Round 3 of the Champions of the Future Academy Program International Series brought the heat exactly as promised in Viterbo. Testing on Friday gave way to a full day of Time Qualifying, Qualifying Heat 1 and the Saturday Finals across Mini 60, OK-N Junior and OK-N Senior, and by late afternoon three different winners had each written their own chapter into Round 3.
 

Perico's step up to Junior pays off immediately

Niccolò Perico arrived mid-season into OK-N Junior under real expectations — the reigning 2025 Mini champion, and a driver Mercedes has already backed for the step up. He had to earn it, though: pole-adjacent pace all day, a Qualifying Heat 1 win, and a Saturday Final that opened with a genuine fight against Atiqa Mir before he found his way back through and took control from there. Zoltan Coigny gave him the closest look late on, closing the gap lap after lap in the closing stages, while junior teammate Devin Titzs banked solid points on his own first International Series start. Julia Angelard, part of this year's F1 Academy Discover Your Drive intake, went one better than her heat form suggested, finishing just off the podium in fourth.

Hibbert in a league of his own, but second place was the real show in Mini 60

Mayson Hibbert made good on his qualifying pace in Mini 60 with pole, a Qualifying Heat 1 win and a commanding Saturday Final victory — crossing the line 12.2 seconds clear of the rest of the field. The battle behind him was the far tighter watch — Maximilian Schilling, Ilyas Sami, Cooper López and Muhammad Wibowo traded second place four times in three laps, with Sami briefly grabbing it back before Schilling held on right at the flag.

The Under-10 podium went to Gabin Léger, César Barradas and Anna Makolm — with Makolm also part of this year's F1 Academy Discover Your Drive intake.

Detroja makes good on his Greece form to win Senior

Jagrat Detroja led every lap of the OK-N Senior Saturday Final to take his first win of the season, holding off Michal Zajac by just 0.315 seconds in a photo finish that leaves Veer Chopra's early-season form firmly under pressure. The bigger story was Bruno Blanco, whose Time Qualifying pole was struck from the record — he drove through the entire field regardless, recovering from the back of the grid to fourth and the outright fastest lap of the race. Kacper Rajpold, promoted by Blanco's reshuffle, made the most of it with a Qualifying Heat 1 win of his own.

A brand new Raceday awaits on Sunday — Watch Live

Three winners, three statements, and a stacked Saturday that lived up to every bit of Viterbo's heat. Sunday brings a fresh Time Qualifying and a second Final in each category — everyone gets another shot, and nothing from today carries over. Watch it live on the official Champions Karting YouTube channel.