A young international karting hopeful, the Luxembourger Maxime Furon-Castelain has just been confirmed in 3rd place in the final ranking of the 2020 FIA Karting Academy Trophy. This is a historic performance for the Grand Duchy in this world competition designed to reveal the best young motorsport talents from the five continents.
Since its creation in 2010, the FIA Karting Academy Trophy has offered a new formula where each driver between 12 and 14 years old, selected to represent his country, has to face his rivals with exactly the same equipment: chassis, engine and tyres are identical and drawn at random. More than 45 nations have been represented in this unique event in which pure talent is rewarded.
In 2020, Maxime managed to finish in the top three of this competition, which has seen several Formula 1 drivers in the past achieve remarkable results. This includes Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc, winner in 2011, as well as the Renault Alpine driver Esteban Ocon, and Williams driver George Russell, as well as many other talents on the rise, currently racing in F2 or F3. Maxime is happy to have brought to his country, Luxembourg, his best result at this level and he is proud to be able to thank his federation, ACL Sport, for the confidence placed in him.
With several fastest laps in the three events of the FIA Karting Academy Trophy in 2020, Maxime started with a brilliant 2nd place in Adria in Italy during the opening event, before being handicapped by an engine failure in Genk in Belgium. Without missing a beat, he made an outstanding comeback during the last Final in Lonato in Italy and managed to reach the top five. This meant he secured his 3rd position in the overall classification, only one point behind the runner-up.
At 13 years old, Maxime has confirmed his status as a precocious talent in karting at international level. Fast and determined, he already shows excellent maturity with a very promising start to his career. His racing intelligence and fighting spirit are serious assets for his future trajectory towards the top of motorsport in the colours of Luxembourg.