Choosing karting gear.

The FIA's karting clothing standard is aimed at abrasion, contact heat and tearing rather than fire, and karting has its own helmet standards, including separate ones for children. Rules differ between rental tracks, clubs, national federations and the FIA, so ask the place you race what it requires before you buy. Everything below is as of October 2026. For the sport itself, see karting.

Step 1: know which rules apply

• Rental karting. Each track sets its own rules. Demon Tweeks says ECE road helmets are not approved for motorsport but are acceptable at UK rental karting.
• UK club and national karting. We did not read Motorsport UK's own rules; two UK retailers publish karting helmet lists (only GSM Performance says it is citing Motorsport UK), and they disagree on older youth helmets (below).
• US karting. We found no confirmed helmet rule from a US karting organisation. Check your club's or series' current rules.
• FIA karting. FIA International Sporting Calendar karting events have FIA clothing and body protection rules, covered below.

Step 2: the helmet

Snell's current kart racing standard is K2025, preceded by K2020 and K2015. Pegasus Auto Racing describes Snell K as using the same tests as Snell SA, the auto racing standard, without SA's fire-retardant lining requirement. The FIA lists FIA 8878-2024 as its karting helmet standard; we could not read its text.

A Fast Racer retailer article says K2025 took effect on 1 October 2025 and K2020 production ends on 31 December 2026, mirroring Snell's published SA dates; we did not read a Snell schedule for K2025 itself. Snell sets no expiry date for racing use and says most organisers require the current or immediately previous Snell standard.

Young drivers

Snell and the FIA publish joint standards for children's motorsports, CM2016 and CMR/CMS2007. UK sources disagree on the older ones. Demon Tweeks says CMR2016 is mandatory for drivers under 15 and that Snell-FIA CMR2007 is not valid after 31 December 2024. GSM Performance (September 2026, citing Motorsport UK) says under-15, Cadet and Bambino drivers may use only Snell-FIA CMR or CMS helmets from 2007 or 2016, with a maximum helmet mass of 1,550 g. If you race in the UK, check Motorsport UK's current rules and the helmet's label.

Step 3: suit, gloves and shoes

FIA 8877-2022, "Protective Clothing for Karting Competitors", covers overalls, gloves and shoes:

• Grade. Grade 1 overalls are for short circuits. Grade 2 overalls, for long circuits, have much higher abrasion resistance (707 rpm in the abrasion test against 265 rpm).
• Dates. Garments are valid for five years after the year of manufacture: items made at any time in 2023 are valid until 31 December 2028. The overall's collar label shows the grade and the year validity ends.
• Gloves and shoes. Glove cuffs must be at least 80 mm long, and shoes must cover the whole foot, extend above the ankle and have hydrocarbon-resistant soles.

Older CIK-FIA suits are being phased out, and secondary sources describe the timing differently. Demon Tweeks (November 2023) says older overalls are accepted according to their label but not after 31 December 2029, with only 8877-2022 overalls accepted in FIA-compliant competition from 1 January 2030. TKART (April 2026, a sponsored article) says 8877-2022 became mandatory from 1 January 2025 at FIA International Sporting Calendar races and coexists with CIK-FIA 2013-1 suits until 2029. If you are buying a suit now, read the label and check your event's rules before relying on an older one.

Moving to cars? Car events ask for fire-resistant suits with car racing labels: SCCA Time Trials, for example, accepts FIA 8856 suits or SFI 3.2A/5 and higher. Check the label before wearing karting gear in a car. See choosing a race suit.

Step 4: rib protection

The FIA says rib injuries are the most common injury in karting. Its FIA 8870-2018 combined chest and rib protector, worn under the overall, has been mandatory for all karting competitions on the FIA International Sporting Calendar since January 2022. The FIA says a protector must withstand 60 J to the chest and 100 J to the ribs while passing on no more than 1 kN. Club and national rules outside FIA competitions were not in our sources.

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