Karting is fun for kids, but it can give them so much more.

“It just gives them a focus in life,” David Barbosa, owner of CRG Bermuda Kart Rentals, told Lifestyle.

“It gives them something they can work towards. It’s a lot of mental and physical work.”

He started renting karts to adults and children, aged seven and up, at Bermuda Motorsports Park in St David’s in January. The 42-year-old property manager has raced go-karts for 25 years. When he found the vehicles at a factory in Europe he couldn’t resist. He had seven designed to his specific requests, and brought them here in partnership with Bermuda Karting Club.

“I got involved through a friend of mine and I’ve raced ever since — Bermuda, Florida, Vegas, New Jersey, to name a few,” he said. “I went to Italy, saw the factory and it went from there. One grew after the other. They specialise in racing vehicles. They’ve been at it for the last 40-plus years.”

The karts have a hard plastic exterior with steel and pipes, and are safety-certified in Europe. The two children’s karts are fitted with a Honda 140 engine; the size jumps to 390 for the five adults’.

“It’s a big difference,” Mr Barbosa said. “Thirty miles an hour for the kids and up to 50 miles an hour in the adult karts.”

The veteran racer believed there was sufficient interest to support his business — and a similar level of talent.

“We have some really great drivers in Bermuda that can compete just as good as overseas,” he said. “We have a rider, Blake Horseman, he raced his first international race and won. That’s through the junior programme and he’s done really well.

“We have a lot of talent — Brendan Franks, Jason Norse, Scott Barnes, just to name a few. I have a nephew [Jake Pereira] that’s in karting and he’s excelled. It’s just another sporting event. That’s all it is.” Children tend to pick up the necessary skills for karting “really quickly”, he added.

“We’ve noticed since January, some kids that are nine, ten years old, we put them in the kid karts and they excel from there. Then they get in the bigger ones and they’re just as good.

“I would recommend it to anybody,” he said.

“We have one kid with autism. Ever since January, he’s just gotten faster and faster every week. He’s really, really good.”

The karts are available to rent on race days or private occasions.

Asked if it was typically a male sport, Mr Barbosa said: “Nope. Not really. We have about 50/50. We have girl parties and boy parties. It’s good for all kids.”

The first thing every child learns before they get behind the wheel is about the “safety gear”, he added.

Each person is required to wear “long pants and a sweattop”.

And there’s a waiver form. “just for safety reasons, in case of any abrasions”.

“Nothing has ever happened yet but we take all the precautions so it doesn’t happen.

We supply all the helmets, neck braces and gear and I get the person to go ahead and sit in the karts. We adjust the pedals and I give them instructions on how everything’s going to go. There are hand signals in case they get scared or panic.

“Then they just go around the track.”

Mr Barbosa said his six-year-old daughter Gabriella is “getting close” to trying a kart on her own.

“She sits in a kart everyday. She gets close to driving it. She may be a little scared, but I know she’ll do it.”

• Kart rentals are $60 for children and $75 adults. For more information contact David Barbosa: 777-1193 or crgbermudakartrentals@gmail.com