I headed yesterday to Mtein to try out the newest and one of the biggest karting track in the Middle East: Racing Park Mtein Lebanon. I picked up Gino who was there few days before and headed to Mtein, which is 10 minutes away from Bikfaya. Getting to the track was relatively easy and took around 40 minutes from Jounieh. Once you get there, there’s a huge parking lot where you can easily park and walk to the circuit.
Before racing, I had a small chat with one of the owners and he’s very passionate about his project. He told me that people have been coming since 11 am to the track even though they open at 2 on Saturdays and 4 on weekdays and that everyone’s loving the track. He also briefed me on some future plans, and how they will be holding competitions soon and allowing sports cars to use the track. Summer camps will also be organized for kids who wish to learn how to kart.
There are 3 types of CRG karts currently available, the 7HP for kids, the 9HP for adults and the 13HP which is a two-seater. Note that CRG is a world-wide leading company in karting, and a lot of famous F1 drivers like Michael Schumacher, Schumacher, Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen and Robert Kubica started their career driving CRG karts.
As you can see, the karts are brand new and look really cool. Similarly, the helmets are all matt-black, clean and very comfy.
As far as the circuit is concerned, it’s by far the best karting circuit I’ve ever driven on. It’s a very fast yet slightly demanding track and includes small climbs and drops. Moreover, the road is very wide and the tarmac is perfect. I took the 9HP kart and it felt much faster than the ones I used to drive at Pit Stop in Zouk, not to mention that the handling was much better and the grip as well. My favorite turns were the 2nd and 3rd one and the last one after the long straight. Don’t slow down while taking the final turn as you don’t need to and it feels great driving through it at full speed.
As soon as I finished my first run, I stayed in the kart and directly went for a second time. It’s really a great track and I am going back in a couple of weeks with my brother and some friends. One thing I forgot to ask about is whether we will be able to see our lap times once everything is completed as it would be a cool feature to have. Price-wise, they are very reasonable and vary between 20 and 25,000 for 10 minute ride. The opening hours are as follows:
Mon: 4:00 pm – 12:00 am
Tue: 6:00 pm – 12:00 am
Wed: 4:00 pm – 12:00 am
Thu: 6:00 pm – 12:00 am
Fri: 4:00 pm – 12:00 am
Sat: 2:00 pm – 12:30 am
Sun: 9:00 am – 12:30 am
I wasn’t able to get any videos this time but I will try to get a GoPro with me the next time. If you need more info on RPM, check their facebook page [Here].
Picture via Biser3a
