THIRTY YEARS PROVIDING PREMIUM GO-KART EXPERIENCES
It's our 30th Birthday today and what a ride it has been. From the humble beginnings in West London, to (in our humble opinion) establishing ourselves as the best in the business. We’ve looked after 2.5 million guests over thirty years, won the highest possible awards in the industry and had a huge amount of fun whilst doing it.
Daytona was conceived in a lock up in Putney, London SW15. Initially we started with the single indoor circuit at Wood Lane opposite the BBC Television Centre. Daytona Raceway quickly established a reputation as the go to place in London for the best night out.
Daytona has always entertained the Stars with Hollywood celebrities and royalty making regular visits. We opened the second circuit in 1992 followed by Daytona Milton Keynes in 1995. The business went from strength to strength and was then sold to the Brands Hatch leisure Group in 1999 for £5.5m. The indoor circuit at Trafford Park in Manchester was then built in 2000 and Daytona Sandown Park acquired a year later.
The business then passed to Octagon Motorsport, part of the Interpublic Group until the original business founders reacquired the business in 2003 for $3. The acquisition of Lydd Kart circuit followed by Daytona Tamworth in 2015. The business has since divested Lydd and Manchester and now comprises venues at Sandown Park, Milton Keynes and Tamworth. Along the way we also picked up a couple of venues in the US- in Indianapolis and Minneapolis. Both have now been divested.
Since inception the business has entertained over two and a half million people, currently carries the highest tripadvisor ratings possible and is widely recognised as the benchmark for the industry.
We spoke with Daytona CEO, Charles Graham, who started the company all those years ago.
"It has been an amazing ride and Daytona has always invoked so much passion both within the team and the guests. We’ve been first with so many things from the huge lightshow at Wood Lane that was purchased from Peter Gabriel, the video Briefings bringing in Rotax Engined karts with the Dmax Championship and taking over Wembley Stadium to put on a 24 Hour race, celebrity shareholders coupled with amazing venues and when we couldn’t get the hardware we needed and wanted, building our own go-karts. I feel so lucky to have been involved with the business although it has felt more like a way of life. Here's to the next episode…"
