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2026 Karting European Championship

57th edition of the CIK-FIA European Championship From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2026 Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship was the 57th edition of the CIK-FIA European Championship, a kart racing competition organised and sanctioned by the Commission Internationale de Karting (CIK-FIA). The European Championship was held in four open classes—OK, OK-J, KZ, and KZ2—as well as two arrive-and-drive classes: Senior (A&D-S) and Junior (A&D-J).

OK and OK-J were held across four rounds between 9 April and 2 August at La Conca, Italy; Valencia, Spain; Mülsen [de], Germany; and Kristianstad, Sweden. KZ and KZ2 were held across two rounds between 21 May and 5 July at Genk, Belgium; and Sarno, Italy. The inaugural arrive-and-drive European Championship was held in A&D-S and A&D-J on 17–19 July at Słomczyn, Poland—the international debut for the circuit.

The senior class, OK, was won by reigning junior World Champion Noah Baglin, holding off compatriot Zac Drummond and Dean Hoogendoorn. Will Green of Williams dominated the junior OK-J division over Daniel Mirón. The professional KZ gearbox class was won by Émilien Denner, ahead of Danilo Albanese and Viktor Gustavsson. With victory in the final race, 17-year-old Kimi Tani beat former OK World Champion Matheus Morgatto and Maximilian Schleimer to the KZ2 title. The arrive-and-drive contest was dominated by Polish drivers, with Kacper Turoboyski (A&D-S) and Maksymilian Piątek (A&D-J) emerging victorious.

Background

The Commission Internationale de Karting (CIK-FIA) was founded in 1962 and held the first CIK-FIA European Nations' Cup that year, which was won by Great Britain.[1] The individual CIK-FIA European Championship was inaugurated eight years later and became the secondary international title to the CIK-FIA World Championship.[2] It began utilising a multi-round format around 1991.[3] As of the beginning of 2026, six previous European Champions had progressed to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship,[note 1] while Marco Ardigò won a record five titles between 2005 and 2016.[5] The reigning European Champions were Christian Costoya (OK), Dean Hoogendoorn (OK-J), Mattéo Spirgel (KZ), Maksim Orlov (KZ2), and Antonio Piccioni (KZ2-M).[6][7][8]

Classes

There were six classes—two open direct-drive classes, two open gearbox classes, and two arrive-and-drive classes—contested across the 2026 season:[9]

  • Original Kart (OK), the senior direct-drive class since 2016 for drivers aged 14 and over, often regarded as the feeder class to Formula 4.
  • OK-Junior (OK-J), the junior direct-drive class since 2016 for drivers aged 12 to 14.
  • KZ, the primary gearbox class since 2007 for drivers aged 15 and over, often regarded as the professional class.
  • KZ2, the secondary gearbox class since 2007 for drivers aged 15 and over.
  • A&D-Senior (A&D-S), the senior arrive-and-drive class on its European Championship debut for drivers aged 14 to 15.
  • A&D-Junior (A&D-J), the junior arrive-and-drive class on its European Championship debut for drivers aged 12 to 14.

The KZ2-Masters (KZ2-M) class was not held for the first time since 2023.[10]

Format

Open classes

The five-stage format used since 2022 remained in effect for the 2026 season in all open classes, with each round held over a three-day weekend composed of free practice (FP), qualifying practice (QP), qualifying heats (QH), super heats (SH), and a final:[11]

  • Friday: FP (morning), QP + QH (afternoon);
  • Saturday: warm-up + QH;
  • Sunday: warm-up + SH (morning), final (afternoon).

In rounds with less than 37 entrants, there were three QHs as opposed to the usual six, as well as a single SH on the Saturday afternoon rather than two on Sunday morning; a new format was introduced for rounds with more than 108 entrants.[11]

Arrive-and-drive classes

The arrive-and-drive championships used a unique format held over a three-day weekend composed of FP, sprints, QH, and a final:[12]

  • Friday: FP;
  • Saturday: warm-up + sprints (morning), QH (afternoon);
  • Sunday: warm-up + QH (morning), final (afternoon).

Each driver was assorted into one of two groups for the sprints, which determined the grid order for three QHs; the classification of the QHs set the grid for the final.[12] All karts for arrive-and-drive were provided by the OTK Kart Group, with Kosmic chassis, Vortex engines, and Vega tyres.[13]

Calendar

The 2026 calendar featured four events in OK and OK-J, two events in KZ and KZ2, and a single event in the arrive-and-drive classes:

More information Circuit, Dates ...
Calendar
Circuit Dates Classes Map of circuit locations
Italy World Circuit La Conca
(Muro Leccese, Italy)
9–12 April OK
Map of Europe with circuit locations for the 2026 CIK-FIA European Championship
Mülsen
Mülsen
Sarno
Sarno
Słomczyn
Słomczyn
Kristianstad
Kristianstad
OK-J
Spain Kartódromo Internacional Lucas Guerrero
(Valencia, Spain)
7–10 May OK
OK-J
Belgium Karting Genk
(Genk, Belgium)
21–24 May KZ
KZ2
Germany Motorsportarena Mülsen
(Mülsen, Germany)
11–14 June OK
OK-J
Italy Circuito Internazionale Napoli
(Sarno, Italy)
2–5 July KZ
KZ2
Poland Autodrom Słomczyn
(Słomczyn, Poland)
17–19 July A&D-S
A&D-J
Sweden Åsum Ring
(Kristianstad, Sweden)
30 July – 2 August OK
OK-J
Source:[10]
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Calendar changes

The 2026 edition retained the four-round OK and OK-J format, as well as a two-round KZ and KZ2 season, reduced from three events.[14] KZ2-Masters (KZ2-M)—the over-35 gearbox class—was removed from the calendar, having only been held at the European Championship for two years.[10] Each event was preceded by a Champions of the Future (COTF) round the week before.[15] The arrive-and-drive category featured in the European Championship for the first time, alongside the Asia-Pacific and South American Championships, in both a senior (A&D-S) and a junior (A&D-J) class, following their successful World Cup debuts in 2025.[16] The latter three OK and OK-J rounds were supported by the senior CIK-FIA Academy Trophy, while both rounds in KZ and KZ2 were supported by its junior counterpart.[10]

The lone venue for A&D, Słomczyn, made its European Championship debut in the first international kart races in Poland.[17] It had initially been planned for three rounds but was scaled-down "to broaden the reach of the championship and reduce the commitment required to participate";[16] Kartmag reported that logistical challenges with the OTK Group and low registration numbers led to the Angerville and Aspar cancellations, questioning the saturation of the European karting market.[18] The calendar also saw the return of four former World Championship venues: La Conca, Genk, Sarno, and Kristianstad.[10] La Conca made its first appearance at a CIK-FIA event in 11 years.[19]

Results and standings

Results

More information Circuit, Class ...
Results
Circuit Class Pole position Qualifying heats Super heats Winner Chassis Engine Fastest lap
Italy La Conca OK Turkey İskender Zülfikari United Kingdom Noah Baglin United Kingdom Noah Baglin (A) United Kingdom Noah Baglin KR IAME Italy Filippo Sala
Germany Luke Kornder (B)
OK-J Belgium Priam Bruno Spain Daniel Mirón Spain Daniel Mirón (A) United Kingdom Will Green KR IAME Italy Gioele Girardello
Czech Republic Zdeněk Bábíček (B)
Spain Valencia OK United Kingdom Noah Baglin Austria Niklas Schaufler Austria Niklas Schaufler (A) United Kingdom Noah Baglin KR IAME United Kingdom Noah Baglin
Switzerland Dan Allemann (B)
OK-J Belgium Antoine Sylva Venant United Kingdom Will Green United Kingdom Will Green (A) Spain Daniel Mirón KR IAME Belgium Antoine Sylva Venant
France Many Nuvolini (B)
Belgium Genk KZ Italy Danilo Albanese Sweden Viktor Gustavsson Netherlands Stan Pex Spain Adrián Malheiro CRG TM Romania Daniel Vasile
KZ2 France Arthur Lehouck France Téo Blin Brazil Matheus Morgatto (A) Belgium Elie Goldstein TB TM Spain Daniel Maciá
France Arthur Lehouck (B)
Germany Mülsen OK Australia William Calleja Australia William Calleja Ukraine Lev Krutogolov (A) United Kingdom Zac Drummond KR IAME Belgium Matthias Vandekerckhove
United Kingdom Zac Drummond (B)
OK-J Poland Remigiusz Samczyk United Kingdom Will Green United Kingdom Will Green (A) United Kingdom Will Green KR IAME Spain Daniel Mirón
Spain Daniel Mirón (B)
Italy Sarno KZ France Émilien Denner Sweden Viktor Gustavsson France Émilien Denner France Émilien Denner IPK TM France Émilien Denner
KZ2 Germany Maximilian Schleimer Finland Kimi Tani Finland Kimi Tani (A) Finland Kimi Tani Parolin TM Brazil Matheus Morgatto
Germany Maximilian Schleimer (B)
Poland Słomczyn A&D-S Poland Kacper Turoboyski[a] Poland Kacper Turoboyski Poland Kacper Turoboyski Kosmic Vortex Poland Adrian Potępa
A&D-J Poland Błażej Kostrzewa[a] Poland Błażej Kostrzewa Poland Maksymilian Piątek Kosmic Vortex Lithuania Vydūnas Piktys
Sweden Kristianstad OK Switzerland Dan Allemann Australia William Calleja Australia William Calleja (A) Australia William Calleja Parolin TM Australia William Calleja
United Kingdom Henry Domain (B)
OK-J Spain Daniel Mirón France Stan Ratajski Belgium Priam Bruno (A) United Kingdom Emerson MacAndrew-Uren Tony Kart Vortex Italy Gioele Girardello
Georgia (country) Leon Chelidze (B)
Source:[9]
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Scoring system

The points system was altered to apply super heat points for the results of each super heat held, as opposed to the final intermediate classification, effectively doubling the points on offer for rounds with two super heats.[20] Points were awarded to the top-15 drivers in each classification and the fastest lap holder in the final, as follows:

More information Position, 1st ...
Scoring system
Position  1st   2nd   3rd   4th   5th   6th   7th   8th   9th   10th   11th   12th   13th   14th   15th   FL 
QH 25 22 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
SH 25 22 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
F 50 44 38 34 30 26 22 18 14 10 8 6 4 2 1 1
Source:[20]
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Results key

More information Colour, Result ...
ColourResult
GoldWinner
SilverSecond place
BronzeThird place
GreenTop-10 points finish
Sky blueOther points finish
BlueNon-points finish
Non-classified finish (NC)
PurpleRetired (Ret)
RedDid not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
BlackDisqualified (DSQ)
WhiteDid not start (DNS)
Withdrew (WD)
Race cancelled (C)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Excluded (EX)
Symbol Meaning
P Pole position
F Fastest lap
† Did not finish, but was classified.
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Standings, OK

The finalists in the OK class:

More information Pos, Driver ...
2026 CIK-FIA European Championship OK standings
Pos Driver LAC
Italy
VAL
Spain
MÜL
Germany
KRI
Sweden
Points
QH SA SB F QH SA SB F QH SA SB F QH SA SB F
1 United Kingdom Noah Baglin 1 1PF 1P 5P 2F 1F 23 3 7 3 2 2 316
2 United Kingdom Zac Drummond 16 7 3 9 3 4 2 1P 1P 43 6 DSQ 223
3 Netherlands Dean Hoogendoorn 4 3 4 28 9 9 3 15 4 8 2 3 221
4 Australia William Calleja 10 4 8 7 9 20 1P 4P 24† 1 1PF 1PF 206
5 Austria Niklas Schaufler 21 11 32† 1 1P 3P 5 2 5 40 14 13 166
6 United Kingdom Henry Domain 2 10P 11 11 5 32† 9 8F Ret 2 1P 5 152
7 Ukraine Lev Krutogolov 27 4 6 21 11 35† 13 1 8 24 8 7 126
8 Spain Benjamin Mañach 5 5 31† 8 4 8 39 34† DNQ 19 13 8 103
9 Sweden Oliver Kinnmark 17 7 10 25 13 29 8 2 2 29 21 18 100
10 Germany Luke Kornder 8 1 2 52 19 DNQ 6 12 27† 62 DSQ DNQ 95
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More information Standings from 11th onwards, Wild card drivers ineligible for championship points ...
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More information Source: ...
Source:[21][22]
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Standings, OK-Junior

The finalists in the OK-J class:

More information Pos, Driver ...
2026 CIK-FIA European Championship OK-J standings
Pos Driver LAC
Italy
VAL
Spain
MÜL
Germany
KRI
Sweden
Points
QH SA SB F QH SA SB F QH SA SB F QH SA SB F
1 United Kingdom Will Green 2 2P 1 1 1PF 3P 1 1PF 1P 16 4 12 305
2 Spain Daniel Mirón 1 1PF DSQP 5 2 1 8 1 4F 2P 14PF 22 234
3 France Many Nuvolini 4 29† 6 4 1 2 9 4 5 10 5 23 208
4 Italy Gioele Girardello 6 3 2F 3 3 4 15 11 23 3 13 19F 181
5 Belgium Priam Bruno 3P 5 3 71 12 DNQ 3 2 16 11 1 16 149
6 Finland Oskari Walle 7 6 7 2 2P 10 22 9 32† 8 3 Ret 135
7 Czech Republic Zdeněk Bábíček 14 1 5 34 12 30 14 2 3 28 8 DSQ 134
8 Italy Julian Frasnelli 8 4 4 6 8 15 27 9 19 39 11 4 131
9 Italy Antônio Pizzonia Neto 46 6 32† 17 4 7 10 7 2 46 28 DNQ 116
10 United Kingdom Emerson MacAndrew-Uren 13 13 10 19 13 16 36 10 30† 4 2 1 114
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More information Standings from 11th onwards, DQ ...
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More information Source: ...
Source:[24][25]
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Standings, KZ

The finalists in the KZ class:

More information Pos, Driver ...
2026 CIK-FIA European Championship KZ standings
Pos Driver GEN
Belgium
SAR
Italy
Points
QH SH F QH SH F
1 France Émilien Denner 14 13 5 2P 1 1PF 133
2 Italy Danilo Albanese 2P 2 3 3 13 8 122
3 Sweden Viktor Gustavsson 1 3PF 20†P 1 2P 5 121
4 Netherlands Stan Pex 3 1 2 12 11 12 103
5 Romania Daniel Vasile 18 7 4F 6 9 6 92
6 Spain Adrián Malheiro 4 4 1 18 15 13 90
7 Italy Giuseppe Palomba 13 DSQ 6 9 5F 3 89
8 France Mattéo Spirgel 9 19 15 5 3 2 86
9 France Jean Nomblot 21 18 10 7 4 4 72
10 France Tom Leuillet 12 9 8 8 7 7 71
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More information Standings from 11th onwards, Wild card drivers ineligible for championship points ...
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More information Source: ...
Source:[26][27]
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Standings, KZ2

The finalists in the KZ2 class:

More information Pos, Driver ...
2026 CIK-FIA European Championship KZ2 standings
Pos Driver GEN
Belgium
SAR
Italy
Points
QH SA SB F QH SA SB F
1 Finland Kimi Tani 10 4 3 1 1P 1P 161
2 Brazil Matheus Morgatto 9 1 2 7 2F 3F 148
3 Germany Maximilian Schleimer 3 2 6 6P 1 5 135
4 Spain Genís Cívico 13 3 7 3 4 2 124
5 Belgium Elie Goldstein 4 6 1 12 25† 9 98
6 Spain Daniel Maciá 15 6 4F 15 5 8 83
7 France Arthur Lehouck 2P 1PF 5P 38 12 30 81
8 Netherlands Sem Knopjes 30 10 31† 10 2 4 68
9 France Aloïs Girardet 8 3 11 14 3F 22 57
10 United Kingdom Noah Wolfe 18 32† 16 9 3 6 52
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More information Standings from 11th onwards, Wild card drivers ineligible for championship points ...
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More information Source: ...
Source:[28][29]
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Finals, Arrive-and-drive

The final for A&D-S was held at Słomczyn on 19 July 2026, at 15:00 local time (UTC+8), and was run for 21 laps; conditions were dry with a surface air temperature of 24 °C (75 °F).[30] The final for A&D-J was held at 14:00 and was run for 17 laps; conditions were dry with a surface air temperature of 24 °C (75 °F).[31] The top-10 results of each arrive-and-drive class:

More information Pos, # ...
2025 CIK-FIA Arrive & Drive World Cup top-10 results
Pos # Driver Chassis Engine Tyres Laps Time/Retired Grid
Senior
1 11 Poland Kacper Turoboyski Kosmic Vortex V 21 18:15.753 1
2 8 Poland Łukasz Jezierski Kosmic Vortex V 21 +2.281 3
3 10 Poland Adrian Potępa Kosmic Vortex V 21 +2.373 2
4 18 Israel Yam Pinto Kosmic Vortex V 21 +2.617 7
5 12 Poland Colin Ważny Kosmic Vortex V 21 +2.903 5
6 6 Sweden Jonathan Landström Kosmic Vortex V 21 +5.157 8
7 20 Netherlands Lieke van Boekel Kosmic Vortex V 21 +8.3211 10
8 9 Poland Nikodem Osiecki Kosmic Vortex V 21 +9.4292 11
9 16 Croatia Adriano Kraljić Kosmic Vortex V 21 +10.351 13
10 3 India Kiaan Shah Kosmic Vortex V 21 +10.693 17
Junior
1 125 Poland Maksymilian Piątek Kosmic Vortex V 17 14:50.732 2
2 108 Poland Błażej Kostrzewa Kosmic Vortex V 17 +0.561 1
3 118 Portugal Rui Martins Kosmic Vortex V 17 +1.090 4
4 122 United Kingdom Andie Stewart Kosmic Vortex V 17 +2.887 3
5 117 Lithuania Vydūnas Piktys Kosmic Vortex V 17 +7.985 12
6 121 Switzerland Lorenzo Zucchetto Kosmic Vortex V 17 +8.586 16
7 102 Croatia Vito Ćoza Kosmic Vortex V 17 +8.7623 5
8 107 Poland Stanisław Grabowski Kosmic Vortex V 17 +12.9114 6
9 123 United Kingdom Johnston Stewart Kosmic Vortex V 17 +13.8775 14
10 106 Poland Aleksander Czub Kosmic Vortex V 17 +14.3986 7
Source:[32][30][33][31]
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Notes
  • Senior fastest lap: Poland Adrian Potępa (Kosmic–Vortex) – 50.991 (lap 12)
  • Junior fastest lap: Lithuania Vydūnas Piktys (Kosmic–Vortex) – 51.271 (lap 16)
  • ^1 – Lieke van Boekel finished sixth, but received a five-second time penalty for front fairing irregularities.
  • ^2 – Nikodem Osiecki finished seventh, but received a five-second time penalty for front fairing irregularities.
  • ^3 – Vito Ćoza finished fifth, but received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision.
  • ^4 – Stanisław Grabowski finished sixth, but received a five-second time penalty for front fairing irregularities.
  • ^5 – Johnston Stewart received a five-second time penalty for front fairing irregularities.
  • ^6 – Aleksander Czub received a five-second time penalty for front fairing irregularities.

Notes

  1. As of the beginning of 2026, six previous European Champions had progressed to win the Formula One World Drivers' Championship:[4]
  1. Pole position determined by sprints.
  2. Antoine Sylva Venant scored 90 points, but was excluded from the championship for ignoring a mechanical flag and colliding with Gioele Girardello at Kristianstad; he retained his results achieved throughout the season.[23]

See also

References

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