The KR Motorsport team split into two groups on the last weekend of August, as the opening round of the WSK Final Cup at Franciacorta coincided with the Grand Prix Karting KZ event at Le Mans.

Since winning the KZ European Championship title in 2023, Danilo Albanese has been one of the most consistent drivers on the podium in this highly competitive category at FIA Karting events. Finishing 2nd in Spain in 2024, 3rd at the World Championship in Franciacorta in 2025 and then 3rd at Genk in 2026, the Italian driver has now concluded the European Championship in 2nd place. This consistency in results clearly demonstrates the competitiveness of Kart Republic’s factory equipment and that of the KR-IAME package in the gearbox categories.

The FIA Karting European Championship arrives at the Circuito Internazionale Napoli in Italy this weekend as the KZ and KZ2 gearbox categories reach the decisive final round to decide the next two FIA Karting European Champions. The Academy Junior competition also returns for the second of its three rounds.

Having already set the fastest time in his group during Friday morning’s Free Practice, Danilo Albanese was awarded the pole position trophy a few hours later with a magnificent lap of 50.867 seconds. A time the Italian driver improved upon further to 50.687 seconds in Saturday’s warm-up!

The legendary Karting Genk circuit will host the opening round of the 2026 FIA Karting season for the gearbox categories this weekend as 160 drivers travel to Belgium for the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship. In the KZ category, several familiar names, including returning World and European champions, start their campaigns for the 2026 European title, forming a grid full of some of the best and most experienced karting talent in the world.