K1 Speed was born in 2003 from a simple vision – the idea of creating the first indoor e-kart experience. Of course, go-karting is not a new idea, and even electric karts have been around since the 1970s. Go-karting was typically associated with dusty outdoor tracks, or tracks in empty warehouses, with an almost entirely male audience. But K1 Speed wanted to take the concept to a whole new level.
“We decided to be different, to create an e-karting location that was elevated in terms of the experience, the look, and the feel of it,” says David Danglard, who founded the business with his wife Susan Danglard. “We put real race cars on display with other racing memorabilia and provided a lounge for rest and social times alongside a Paddock Lounge for food and beverages. It was miles away from the old context of a warehouse with tyres and petrol.”
But K1 Speed’s model is about more than a stylish venue. They are literally a game changer. By introducing a cutting-edge telemetry system K1 Speed is able to calculate the full gamut of results and statistics to show customers how they have performed on the track.
“Racers can earn points, creating their K1 Racing Score,” Danglard tells us. “You can compare your performance against the people you have been racing against, complete annual challenges, and receive challenge experience points.”
It is a way of giving racers access to the full, professional racing experience.
“We are offering a true experience, like the one you would see in racing. We provide racers with sector times, fastest laps, best of the week, best of the month, and the average fastest by position,” Danglard says. “We also have the points system that gives racers a ranking across every single K1 Speed centre.”
But this is not just about competition. It is also about making racing more inviting to a larger audience.
As Danglard points out, “That was part of the culture we always wanted to have, to be much more welcoming.”
The Open Road
And by welcoming, Danglard means welcoming to everyone.
“The biggest change we have brought about is that we have gone from an average gender-make-up of 5% women, to 35% women today. That is the big difference that you see when you make yourself more appealing to everyone,” Danglard says.
But K1 Speed is also about opening up racing to the next generation, boys and girls, not just as a potential market, but as a way to keep the sport alive.
“The six-year-old that walks into your e-karts centre will be the 27-year-old that is going professional 21 years later,” says Danglard. “So, we brought in more junior karts to cater to six to ten and eleven-year-olds.”
K1 Speed is not just appealing to children. It appeals to the whole spectrum of racers, from six-year-olds to corporate clients to older people just out to have a good time. But K1 does not just cater to all of these customers, it creates a bespoke experience to suit each customer segment.
“An adult coming to us will not have the experience of visiting a little kid place. At weekends you might see more juniors and families, while during the week you will find more adults here doing group events or company outings, and we adapt our offering to serve each group,” Danglard explains. “We offer a wide range of services and experiences, not just a place for small kids or corporate days out or full-on petrolheads.”
Selling the Vision
Today K1 Speed has an offering that appeals to all kinds of people. But it has not always been this way. Back in 2003, the concept was a hard sell.
“Our first branch was a tough sell because we were in Carlsbad, California, which is widely considered a golf place,” Danglard says. “It was difficult to convince the town, who thought it was just going to be go-karts in a warehouse. but we came here, we got a permit and people realised this was nothing like what they thought it was going to be.”
In 2006 the company opened up its second branch, and by the time it opened up its third branch a year later, it was being welcomed as a great new addition to the community.
“This year we are celebrating 20 years of racing, across ten countries and a hundred locations, and we will continue to grow,” Danglard tells us with confidence.
Many of the staff that will be celebrating that 20th anniversary are people who have been with the company since the start. By its nature, K1 Speed is a company that hires a lot of young people, and takes on a lot of seasonal work, but as a family-owned business that frequently promotes from within, it also inspires loyalty among its 2,800 employees.
“We try to select enthusiastic individuals. We are an entertainment company, there is turnover and seasonality, but overall, we have done very well to keep a lot of staff. Lots of great staff came to us as 18-year-olds and are still with us 20 years later,” Danglard notes proudly. “It has been interesting building this business from scratch and seeing everyone grow, evolve, and build.”
Evolving and building are definitely on the agenda. Danglard wants K1 Speed to be a global brand, and it has already acquired six stores in Italy, with another two opening shortly, as well as continuing to expand in the UK with three existing sites and two more on the way.
“Our plan is to open a dozen or so in the UK, and hopefully expand our EU presence through Belgium, France, and Italy,” Danglard says. “We are building a larger global footprint while continuing to grow in the US where we still have a lot to do. Here we are planning another 25 stores, with one opening every month.”
Out of the Warehouse
But the Danglards’ vision is not limited to indoor go-karting tracks. They are also looking to take K1 further into the motorsport arena.
“We are close to opening our first K1 Circuit, a special place here in Southern California,” Danglard reveals. “We have spent $2o million to create a track that can compete with Formula One-level specifications. We have had conversations about hosting world finals at the highest levels. It has not been dull!”
For Danglard, this is the next piece of the puzzle.
“The six-year-old walking into one of our centres now has the path towards professional racing,” he tells us, “We are building the first fully sustainable track ever. E-karts are in our DNA. We are open to any kind of racing events, but our spec series will be e-kart outdoor track racing, on a track entirely supported by solar panels. It is a cool concept.”
Alongside, K1 Speed is launching its new range of K1 race gear.
“What we have accomplished has come full circle. You can walk in and have a birthday party or work event, but if you want to go professional, we can supply all the gear,” Danglard says. “Nobody has done that. We will also be investing in more outdoor tracks. We will have a good half a dozen ready to host big events ourselves and launch our own spec series.”
