MY DRIVING skills aren’t generally too bad but try as I might, there is no way I can beat my seven-year-old son at the driving game Mario Karts on our Wii computer console.
Well not too bad if you don’t count the school run morning I drove off leaving Alex’s packed lunch on the roof of the car, or the time I remodelled the RAF Uxbridge iron fence writing off my boyfriend's car in the process.
The boyfriend eventually became the husband and father of my child so he would appear to have a forgiving nature!
When I heard about a brand new karting track in Slough, with a special area just for kids aged six plus I just knew it would be a hit in our house. Most parents with children in Hillingdon will have visited Snakes and Ladders in Slough at some point and if you know where that is, it’s very close to where you’ll find the brand spanking new Absolute Karting track. It is conveniently located opposite the Ferrari head office in Slough, yes really, there’s no better sign than the prancing horse on the yellow shield to get kids (little and big) excited about driving really fast in a real racing car!
When you arrive at Absolute Karting you can hear the roar of the cars and smell the burning rubber, you have your safety briefing first, followed by a visit to a room to get into your special safety jumpsuit. All things 80’s are back in fashion and I live by the mantra, if you wore it first time round you probably shouldn’t wear it again – little did I know I’d be sporting a fetching yellow jumpsuit and be ahead of the pack for the Spring and Summer 2009 season. All suited up, putting on gloves and helmets are next, the kids all looked hilarious in their jumpsuits and helmets that made them look as though they were extras from Doctor Who!
The staff at Absolute Karting were excellent – they spent a lot of time with the children on the Bambino track explaining what to do and making sure the children knew how to drive safely. Helpfully the pedals are coloured green for go and red for stop, and as long as you remember that and to steer you can’t go wrong. Children aged six and seven can drive on the Bambino track and if you are eight and over you can drive round different parts of the adult track – Alex now cannot wait for his eighth birthday later this year to give that a go!
It costs £20 for six to nine year olds to drive for 30 minutes, £25 for 10-15 year olds and from May children aged six plus can take part in the Race Academy driving school on Saturday mornings and be coached by karting professionals.
If your tired of the usual birthday parties they offer karting party for ages six and up starting from £225 and you can either bring in your own food or chose to have party food delivered by Subway.
I put the pedal to the metal and had loads of fun around the adult track but I won’t be beating any track records with a performance that was definitely more Driving Miss Daisy than Fast and Furious!
For more informatinon visit www.absolute-karting.co.uk or contact 0845 026 24 66.
Absolute Carting is in leigh Road, Slough Trading Estate.
