Governor-Free Go Karts

Well I was at my local fun complex today and I had a buy-one-get-one free coupon for the Go Karts. I was the only one at the Go Karts at the time(other than the ops) so they pulled out the governor and got and awesome race with the ride ops(since riding by yourself was not allowed).

Has anyone else gotten a governor free ride?

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If Milli Vanilli fell in the woods, would someone else make a sound ?

No, but I've had rides where my governor seems to be set lower than everyone else's. It's embarrassing to be lapped, especially when all you want to do is go faster.

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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.

Two places actually. The first one is up by Elkart Lake, Wisconsin. It is near the Road America racing track. A lot of professional racers hang out there on race weekends. Great place to go go-karting. The other place is just outside of Minoqua, WI. Those are some fast carts. I had to actually let up on the accelerator to make some of the turns going that fast.

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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

At a local track here they have two types of go-carts that run on the same track. Your standard run-of-the-mill fiberglass saftey cars which you pay a buck a lap for or whatever the cost is. And then you've got your semi-pro racing cars with a four point harness, aluminum chasis, bigger engine and for which you pay $5 bucks a LAP for. You also have to have a valid drivers license to drive these and there's special instructions about overtaking other drivers. But it's a fairly big track so you get your money's worth. It was a lot of fun racing against all the other slower cars I can tell you. You can really pull some Gs around those corners. :)

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Kevin Stone
NoLimits Roller Coaster Simulator
http://www.nolimitscoaster.de

I don't know what a governor is. Is it something they put in to limit the karts speed?

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Check out this awesome park!http://games.coasterbuzz.com/filedetail.aspx?GameFileID=3001

The governors do make it an uneven "race" and for that reason I don't find karts fun, since you can't really be competitive.

The one exception I knew of was Malibu Racing, where you raced the clock and they used mini-Indy cars that had some serious balls to them, so much so that you couldn't operate them without a real driver's license. The one in Columbus went out of business, but I assume others still exist?

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com - Sillynonsense.com
"Pray that your country undergoes recovery!" - KMFDM

There's a Malibu Racing in Houston, TX, near the Galleria Mall. It's clearly visible from I-610, but as I only passed it in the early morning, or the late night, I didn't get the chance to see if it was still open for business.

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--Maddie--
What do I Listen-To?

The Columbus Malibu kicked butt. The track is still there, two years after it closed, overgrown with weeds. That place also had one of the best selections of classic arcade games in town. :(

I don't know if they all closed, but I know the one in Dayton (Miamisburg, actually) closed long before the Columbus one did.

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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.
*** This post was edited by Den 6/17/2003 5:43:55 PM ***

One in Atlanta.

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This place would be be a nightmare for midgets.

There are still some Malibu tracks:

http://www.malibugrandprix.com/

Enjoy.

Edit: Here is an overhead view of the one in Columbus.

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Please visit the small parks. We don't know what's happening behind the scenes
Woodencoaster.com
*** This post was edited by bigkirby 6/17/2003 6:09:48 PM ***

Rapid Raceway right nest to Fun Spot in Angola has a killer oval track inside. It's a slick track and extremely competitive with what amounts to basically quarter midget race cars. They are very fast and have loads of power. They require a drivers license and have a 4 point harness. It's only 5 bucks for 10 minutes.

There outdoor track is great as well with very competitive cars a large road course and it's only 4 bucks for 10 minutes.

Both are WELL worth the price. The best Karts I have ever drove.

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UnfrigginbelievablyIncredible

I remeber when I was at Bland's Park in Penn.(I don't know if it has recently been renamed) The go kart track there is huge and I remember the karts were super fast. That was definitely my favorite go kart track.

ooooh I am so pissed now, one of those malibu gran prix tracks was in walking distance from my hotel in Houston and I didnt even know about it!

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If Milli Vanilli fell in the woods, would someone else make a sound ?

*** This post was edited by Eurpo-mir 6/17/2003 10:16:21 PM ***

It is now called DelGrosso's Park, and they do have a great Go-Kart track :)

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"If you make it too smooth, it'll be like sitting in your living room."
-Bill Cobb - Designer, Texas Cyclone

Random tidbit about the former Malibu in Columbus... it is now an "International" Charter School. It's interesting driving by and seeing the kids on the "playground" consisting of the pits and part of the track. :)

Malibu Entertainment also owns the Mountasia Fun Center chain, many of which have gone kerplop as well (including Columbus'). Going by it is sorta like seeing an abandoned amusement park... empty boarded-up building, weed-choked mountain golf course, abandoned bumper boat pool and go-kart track... :(

I used to live within walking distance of Malibu when I was younger... I miss those "grown-up" karts and all those games (even if a lot of them were broken)! :(

Anybody know of any good tracks in Ohio?

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This post is depressing me. Where's my Zoloft? :)
*** This post was edited by jimmybob 6/18/2003 12:30:10 AM ***

Indoor European-style kart racing is finally beginning to make its way to the States. It features real karts with no governors. Drivers are usually provided with a full-face helmet and a driving suit. Here's a link to the track that I used to frequent when I lived in DC: Allsports GP.

It is a bit expensive, but real race fans will appreciate the authenticity of the experience. In fact, real racecar drivers sometimes show up at these joints. When I lived in Paris, I had the pleasure of karting with members of the American Le Mans Series Audi Sport Racing Team! They kicked my behind, but I loved every second of it!

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Rich Genthner / PTC99

The City of Industry in So Cal also has a Malibu Speed Zone, and damn do those things fly. The mini F-1 cars are awesome, and driving the mini Dragster cars (like at SFKK) is truely a great rush.

Anyways, we have another local family fun ceneter, Mulligans, and I've never gotten the chance to have a Govenor-Free ride.

Ooh, free head sock! ;)

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A day is a drop of water in the ocean of eternity. A week is seven drops.

Yup, so yer head don't catch fire when ya toss one uh them lil' buggers into the wall.

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Rich Genthner / PTC99

I'm with the other guy, what are governors?

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President, C.R.A.P. (Coaster Rescurers And Preservationists).

Governors simply limit the top speed of a kart. Actually, many cars and trucks now have top speed governors as well.

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Rich Genthner / PTC99