The Tilbury Go-Kart Track

The go-kart track at the Dock Road end  of Tilbury, is rumoured to disappear to make way for a large lorry park, maybe this year (2013) or in the near future.

It has been there since the 1970s or more and the ground will go from green belt to brown belt. So if it does, the memory of Tilbury go -kart track will be worth keeping for the future of Tilbury.

Tilbury Go-Kart entrance
from John Smith
Tilbury Go-Kart track in the 1990s
from John Smith
Tilbury Go-Kart track rules sign
from John Smith
Tilbury Go-Kart track
from John Smith
Go-Karts at Tilbury
from John Smith
Off the track
from John Smith
On the track
from John Smith
Run down cabin on site
from John Smith
Go-Kart racing
from John Smith
The track
from John Smith

Comments about this page

Add your own comment

  • Hi!

    Many races I did there, plenty of podiums as well. Great times with Dartdord Karting.

    By Thomas Tom Jakobitsch, the crazy Austrian (10/10/2023)
  • Ah! So many memories, I was a member and raced? in the 210 villiers class, A blow kart with an Aubery Upton engine, from around 1968 until 1971 when the choice had to be made new tyres or carpets in our newly purchased house, will always remember Terry Arnold complete with pipe in mouth showing me, a complete novice, how I should be driving my Kart around the circuit. Such a great bunch of guys always willing to help, especially getting me back on the track after I’d gone off

    By George Warner (07/09/2023)
  • Only just found this, while watching karting on TV, I went to Tilbury a few times with a mate who had a 100 kart, we shared it, I had a car licence so had to transport the kart hanging out the boot of a Mk2 Consul, We watched a few races some weekends, I remembered the name Ricky Grice, knew of The Weatherlys as I lived in Dartford, remember Dartford Karting too, as I used the Cafe they owned. Another name from Karting I recall was Lorraine Peck, who I think was tragically killed in a racing accident .

    By Paul (18/06/2023)
  • My name Carl Harris I’m Bob Harris son and I ran the Tilbury for 2 years leaving on site in a carvan I built the motor cross track on the rear field.New mark Tredwell and his repair shop on site

    By Carl Harris (24/02/2023)
  • Such a shame, I’ve only just found out it closed as I’ve been living overseas for 20 years…
    On my 12th Birthday in 1980 I sat in Dartford Karting’s shop and watched the mechanic build my Dart Kart with a 100cc Hewland Arrow engine & Tilbury was the tack I knew the most… I’ll never forget that UK coastline shaped track.

    So many fond memories & not enough wins! But all fun times had

    By Derek Ash #29 (21/02/2023)
  • 9 year old Jonny Herbert under age, Wayne Homer jumping the grid, Mark. Tredwell with Dad Ted, Terry Gray, Jackie Brown, John Wetherley with my team mate Richard, Ricky Grice and many more. I raced there and loved the place….. went on to things up to F1 so it was great with memories

    Tom Hicks

    By Tom Hicks (29/11/2022)
  • Great days were had. Banger 42.

    By Stephen Byne (09/02/2022)
  • You don’t mention Jim Cruttenden
    The man behind the kart track, open all the time.
    Dedicated to providing a kart track and everything else you would need, whilst there for the day.
    The Man who created Dartford Karting.
    Jim is in retirement now. Traveling the country taking photographs, he now has time to be a professional photographer , he has the most amazing photos and is currently preparing for his first book of photographs.
    Jim is very happy in his well deserved retirement, often with a smile on his face !

    By Tracy (30/12/2021)
  • Remember going there in the 60s with my dads kit kart, 1 wheel direct drive ,JLO engine, W shape steering wheel, I must been about 10 absolutely love the smell of 2 stroke !
    Went back in the 80s and raced Britain class with Dart /Arrow

    By Alan Tinsley (21/08/2021)
  • Hi. I too raced here early to late 70s with my BM, and K77 engines plus a barlotte chassis, they were good and exciting days, no one had a big bank balance we used to arrive with a trailer and a few spares. what we didn’t have we asked fellow racers for and return the part at the end of the day, the karts were plain and simple. I remember the lap score caravan sitting on the start and finish line, we queued on the dummy grid in the paddock area waiting for the famous words VISORS DOWN ROLL THEM. The last time I raced there think I was in fourth place from near the back when I got to close to the tire wall coming off the main straight daring myself not brake and hitting the tires bouncing off them and driving into them head on after being catapulted out of my kart the fist thing I saw was Terry Arnold asking me if I was ok ? thank you for your concern. I think Terry raced a villers 210 . Tilbury was my fist track and sad to hear its gone with a lot of memories not only mine but drivers from the past.

    By Gordon Ebers (16/06/2021)
  • I was a member of the London Kart Club at Tilbury during the mid 1970’s and raced in a Deavinson Sprint and Komet K88,as a novice there and then 100cc National class.I remember going down the straight flat out and just putting my hand over the air intake at the end of the straight to slow the kart and oil the piston as I lifted off, and took the bend at great speed with a big grin on my face.Good times and great memories.

    By richard borgust. (21/04/2021)
  • I first raced at Tilbury in the 1962 on a Progress Villiers. I returned in 1968 as a member of the London Kart Club and had 3 good years racing a Blow Suzuki with much success.

    By Mike Attwood (09/01/2019)
  • Bob Harris was telling me this whole story about buying the land from Mountain Man Dean in the 60s and working to build the track and bringing in the old tires from his tire shops for the barries and how he had aquired the fly ash for berms. After telling me the story we googled the track and he was very excited to see it is still in use.

    By Terry Schartz (22/09/2018)
  • I raced 100cc karts Junior, National and International from around 1967 to 78 then went on to formula cars. Countless races at Tilbury and many fond memories of a circuit that became my favourite. Remember my first outing as a junior being totally left behind until I mastered the hairpin but once I did there was no looking back. 

    By Geoffrey Davies (30/08/2017)
  • If you register as a user, you can upload pictures yourself. Alternatively, if you send them to enquiries@tilburyandchadwellmemories.org.uk I can put them on the site for you.

    By John Matthews (09/09/2016)
  • What an amazing circuit   blasting around here on 100cc direct drive karts   never before in my life have  I ever come off a kart  struggling to breath with the adrenalin  pumping  track was not for the faint hearted  setting off from Leicester  around 5am on a Sunday morning to be at the circuit  for 8.30am all excited  even went down there just after it had snowed  bloody stupid when you think about it but Jim being Jim drove around the  track in his van spreading salt over the track   what a guy so we could have our fun great great days    I have some pics is there anyway I can put some on   

    By Adam Bonner (08/09/2016)
  • What a shame this track has gone. We travelled regularly from Leicester to blast round this track with the 100cc direct drive engine SCREAMING!!!!.  It was a long day for us but OMG it was worth it. Still talk about it now with my brother and mates. How we used to have a job walking the next day. And Jim plodding round mowing the grass on his mini tractor as we hurtled round BRILL MEMORIES….

    By Lee Bonner (06/09/2016)
  • Percy your memory is brilliant, I too remember the flapping track I used to drive the old lorry propped up on sleepers with a tyre removed and the cable wrapped around it pulling an old weighted sack to represent the hare you had to keep the revs just right so the dogs didn’t catch the hare, had riots there one night when the lorry ran out of petrol all bets were void,not happy bunny’s excuse the pun, Man Mountain Dean was bed ridden for most of his life due to a stunt going wrong whilst making a film, I met him at his bungalow near Romford he had a massive bed that was electrically controlled to lift him upright, he certainly was a giant but also a nice man

    By andy reynolds (28/03/2015)
  • I think that the dirt track oval was in the field to the north of what became the go kart track.

    The oval is shown on the 1961 O/S map but the cart track does not appear until the 1971 addition.

    By B Meldon (27/03/2015)
  • I used to race at Tilbury around 1976 till 82 great times and people. I remember Graham and Terry Arnold, Jack Mailer, Johnny Herbert off course! Bill Sisley!

    Mick Hill

    By Mick Hill (03/11/2014)
  • As I recall it the Go-Kart track along with a greyhound flapping track appeared in the very early 60’s courtesy of the wrestler Man Mountain Dean.

    By Percy Dalton (17/10/2014)
  • I remember coming to Tilbury Go Kart track in the early 60’s. At the time I lived in Upminster and my dad had built two karts with lawn mower engines. I was only 5 or 6 at the time but can remember spending many happy hours whizzing round the track at about 20 mph!!. I was a part of my childhood that I will always remember.

    By Keith Ives (15/10/2014)
  • has any one got a number to contact this race track please 

    By Sam (04/02/2014)
  • my dad raced at tilbury & was track champion pete marshall along side rose his wife who also raced ,graham Jackson was number 69 & in the same team ,if the back field was to muddy then the racing would be moved on to the kart track I have numerous photos of the racing & mum & dad there up until close in 1979 ,I myself began racing for fun at tilbury in 1999 up until track closing in 2013 ,we will all miss jim & the crew very much & are now all regulars at rye house,tony marshall

    By tony marshall (26/01/2014)
  • I used to run the banger racing with Colin Graves. Colin used to have the car sales in Jack Rourkes yard in Dock Road. The race meetings were run for charity and we had a number of events in Tilbury and Dunton. One meeting was on the Go Cart track, but the bangers damaged the surface of the track so subsequent meetings were on the grass behind the club house. The ground was so boggy when it was wet that we had to give up at Tilbury.

    By Cliff Cowin (23/10/2013)
  • Ah yes – I remember that this was a dirt track in the beginning where banger car racing took place ! I recall going there as a lad and coming home filthy 🙂

    By Steve Kimmings (22/10/2013)

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.