What Size Motorsport Tent Do I Need?
The right size motorsport tent depends on what you are putting under it. As a quick guide, one bike or one kart needs a 3m x 3m, two bikes need a 3m x 4.5m, a single car needs a 3m x 6m, a drift car needs a 4m x 6m, two cars need a tent 6m wide, and a professional team needs a freestanding awning such as the MQ-65 6m x 12m.
Below, each setup is drawn to scale from above so you can see exactly how much room is left once the vehicle is in. Not sure? Request a callback and we will size it with you.
Motorsport Tent Size by Setup
| What you are covering | Recommended size | Step up to |
|---|---|---|
| One motorbike | 3m x 3m | 3m x 4.5m with spares |
| Two motorbikes | 3m x 4.5m | 3m x 6m with a crew area |
| One kart | 3m x 3m | 3m x 4.5m for two karts |
| A single seater | 3m x 6m | 4m x 6m to work round the car |
| A club race or track day car | 3m x 6m | 4m x 6m with the doors open |
| A drift car | 4m x 6m | 4m x 8m with a spare car |
| Two cars | 6m x 6m | MQ-65 6m x 8m |
| An endurance team | 4m x 10m | 4m x 8m for shorter races |
| A professional race team | MQ-65 6m x 12m | MQ-65 6m x 8m per pair of cars |
What Size Motorsport Tent Do I Need for One Bike?
For one motorbike, a 3m x 3m race tent is the right size. A typical race or track bike is around 2.1m long and 0.75m wide, so it fits across the tent with room in front for paddock stands, tyre warmers and a chair for the rider.
Go up to a 3m x 4.5m if you carry a full set of spare wheels, a generator and a tool chest, or if a friend or mechanic travels with you.
A 3m x 3m packs down small enough for most vans and goes up in minutes with one person, which matters at a busy track day.
What Size Motorsport Tent Do I Need for Two Bikes?
For two bikes, choose a 3m x 4.5m race tent. Both bikes park side by side, nose in, with about a metre between them to work, and you still have a strip at the side for tools and tyres.
If you run two bikes with a full set of spares each, or the team includes a mechanic and family, a 3m x 6m gives you a separate area to sit and eat away from the bikes.
Side walls are worth adding for bikes, because they keep rain off the tyre warmers and stop the wind lifting the tent.
What Size Motorsport Tent Do I Need for Karting?
For one kart, a 3m x 3m race tent covers the kart on its trolley with space for the driver to change and a parent or mechanic to work. A kart is around 1.9m long and 1.4m wide.
Two karts fit in a 3m x 4.5m. A kart team running three or four karts, or a driver plus coach and family, is better in a 3m x 6m or a 4m x 6m.
Club kart circuits often allocate tight pitches, so check the space you are given before you size up.
What Size Motorsport Tent Do I Need for a Single Seater?
For a single seater, a 3m x 6m race tent is the size most teams choose. A Formula Ford or Formula 4 style car is around 4m to 4.3m long, so it parks lengthways fully under cover with over a metre free at the nose for the engineer, the laptop and a set of wets.
A shorter car such as a Caterham Seven, at about 3.1m to 3.4m long, will fit in a 3m x 4.5m, although you lose most of your working room.
If you want to walk round the car with the wheels off, or keep a driver area separate, step up to a 4m x 6m.
What Size Motorsport Tent Do I Need for a Club Race or Track Day Car?
For a single club race or track day car, a 3m x 6m race tent covers the whole car lengthways with space at one end for tools. Most hatchbacks and saloons are between 3.4m and 4.5m long, so they fit under a 6m roof.
The 3m width leaves around 60cm each side of an average car, which is enough to get in and out. If you want to work on the car with the doors open or the wheels off, a 4m x 6m is far more comfortable.
Small cars such as a Citroën C1 are about 3.4m long, so a 3m x 4.5m can work for a C1 Challenge entry on a budget.
What Size Motorsport Tent Do I Need for a Drift Car?
For a drift car, a 4m x 6m race tent is the size to aim for. Drift cars such as a BMW E46 or Nissan S-chassis are around 4.4m to 4.5m long, and the extra metre of width gives you room to work on both sides at once and stack the tyres you will get through in a day.
If you run a spare car, a big tyre stack and a crew of three or more, a 4m x 8m gives you the space without stepping up to a freestanding awning.
Drift events are often on exposed airfield and circuit paddocks, so a heavier Pro 50 or Pro 60 frame and proper leg weights are worth it.
What Size Motorsport Tent Do I Need for Two Cars?
For two full-size cars, you need a tent that is 6m wide. The 6m x 6m Vantage pop up awning takes two cars side by side with a shared working lane between them. For more room, the MQ-65 freestanding awning in 6m x 8m adds space for spares and the crew.
Two small cars, such as a pair of Citroën C1s at about 3.4m each, fit nose to tail in a 4m x 8m.
A 4m wide tent will not fit two average cars side by side with room to open the doors, so if you are running two saloons or GT cars, look at the 6m wide options.
What Size Motorsport Tent Do I Need for an Endurance Team?
For an endurance team running one car, a 4m x 10m Pro 60 race tent gives you a bay for the car plus separate areas for driver changes, rest and the fuel and tyre store. Long races mean the crew lives in the tent for 12 to 24 hours, so the extra length pays for itself.
A 4m x 8m works for shorter endurance races such as a three-hour C1 or Fun Cup round.
Add side walls with a door at the driver area, and flooring underfoot, so drivers can rest out of the noise and the weather.
What Size Motorsport Tent Do I Need for a Professional Race Team?
For a professional race team running two or more cars with hospitality, the MQ-65 freestanding awning is the right structure, and the 6m x 12m is the size most national championship teams choose. It holds two cars side by side with a full engineering area, or up to four smaller cars, and a branded hospitality space for sponsors and guests.
The MQ-65 is built on a 65mm aluminium frame with 650gsm PVC covers, so it stays rigid and weatherproof for the whole weekend and looks like a permanent team base.
Most professional setups add pit garage walling, Swisstrax flooring and printed sponsor graphics to finish the space.
How to Work Out Your Race Tent Size
If your setup is not listed, measure what goes under the tent and add working room. These rules of thumb come from the setups we see most in UK paddocks.
Length
- Measure the vehicle nose to tail.
- Add at least 1m at one end for tools, tyres and a laptop.
- Add 2m or more if the crew needs a seated area under the same roof.
Width
- Measure the vehicle at its widest point.
- Add around 60cm each side to get in and out, or 1m each side to work with the doors open or the wheels off.
- Two full-size cars side by side need a tent 6m wide.
Pop Up Race Tent or Freestanding Awning?
Pop up race tents go up in minutes, pack into a van and come in sizes from 3m x 3m to 4m x 10m, plus the 6m x 6m Vantage. They suit most privateers, club teams and track day drivers.
The MQ-65 freestanding awning takes longer to build, and in return gives you a rigid 65mm aluminium frame, tight PVC walls and a permanent look. It suits multi-car teams, long race weekends and hospitality, in sizes from 4m x 6m up to 6m x 12m.
Let Us Size It With You
Tell us your vehicle, how many cars or bikes you run, how many people travel with you and whether you want hospitality space. The team will recommend a race tent or awning and the weights, walls, flooring and branding to go with it.
