I live with a rev head. You know, one of those blokes who morphs into a zombie when the F1 is on, and stops in his tracks when a Ferrari roars past. So when Power Kart Raceway opened up in Griffith, I knew it was only a matter of time before we would be paying them a visit.

From the outside, the cavernous building looks like a giant’s tool shed. The track, surrounded by white barricades, takes up most of the inside. It snakes around the room as the karts zip past. Closing my eyes, it sounds like an episode of the Jetsons.

Thankfully, given the Canberra weather the track, the marshalling area and the small café are all beautifully heated.

We haven’t booked, but at 10am on a cold Sunday morning there’s no queue. The assistant behind the counter explains there is an annual race fee of $10, which buys you a license and an extremely attractive head sock to wear under your helmet (just like the real F1 drivers mind you). I sign up, and as each race is 14 laps, we decide just one will do for my first time ($29). After a mandatory safety video – we’re led out to select our helmets.

This is probably a good time to share a couple of pointers for those who are a little speed challenged like myself.

• Pull the head sock right down so it doesn’t block your visibility.
• Choose a tight fitting helmet (they are spotless by the way) that isn’t too big – an average female will probably be a medium.
• Finally, if the pedals seem too far away, ask for a backrest to push you forward, don’t be shy because it’ll make your drive a lot more comfortable.

With some trepidation, I’m strapped into the kart. The helmet is bulkier than I expected and I feel a little top heavy. My race name (Girlracer in case you were wondering) lights up on the leader board and all of a sudden we’re off!

My heart is in my mouth as I manoeuvre through the curves and cautiously alternate between the accelerator and the brake. The same can’t be said for my two companions, who have floored it and are hurtling around the track. The maximum speed for one of these karts is 50km/hr so it’s certainly no kid’s toy.

I’m not a natural driver but the karts are easy to steer, very similar to driving a car and have a surprisingly good turning circle – good to know when you go through the U-turn halfway through the course. I swing the wheel hard right and narrowly miss one of the barricades. Phew.

My relief is short lived, and after taking the next curve too quickly, I slam into one of the barricades. They are softer that you think. My advice? Don’t be too scared to bump up your speed – it’s fairly hard to do any serious damage and you’ll be surprised at how responsive the karts are.

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I see a blue flag and pull over to the left to let one of the other drivers overtake. Wrong move, in this world, slow drivers move to the right. The race marshal appears to have seen drivers like myself before and the next time round pulls out a sign “MOVE TO THE RIGHT”. I laugh, wave and comply. Three laps later and I’m starting to get the hang of this – when to brake and when to floor it. Maybe I still have a career as a F1 driver…

One of the boys completes 14 laps, the chequered flag is waved and the race comes to an end. The attendants retrieve our helmets and hand over our race times. I’m almost 50% slower than the race record, but my heart is still thumping from the adrenalin rush and I’ve made it through without any injuries. Even if you’re not a speed demon, the karts are certainly worth a try and they even do gift vouchers for the rev head in your life. Note to self, don’t do this again so close to breakfast.

 The essentials

What: Power Kart Raceway
When: Seven days a week
Where: 125 Canberra Avenue, Griffith
Web: Powerkarts.com.au