Michael Schumacher drove in his first kart race at
the age of five. Although father Rolf was not enthusiastic about his son's expensive
kart ambitions, the boy was able to pursue his career because from time to time
he received financial support from local sponsors. Rolf had built his first kart
and registered him in the Kart-Club Kerpen-Horrem.
His enthusiasm for kart-driving
continued to grow. In 1980, the members of the Kerpen kart club built a new track
in Manheim, a suburb of Kerpen. Michael and his brother Ralf spent every free
minute there. Michael was still too young for championship races and he had to
wait until 1983 for his German kart licence. In 1984, he promptly became German
Junior Champion. In 1985 he won the German Junior Championships again and also
came second in the Junior World Championships in Le Mans. In 1986 he took part
in the German Senior Kart Championships for the first time, and at his very first
attempt came third in the final rankings. The same thing happened at the European
Senior Championships. In 1987 he had his greatest triumph yet, Michael Schumacher
won both the German and the European Senior Kart Championships.
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