Unstable weather conditions marked the first official day of competition, which was mainly devoted to Qualifying. Britain's Roman Kamyab in OK and France's Matéo Rivals in OK-Junior secured pole position in the final round of the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship, while Italy's Riccardo Ferrari did the same in the FIA Karting Academy Trophy - Senior. The Rødby circuit is known for producing unpredictable races, and there should be plenty of action between now and Sunday afternoon, both for victory in the Finals and for the three titles.
OK: Roman Kamyab faster than the favourites
After morning rain, the track was still slightly damp when the Group 1 drivers took to the Rødby Karting Ring, but the choice of Maxxis slick tyres proved to be the obvious one. Christian Costoya (ESP) set the fastest time of 50.815, more than three tenths ahead of Filippo Sala (ITA), with the experienced Joe Turney (GBR) in third place. The grip on the track then improved and Jensen Burnett (CAN) briefly took provisional pole position with a time of 50.597, leaving Iacopo Martinese (ITA) and Vladimir Ivannikov behind him in Group 2.
It wasn't until the final lap of Group 3 that Roman Kamyab (GBR) climbed to the top of the standings with a narrow 42-thousandths of a second lead over Burnett. Kamyab left Jindrich Pesl (CZE) and Lev Krutoholov (UKR) behind him in Group 3. While Costoya, the current Championship leader, did not disappoint, some contenders for the final podium did not achieve the results they had hoped for. The situation is not yet worrying for Thibaut Ramaekers (BEL), who is 16th, but the competition looks set to be tougher for James Anagnostiadis (AUS) in 44th and Daniel Kelleher (IRL) in 48th.
Top 10 in OK Qualifying
1- Kamyab, Roman (GBR - LN / TM Kart / Maxxis) Gr.3 - 50.555
2- Burnett, Jensen (CAN - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis) Gr.2 - 50.597
3- Costoya, Christian (ESP - Parolin / TM Kart / Maxxis) Gr.1 - 50.815
4- Pešl, Jindřich (CZE - Tony Kart / Vortex / Maxxis) Gr.3 - 50.563
5- Martinese, Iacopo (ITA - KR / IAME / Maxxis) Gr.2 - 50.624
6- Sala, Filippo (ITA - Exprit / TM Kart / Maxxis) Gr.1 - 51.153
7- Krutoholov, Lev (UKR - Energy / IAME / Maxxis) Gr.3 - 50.572
8- Ivannikov, Vladimir (Birelart / TM Kart / Maxxis) Gr.2 - 50.712
9- Turney, Joe (GBR - KR / IAME / Maxxis) Gr.1 - 51.302
10- Svahn, Vilmer (SWE - Monster Kart / TM Kart / Maxxis) Gr.3 - 50.666
OK-Junior: Matéo Rivals springs a surprise
Ranked 30th in the Championship with just one point to his name, Matéo Rivals (FRA) caused a sensation by securing pole position. In Group 3, he finished ahead of his team-mate Henri-Constant Kumpen (BEL), who achieved his best Qualifying result of the season by far, and Arata Endo (JPN). In the OK-Junior category, not all drivers enjoyed the same grip conditions, as Group 1 used wet tyres. Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (AUS) took advantage of this to take the lead at the start of the session ahead of Dean Hoogendoorn (NED) and Drew Walz (USA). With the fastest time in Group 2 ahead of Ilie Crisan (CAN) and Leonardo Gorski (POL), Priam Bruno (BEL) climbed to second place in the overall standings, also significantly improving on his best Qualifying result of 2025.
Championship leader Hoogendoorn currently appears to be better placed than his closest rivals. Noah Baglin (GBR) is 14th and William Calleja (AUS) 13th, while Henry Domain (GBR) was only able to complete one lap and is currently 85th.
Top 10 in OK-Junior Qualifying
1- Rivals, Mateo (FRA - Tony Kart / Vortex / Maxxis) Gr.3 - 52.213
2- Bruno, Priam (BEL - Parolin / TM Kart / Maxxis) Gr.2 - 52.440
3- Eskandari-Marandi, Sebastian (AUS - Tony Kart / TM Kart / Maxxis) Gr.1 - 1:03.026
4- Kumpen, Henri-Constant (BEL - Tony Kart / Vortex / Maxxis) Gr.3 - 52.263
5- Crisan, Ilie (CAN - Tony Kart / Vortex / Maxxis) Gr.2 - 52.516
6- Hoogendoorn, Dean (NED - KR / IAME / Maxxis) Gr.1 - 1:03.044
7- Endo, Arata (JPN - Tony Kart / TM Kart / Maxxis) Gr.3 - 52.409
8- Gorski, Leonardo (POL - Henza Kart / IAME / Maxxis) Gr.2 - 52.605
9- Walz, Drew (USA - KR / IAME / Maxxis) Gr.1 - 1:03.326
10- Osadcyi Suslovskyi, Vsevolod (UKR - Monster Kart / TM Kart / Maxxis) Gr.3 - 52.422...
Academy - Senior: Riccardo Ferrari narrowly takes Pole Position
As in the other two categories, the fastest lap was set at the end of the session by Riccardo Ferrari (ITA) in 52.500. Ates Birinci (TUR) was just 3 hundredths of a second behind his rival. Niklas Vejen (DNK), a local driver, is in an encouraging fourth place behind Otto Sakala (FIN). Among the top three in the Trophy standings after the Portimao and Viterbo rounds, Yuzuki Sato (JPN) is the highest ranked in fifth place, with Jules Avril (FRA) regretting being hampered on his best lap. Currently second and third in the Trophy behind Sato, Avril is only 11th and Amador Martinez Saenz (COL) 13th. The representative of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, Eva Dorrestijn (NED), achieved her best result of the season in Qualifying with eighth place.
Top 10 in Academy - Senior Qualifying
1- Ferrari, Riccardo (ITA) - 52.500
2- Birinci, Ates (TUR) - 52.530
3- Sakala, Otto (FIN) - 52.559
4- Vejen, Niklas (DEN) - 52.630
5- Sato, Yuzuki (JPN) - 52.639
6- Woda, Wojciech (POL) - 52.664
7- Russell, Neil (SUI) - 52.684
8- Dorrestijn, Eva (NED) - 52.702
9- Pascoal, Gianna (RSA) - 52.707
10- Baciuska, Simas (LTU) - 52.715
Equipment: Exprit / Vortex / Maxxis (1 group only)
Provisional schedule for the Rødby event
Saturday 2nd August
08:30 - 10:24 Warm-up
10:35 - 18:00 Qualifying heats OK-Junior / OK / Academy - Senior
Sunday 3rd August
08:30 - 09:40 Warm-up
09:50 - 10:05 End of Academy - Senior Qualifying Heats
10:10 - 11:55 OK-Junior / OK Super Heats
13:05 - 16:30 Finals and podium ceremonies
The Rødby event can be followed via live timing and streaming on the website www.fiakarting.com