The 2026 Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship started in style in southern Italy, with KR Motorsport drivers claiming victory in both Junior and OK classes.
The first points are on the board in the 2026 Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship, as British drivers Will Green and Noah Baglin began their campaigns in the best possible way with victories in the Junior and OK Classes, respectively. Italy’s Gioele Girardello and Belgian Priam Bruno completed the Junior podium, while Germany’s Luke Kornder and Brit Zac Drummond were second and third in OK.
It was a superb weekend of racing as FIA Karting returned to La Conca in southern Italy for the first time since 2015. With 188 drivers entered to do battle around the 16-corner circuit, each was hoping to make a strong impression in this all-important first step on the FIA racing ladder. By the final chequered flag, six different teams occupied the top six positions in both the Junior and OK classes, underlining the fierce competition on show this weekend.
Practice and qualifying heats were completed over the course of Friday and Saturday, and a more overcast start to Sunday saw the Super Heats set the final grids, whittling the entries down to the top 36 qualifying points-scorers in each category.
Junior
The new sporting format, which allocates championship points in the Super Heats, brought an added intensity to the initial track action this morning. Super Heat A delivered close racing with the gap between the top four all under a second, but with drivers later running four wide into the chicane, pole sitter Daniel Miron Lorente back to the top spot as others tangled.
In Super Heat B, it was a frenetic start for a number of drivers in the mid-pack, with several incidents taking out six drivers from the race. In the melee, it was Czech driver Zdenek Babicek capitalising, managing to move into the lead. Pole-sitter Green had dropped back at the start, but closed in by lap seven and almost made a move on Babicek into turn one. On the final tour, Green tried everything to take the win but had to settle for second by three thousandths of a second in a heat that felt more like a final.
Indeed, it was soon time for the final, and once the morning’s Super Heat points were added up, the top 36 Junior drivers who had battled all weekend for their place on the grid took the race start.
It was a good getaway for all the front-runners, as pole-sitter Daniel Miron Lorente initially held station ahead of Will Green and Priam Bruno. Green snatched the lead on the second tour, with Miron Lorente then getting shuffled back down the order. Gioele Giradello made his way into second place and set about closing down the leader at the five-lap mark.
At half-distance, the top two were managing a small gap to the drivers behind, while Miron Lorente was fighting to make his way back to the front. The gap between the two top drivers never let up, with Girardello not more than a second behind Green all the way to the flag.
As the Williams F1 Academy driver held on for the win ahead of the local talent, it was a fantastic final lap battle for the final podium position. First, Miron Lorente snatched the position before some side-by-side jostling with Julian Frasnelli down the start/finish straight opened the door for Bruno Priam to sweep through on the exit of turn one. The Belgian held on for third, with Frasnelli keeping the pole sitter, Miron Lorente in fifth.
Priam Bruno, VictoryLane Karting, said: “The last lap was very, very difficult. Frasnelli passed me, but then I had the good position to get back past him after the first corner. My qualification was very good to get the pole position, and after that, in the heats, it was more difficult. Looking ahead, for me, it’s possible to target another podium in Valencia. I like it there, I was second in the winter cup there.”
Gioele Girardello, Parolin Motorsport, said: “Will [Green] and I never made any mistakes and were with the same pace, so it was difficult. The 20 laps were hard, but I did a good race, and I’m quite happy. The first three laps, I was not going very fast and was cool on the brakes and was good with the tyres. Also, in the first few corners, I wasn’t pushing too much until the last laps. I want to say thanks a lot to the Parolin team, without them I couldn’t be here, and I will do my best to give them a very good result. I will try to do the same in Valencia!”
Will Green, KR Motorsport, said: “I’m really happy, I’ve waited a while for this moment – it’s been a tough year until now, so I’m really happy. I’ve had good speed all week here, and I’m glad it’s paid off! Looking ahead, I’ve been to Valencia before, I’ve raced a couple of times, and I know I’m quite strong there as well.”
Provisional Result of the Junior final:
Will Green (GBR, KR)
Gioele Girardello (ITA, Parolin)
Priam Bruno (BEL, KR)
Julian Frasnelli (ITA, Tony Kart)
Daniel Miron Lorente (ESP, KR)
Provisional driver standings of the 2026 Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship (Junior) after Round 1
Will Green (GBR, KR) 94 points
Daniel Miron Lorente (ESP, KR) 80 points
Priam Bruno (BEL, KR) 76 points
Gioele Girardello (ITA, Parolin) 73 points
Julian Frasnelli (ITA, Tony Kart) 50 points
Provisional team standings of the 2026 Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship (Junior) after Round 1
KR Motorsport (72 points)
Parolin Motorsport (63 points)
Tony Kart Racing Team (48 points)
VictoryLane Karting (38 points)
Fusion Motorsport (30 points)
OK
The reigning FIA Karting Junior World Champion, Noah Baglin, started his season in the OK class in strong form, and he converted that to yet another win this morning to ensure he’d start the final in front. Giles Herman came home second to also take p2 for the final, and whilst it looked like the top three on the grid would hold station, James Anagnostiadis was on the charge, moving up into the top three.
Manach then came under pressure from Lev Krutoholov, who was busy carving through the field, with the pass coming on lap 14 netting him fourth from 14th on the grid. 14 was seemingly this race’s magic number, as the biggest mover of the contest was Ilie Tristan Crisan, who crossed the line 14th, having made up 14 positions!
The final Super Heat of the day – Super Heat B – saw Luke Kornder take a solid win that set him up to start on the second row for the final, while Dean Hoogendoorn took third and enough points to secure the other second-row spot.
Anticipation was building as the sun came out for the final race of an action-packed weekend, and Baglin got away well when the lights went out. Herman on the other hand, got a slow getaway, dropping down to fourth from second, which also baulked Dean Hoogendoorn, who dropped places. Luke Kornder and Henry Domain initially capitalised but. Herman fought back quickly into third while Kordner was keeping Baglin honest, just half a second behind by lap three.
Zac Drummond and Lev Krutoholov were making big moves in the opening phase of the race, and Krutoholov’s charge continued to an eventual finishing position of sixth while Drummond made it even further up the field.
Back at the front, Baglin began to stretch the advantage at half distance to just under a second from Kornder, while Hoogendoorn started to reel in the leaders, snatching the third place he lost off the line back on lap 13. It was short-lived, however, as the fast-charging Drummond overtook just a lap later, putting him into the podium places.
Despite closing in on less than four-tenths at the line, Kornder didn’t have enough to overhaul Baglin, who started his 2026 campaign in the best possible way with a solid victory. With Kornder second, Drummond’s remarkable run for Fusion Motorsport saw him make up a total of 13 places to take a popular podium, while Hoogendoorn was fourth and Herman was unable to recover beyond fifth.
Noah Baglin’s century haul of championship points means he heads to Round 2 in Valencia with a 29-point advantage ahead of Herman on 71, while Kornder and Hoogendoorn are tied on 70 points apiece in third and fourth.
Zac Drummond, Fusion Motorsport, said: “Yeah, obviously tyre management is a big factor, but at the start I was just picking them off, but making sure I was nice and calm in the tyres. Through the rest, I kept pushing more and more, and it worked out very well. I was just trying to get the maximum out of it. I saw the guys ahead got pretty close – if there had been another couple of laps, maybe I could’ve won it, but this was the best I could do. I’m very excited for Valencia, we’re very fast there, and I’ve got the lap record and two pole positions. We’ll see what happens!”
Luke Kornder, Ricky Flynn Motorsport, said: “We showed really good pace in the end. I was just catching and catching and giving everything. In the end, it was not enough, but I think it’s a good result to start with. I think the team is doing a great job, I think it’s possible to carry this momentum forward.”
Noah Baglin, KR Motorsport, said: “Obviously it’s special – amazing start and amazing race. I was a bit scared at the end, Luke [Kornder] was catching me, and I was shivering a little bit in the kart. After I saw that last lap board, I knew I just needed to put my head down and do it, and we did it! It’s a whole different grid in this class from Juniors, it helps a little bit with the confidence being World Champion in Juniors, but this is a bigger, faster category.”
Provisional Result of the OK final
Noah Baglin (GBR, KR)
Luke Kornder (GER, LN)
Zac Drummond (GBR, KR)
Dean Hoogendorn (NED, Parolin)
Gilles Herman (BEL, Tony Kart)
Provisional driver standings of the 2026 Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship (OK) after Round 1
Noah Baglin (GBR, KR) 100 points
Gilles Herman (BEL, Tony Kart) 71 points
Luke Kornder (GER, LN) 70 points
Dean Hoogendorn (NED, Parolin) 70 points
Henry Domain (GBR, Henza Kart) 43 points
Provisional team standings of the 2026 Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship (OK) after Round 1
KR Motorsport (142 points)
Parolin Motorsport (105 points)
Tony Kart Racing Team (79 points)
Ricky Flynn Motorsport (76 points)
Fusion Motorsport (45 points)
The Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship continues next month in Chiva-Valencia when OK and Junior drivers resume their championship campaigns. Academy Senior will also make their 2026 debut at the event held at Kartodromo Internacional Lucas Guerrero over 7-10 May 2026.