraft, he built the first kart in Southern California as early as 1956. The first engines for karts were produced in 1959 and, during the next decade, motorcycle engines were adapted for karts before dedicated manufacturers started to construct engines specifically for the sport. Enthusiasm and dedication are the hallmarks of go-karting, so it’s not surprising that EasyKart’s marketing director and general manager Peter Klein fills the bill. Totally committed since his pre-teen years, Peter has the impressive achievement of European and American trophies and championships. A German-American and a civil engineer by training, Peter is married to a Thai lady and has three daughters to support. He fell in love with Thailand on his very first visit and comments that his rheumatic shoulder hates cold weather in any case. Peter and his business associates opened their go-kart business in Bangkok almost eleven years ago. Situated in the RCA Plaza, the speedway covers 7,000 square metres, making it the biggest go-kart track in Asia with annual visitors well into six figures. Unlike the Pattaya facility, EasyKart in Bangkok is undercover. The Pattaya EasyKart facility is the biggest and most hi-tech in the Eastern Seaboard resort with two tracks that can accommodate individuals and larger groups up to 500, providing three different types of karts with engine capacities varying between 100cc and 270cc. A huge overhaul and reconstruction of the entire site is scheduled for the last quarter of the year with total resurfacing among the new features. Safety is always a key concern at this professionally-run track and all necessary equipment and insurance are provided as a matter of course. There are convenient facilities attached for leisure which include a restaurant, bar and billiards area. “Our leisure area is also superb for watching the go-karts in action as this is as much a spectator as a participant sporting activity,” says Peter.
>> continued on L10