York Motorsports Village, established in 1997 is a premier go-karting centre on the outskirts of York.

Operating from a large 22,000 sqft site, they maintain a split level National Karting Association (NKA) approved track and provide karting sessions to groups, parties and corporates from 10am – 9pm, 7 days a week.

York Motorsports had recently undergone a large refurbishment programme at the hands of owner Ian Yeowart and manager Phil Hannington, to rejuvenate their facilities, however as part of this they realised that they needed to replace their ageing go-karts with newer models.

They got in touch with us and requested help to finance the lease of 12 SODI RT8 240cc go-karts. SODI are a French, 30-year established company and are the number 1 kart manufacturer in the world. They also modernised the track, updated their hospitality facilities, including a new bar, and also installed a Formula 1 simulator!

The Formula 1 simulator they now use was developed by Cranfield University (the only wholly postgraduate university for aerospace and automotive) and distributed through their commercial arm Cranfield Motorsport Simulation (CML).

It has applications in driver coaching, engineer training, simulated testing, gaming, special events, and various others. Mercedes, Fortec, Renault and a host of other big names have already invested heavily in this technology but with the cost of the technology dropping in recent years it has now leant itself perfectly to the gaming and entertainment industries.

By coming to Johnson Reed for help with their finance requirements, we were able to provide a very tax-efficient leasing package to Ian and Phil, allowing them to get the equipment they need upfront but to pay it back over a fixed term with fixed payments.

We look forward to the continued success of York Motorsports Village, and highly encourage anyone up in York to go on a track day!