After a long winter break, action resumed, and the first qualifying session for the series in 2026 was held at the Kartodromo Internacional Lucas Guerrero in the Valencia region, the annual host of the IAME Winter Cup. After all free practice sessions, the track reached its fastest lap times in timed qualifying, as 213 drivers across Mini, Junior and Senior X30 fought to secure their starting positions.
Clough Commands X30 Mini as Favourites Stumble
Expectations were high for early week pace-setter Achilleas Peruzzi, but in qualifying, he fell back to 13th. Charles Clough took advantage with the fastest lap when it mattered, taking pole two tenths clear of Mayson Hibbert. Aaron Bordanova secured third overall, with Joy Allemann qualifying fourth.
Morales Strikes Pole in Ultra-Tight X30 Junior Session
Free practice suggested strong pace from drivers representing the United Arab Emirates, as Henry King showed great pace. Qualifying, however, reshuffled expectations and produced a tightly contested session, with Nuvola Morales claiming pole on home soil ahead of Freddie Wood in second, while Ivan Gonzalez placed third. The top five were covered by just 0.15 seconds, showcasing the competitiveness of the category.
Garcia Reasserts Authority in X30 Senior Qualifying and Heats
The return of 2025’s dominant force, Aaron Garcia, immediately reshaped the narrative in X30 Senior. Across four separate qualifying sessions, Garcia set the benchmark, 0.10 seconds ahead of Nat Johnstone. Emmanouil Lioudakis and Alex Martinez were quickest in their respective groups but couldn’t match Garcia’s lap time for the overall pole position as, running in the final group, evolving track conditions and increased “rubbering in” appeared to contribute to the overall fastest lap being set late in the order.
The Senior class also began racing today with the first heats. Morgan Moore won heat one ahead of Elvis Krasauskas, while Moya climbed 12 places to finish third. Alex Martinez controlled heat two from the front to take victory. Heat three went to Garcia, with Andy Ratel gaining nine positions to secure third and Nat Johnstone finishing inside the top three.
Positions are set, 24 qualifying heats coming up!
With qualifying complete and the first Senior heats decided, the early contenders have emerged ahead of the remaining heats and finals.
Friday will see no less than 24 qualifying heats taking place to decide the final classification ahead of Saturday's Super Heats and Finals. Tyre preservation and strategy is expected to play a significant role, especially for the X30 Senior category that will see each driver contest 5 heats leading up to Saturday, with the same allocation of 2 sets for the entire event. Additionally, the strong wind is expected to amplify the effect of the slipstream in the strong straight line, which could lead to a big reshuffle in the classification.