The particularly changeable weather conditions in southern Denmark during the final round of the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship - OK & OK-Junior and the FIA Karting Academy Trophy - Senior produced many twists and turns. In OK, Sweden's Viktor Gustafsson caused a surprise by winning the Final, while Spain's Christian Costoya had enough of a lead to be crowned Champion despite retiring. The Netherlands' Dean Hoogendoorn secured a fourth place finish, enough to take the European OK-Junior Championship, while Canada's Ilie Crisan sped to victory. In the Academy-Senior class, Japan's Yuzuki Sato scored a double victory by winning the race and the title.
OK: A surprising Final to conclude
After two days during which the teams juggled between slick and rain tyres, the track remained wet throughout Sunday. First during the Super Heats won by Britons Zac Drummond and Kenzo Craigie, then during the Final. But a lull in the weather a few minutes before the start, combined with fairly strong winds, raised an inevitable question: which type of Maxxis tyres to choose? Twenty-one drivers took a gamble on slicks, while 15 others started on rain tyres. In the end, the track didn't dry out, especially as intermittent rain started to fall again during the race, sealing the fate of those with the wrong tyres.
Thibaut Ramaekers (BEL) was one of the big losers of the day. Forced to return to the pits, he dropped from third to fifth place in the Championship. Christian Costoya (ESP) and James Anagnostiadis (AUS) found themselves in the same situation on the Danish track, but the points they had earned throughout the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship allowed them to maintain their positions. Costoya won his first title, finishing more than 57 points ahead of his rival.
Particularly inspired in these difficult conditions, Viktor Gustafsson (SWE) made a particularly incisive start to the race, moving up from eighth to second place. He overtook Zac Drummond (GBR) seven laps from the finish to take the win. The 2022 KZ World Champion, Gustafsson was entered as a wild card to help his team develop the equipment for the World Championship. His talent and experience did the rest. However, he had to fend off his team-mate Davide Bottaro (ITA), who finished a brilliant second. Drummond fell to sixth behind Filippo Sala (ITA) and Zac Green (GBR), but that didn't stop him from moving up to third in the overall standings. With a gain of 28 places, Elliot Kaczynski (SWE) made the comeback of the day!
Final standings of the 2025 Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship - OK after the fourth and final Competition:
1- Christian Costoya (ESP - Parolin / TM Kart / Maxxis) 244 pts
2- James Anagnostiadis (AUS - KR / IAME / Maxxis) 187 pts
3- Zac Drummond (GBR - KR / IAME / Maxxis) 173 pts
4- Filippo Sala (ITA - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis) 153 pts
5- Thibaut Ramaekers (BEL - KR / IAME / Maxxis) 144 pts
6- Jensen Burnett (CAN - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis) 124 pts
7- Daniel Kelleher (IRL - KR / IAME / Maxxis) 119 pts
8- Dries Van Langendonck (BEL - KR / IAME / Maxxis) 100 pts
9- Vladimir Ivannikov (Birelart / TM Kart / Maxxis) 98 pts
10- Kenzo Craigie (GBR - KR / IAME / Maxxis) 96 pts
OK team standings after Rødby (4/5):
1- Prema Racing (ITA) 382 pts
2- KR Motorsport (ITA) 310 pts
3- Forza Racing (GBR) 281 pts
4- Parolin Motorsport (ITA) 268 pts
5- VDK Racing (BEL) 184 pts
6- Fusion Motorsport (GBR) 175 points
OK-Junior: Crisan wins, Hoogendoorn crowned Champion
Fast in dry conditions, Ilie Crisan (CAN) showed he was just as quick in the rain. Starting from the outside of the front row, he led from start to finish to end his Championship on a high note after a somewhat unsuccessful season. Also very skilful in the rain, Luka Scelles (FRA) celebrated his first podium finish in the category. He finished ahead of the top three drivers in the Championship, who had engaged in a battle in the Final to establish their positions in the overall standings. William Calleja (AUS) won the battle for third place in the Final and Dean Hoogendoorn (NED) secured fourth place, enough to make him the 2025 Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Champion in OK-Junior. The rest of the standings are suspended due to an appeal lodged in Viterbo by the competitor of Noah Baglin, who finished fifth in the Final and is provisionally runner-up ahead of Calleja.
Turner Brown (USA) achieved one of the feats of the day. After finishing a disappointing 77th in Qualifying, he came back to 24th on the starting grid for the Final, before climbing to seventh behind Bosco Arias (ESP). Starting from pole position, Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (AUS) lost all chances of finishing in the top 10 on the first lap.
Standings* of the 2025 Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship - Junior after the fourth and final Competition:
1- Dean Hoogendoorn (NED - KR / IAME / Maxxis) 297 pts
2- Noah Baglin (GBR - KR / IAME / Maxxis) 264 pts
3- William Calleja (AUS - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis) 233 pts
4- Ilie Crisan (CAN - Tony Kart / Vortex / Maxxis) 216 pts
5- Luka Scelles (FRA - KR / IAME / Maxxis) 172 pts
6- Henry Domain (GBR - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis) 146 pts
7- Bosco Arias (ESP - LN / TM Kart / Maxxis) 141 pts
8- Iskender Zulfikari (TUR - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis) 131 pts
9- Benjamin Manach (ESP - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis) 81 pts
10- Gianmatteo Rousseau (PAN - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis) 77 pts
OK-Junior team standings* after Rødby (4/5):
1- Prema Racing (ITA) 561 pts
2- Forza Racing (GBR) 499 pts
3- VictoryLane (FRA) 278 pts
4- Tony Kart Racing Team (ITA) 246 pts
5- Ricky Flynn Motorsport (GBR) 224 pts
6- Ward Racing (SWE) 182 pts
*The final Championship standings remain suspended due to appeals lodged by the competitors of drivers Noah Baglin and Luka Scelles at the 3rd Competition in Viterbo.
Academy-Senior: Japan's Yuzuki Sato makes history
Having topped the Trophy standings after the first two Competitions in Portimao and Viterbo, Yuzuki Sato (JPN) was determined to finish with a victory to become the first winner of the new FIA Karting Academy Trophy - Senior created this season. Sato went from strength to strength in Rødby, winning the final Qualifying Heat and moving up to third on the starting grid for the Final behind Wojciech Woda (POL) and Riccardo Ferrari (ITA). With his Maxxis rain tyres, Sato literally dominated the Final, winning by seven seconds ahead of Woda, who focused mainly on keeping the valiant Niklas Vejen (DEN) behind him, happy to climb onto the third step of the podium in his home country.
Disappointed to finish just off the podium, Ferrari had the satisfaction of taking third place in the Trophy behind Woda, his victory in Portugal having earned him valuable points. Ates Birinci (TUR), a major contender in the competition, finished fifth in the Final and fourth in the Trophy. The most impressive comeback was made by Simon Antonio Bulbarella (ARG), who started 34th and finished eighth behind Mio Olert (SWE) and Simas Baciuska (LTU). Winner in Italy in June, Jules Avril (FRA) had a difficult weekend, which saw him drop from second to seventh place in the Trophy.
Final standings of the 2025 FIA Karting Academy Trophy - Senior after the third and final Competition:
1- Yuzuki Sato (JPN) 169 pts
2- Wojciech Woda (POL) 138 pts
3- Riccardo Ferrari (ITA) 128 pts
4- Ates Birinci (TUR) 117 pts
5- Niklas Vejen (DEN) 104 pts
6- Mio Olert (SWE) 103 pts
7- Jules Avril (FRA) 94 pts
8- Harrison Whitticombe (GBR) 80 pts
9- Amador Martinez Saenz (COL) 79 pts
10- Agustin Sepulveda (CHI) 47 pts
The full results from Rødby can be found on the fiakarting.com website.
Follow the progress of the International Karting Ranking (IKR) after the Rødby Competition.