Felipe Massa, President of the CIK-FIA since the end of 2017, looks back at the 2019 FIA Karting season and the future directions for international karting.

Two months after the announcement of the launch of the Charles Leclerc chassis range produced by the Birel ART factory, the sporting season for the Lennox Racing team, which officially represents the colours of Charles Leclerc in racing, takes shape with a line-up of 11 drivers from seven different nations. Youth and experience are both represented within this exciting new challenge.

The 2020 drivers line-up will be presented in January together with the racing programmes, that will include the participation to all the FIA events and the main international meetings.

Everything is ready now, in view of the 2020 season, for the debut of the structure by OTK Kart Group: the Exprit Racing Team, taking the Exprit chassis officially onto the track in the CIK-FIA and WSK competitions led by the World Champion Patrik Hajek.

From victory at the Winter Cup at the beginning of the season to successes in the WSK throughout the year, including a new European Championship, the Energy Corse brand and its official team completed a series of victorious meetings at the international level in 2019. All these trophies won by the drivers in the Energy Corse colours are the result of meticulous work to offer competitive equipment to the drivers, recognised technical knowledge and high quality racing team staff.

After a highly successful 2019 season – whose highlights included Emilien Denner’s victory at the FIA Karting International Super Cup, Bas Lammers winning the WSK Super Master Series championship, Anthony Abbasse’s victory in the Winter Cup and victory in Le Mans 24-hour race, Sodikart has opted to bolster its international ambitions and raise its profile on the world karting competition stage. 

BRP-Rotax would like to inform all customers that a CIK-FIA approved rear bumper will now be mandatory for any Rotax MAX Challenge (RMC) events/series listed on the FIA Karting Sporting Calendars 2020, in order meet the latest CIK-FIA chassis requirements of the use of CIK-FIA homologated equipment.

At its meeting on 4th December 2019 in Paris (FRA), the FIA World Motor Sport Council took the following decisions on the basis of the proposals of the International Karting Commission.

One of the greatest news of the 2020 racing season will the debut of the new international Mini category, dedicated to drivers from 9 to 12 years old. This market branch gained more and more importance in the last years, despite the lack of a common technical regulation in the several championships. With the FIA homologations, the goal is balancing the market and the technical regulations of all the main youth championships in the world, including international series such as the WSK and the events promoted by RGMMC.

The European Championship FIA Karting - Superkart was held in Le Mans on 26th - 27th October 2019 in a new format of three Races during a single Competition. It gave rise to splendid clashes despite conditions that were not always easy. The large entry of 33 Drivers, the low number of retirements for mechanical reasons and above all three different track conditions during the three Races allowed many participants to distinguish themselves in different ways.

Le Mans will host the single Competition of the 2019 FIA ​​Karting European Championship - Superkart, which will adopt a new format for the occasion, on October 26th & 27th at the Bugatti circuit (FRA).

At its meeting on 4th October 2019 in Cologne (DEU), the FIA World Motor Sport Council took the following decisions on the basis of the proposals of the International Karting Commission.

The International Federation FIA Karting has assigned the opener of the KZ and KZ2 European Championship 2020 to the South Garda Karting Circuit. The race will take place on May 3rd in a joint event with the opener of the Academy Trophy. This rewards the circuit of Lonato that has organized FIA Karting events in the past two years.

The exciting story of Sodikart and endurance racing has been enriched by a new and particularly brilliant chapter at the 34th edition of the Le Mans 24 Hours Karting, held on the last weekend of September. With many Sodi chassis competing, Sodi has achieved excellent results at the most famous endurance race in the world. The factory Sodikart GP1 team won the overall classification with its second consecutive FIA Karting Endurance Championship, while the GP2 class concluded with three Sodi chassis on the podium.

In order to highlight the emergence of young talents at the highest level of competition, each year the CIK-FIA organises a specific classification for Drivers up to 16 years of age participating in the FIA Karting World Championship and in the FIA Karting European Championship in the OK category for the first time. Among the thirty Drivers who met these criteria, the Italian Gabriele Minì has been remarkably prominent throughout the season. He had the most points in the fight to be named Rookie of the Year 2019.

The 4th edition of the FIA Karting Endurance Championship finished with an indisputable victory for the No.1 - Sodikart team, winner of the 2019 24 Hours Karting at Le Mans. The race was marked by a number of very fast relays on a dry track until Sunday morning. The rain set in until the last hour of the Race, with the finish coinciding with the return of fine weather. The OK engines once again demonstrated their power and reliability in a Competition that is demanding for both equipment and Drivers.

The young Jamaican go-kart champion Alex Powell has distinguished himself throughout the five meetings of the famous Italian Championship of 2019. After another podium at the beginning of September at the closing event at Val Vibrata,  the Mercedes F1 Junior Team protégé concluded his Championship with a convincing 3rd position overall in the 60 Mini category. With the Energy Corse team, Alex is now focused on the last major events of the season, with a major step to be taken very soon for the motorsport hopeful.

The 4th edition of the FIA ​​Karting Endurance Championship is currently taking place on the Le Mans International Karting Circuit as part of the 24 Hours Karting. It was rainy during Free Tests and at the beginning of Qualifying Practice which finished on a dry track with Pole Position for the No. 24 - Wintec team.

Sweden's Emil Skaras and the Energy Corse team have confirmed their European KZ2 Championship win by mounting the third step of the podium of the International Super Cup, a true World Cup in this difficult category, which again assembled a field of more than 120 drivers at the Lonato circuit. The entire Energy Corse-TM Racing team is more than ever a famous benchmark in high level international races.

David Vidales gains the second step of the podium at the KZ2 International Super Cup on the South Garda Karting in Lonato, while Tony Kart ends in top ten in the KZ final with four drivers. Also on the last round of the FIA Karting season, the Tony Kart Racing Team is the author of an excellent performance. On the KZ FIA Karting World Championship and KZ2 International Super Cup run in Lonato, at the South Garda Karting circuit, the drivers are constantly fighting for top positions and win a prestigious second place in KZ2.