Art Ingels, a driver of hot rods and a designer and builder of racing cars, mounted an engine on a frame with a set of semi-pneumatic tyres.

A bike chain drove one rear wheel and it looked flimsy but it was stable and very fast.

The concept appealed to other speed freaks and a group of them started meeting in a car park.

It didn’t take long for karting to spread around the world and it rapidly developed into a training ground for future Formula One champions.

Grand Prix legend Ayrton Senna was a runner-up in the World 100cc Sprint Kart Championships in 1979 and 1980.

World Champions Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell learnt their early racing moves in karts.

And big names in recent Grand Prix history, Michael and Ralf Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya, Rubens Barichello and David Coultard all started their racing careers in these vehicles.

And between races you’ll often find them on karting tracks refining their driving techniques.