VIDEO: Niagara Fall’s real-life “Super Mario” go-kart track up and running

Published March 8, 2022 at 11:53 am

This weekend (March 12), Niagara Fall’s answer to a real-life Super Mario racetrack for go-karts is reopening for a new season.

The Niagara Speedway, which first opened on June 1, 2018, will be back in business – weather pending – this Saturday at noon for budding speedsters who want to drive the video game for real.

The course at the top of Clifton Hill, the largest elevated go-kart track facility in North America and is also the first of its kind in Canada, is 2,000 feet long and includes a four-storey spiral, multiple ramps throughout, another spiral and basically combines the adrenaline inducing thrill of kart racing with the remarkable experience of a roller coaster ride.

Most drivers say the hair-pin turns and elevated bouncy ramps are the most exciting part of the track.

The karts are powered by a large 4 stroke Honda motor, boasting 9 HP with a maximum track speed of 32 km/hr.

Tickets are priced at $12 for a five minute race for drivers while passengers pay $4 for the race. Drivers with passengers must be at least 18 years old and four-foot-10. Passengers have to be at least three-foot-four.