Kartplex at Area 27 officially opened with Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve racing the track he designed

Area 27's grand ‘re-opening’ of their Kartplex track showcased young talent, the launch of the fastest rental kart in North America and a chance to race with Formula 1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve in Oliver on Thursday.

“Even though the business has been open for two and a half years, this is the first time we've seen Jacques on the property since he originally designed and signed contracts,” Craig Finer, president of Kartplex Racing Corporation said.

The process began over six years ago and took another three years before the team broke ground to build the track. Then the pandemic delayed Villeneuve from coming to see the facility in person.

“When we started Area 27, which was the big track to have an outlet to drive cars, there were a lot of people out to drive cars, but then there was also the goal to drive a proper go-kart track,” Villeneuve said.

“Because a lot of kids want to race, that's the best way to get into racing and there wasn't a proper facility in the area.”

Unlike Area 27’s private race car track for members, the Kartplex is open to the public and encourages everyone to take a spin. It's one of kind for the seven-day-a-week retail facilities, professional mechanics and coaches on site.

“If you're an adrenaline junkie, if you like BMX bikes, downhill skiing, or snowboarding or if you just like going fast or anything like that, to be perfectly honest with you, this is the safest extreme sport,” Finer said.

“From kids to grandparents. There's not much limit on that then. And racing or just driving on a racetrack has gained interest…it's great to see how it's evolved. You know, in the 70s people would just drive fast on the road. That's done. Now you drive fast on racetracks,” Villeneuve added with a chuckle.

But if racers do get hooked on the sport and decide they want to become serious, the track has plenty of options.

“So we go from our sort of what we call drop and go-karting, arrive and drive, go-karting for the retail public. And then we have club-level racing, regional-level racing, a driving academy, coaches and now we have an international racing team,” Finer said.

The state-of-the-art 1.21 km circuit was designed to be "rhythmic, fun, fast, and technical" and boasts a brand-new fleet of rental karts reaching speeds of up to 80 kph.

"If you're into Motorsports and you are like me, grew up watching Formula One, and dreamed of driving things fast, but never could afford it or didn't want to wreck your dads whatever it was, this is a great way to do it affordably and safely," Finer added.

Members of the media were invited to race the track with the TB Kart R series, which were thrilling and zippy to take out on the circuit.

The day also introduced the launch of the new Villeneuve Kart, the fastest rental kart in North America. These require special qualifications in order to drive.

“There's always the issue of who do you allow to drive it because when it's fun, you don't realize that it can actually be dangerous, you can do a lot of damage. So it's more of the mindset behind it so it's not open to everyone, you have to go through a certain loop to get to it,” Villeneuve said.

“But we're quite proud of it. Because it's as far as rental cars go, it's quite fast. You're not flat around the whole lap.”

Villeneuve took time on Thursday evening to answer questions from the track’s racing team and go out on the circuit with them.

“Jacque is our ambassador. He's our brand, so to speak,” Finer said. “He will hopefully continue to help us inspire young kids to get involved with motorsports, help us guide kids through the path of rising up through the sort of food chain of competition from local amateur up to international.”

“It's just incredible to have a mentor like that somebody who's literally been there and done that and won everything there is to win in motorsports available to our young kids.”

To find out more about the Kartplex, visit their website here.