The qualifying heats came to a close today at Karting Genk: The Home of Champions, with a total of 30 races completing the programme ahead of Sunday's decisive phase of Round 3 of the 2026 Rotax MAX Challenge Euro Trophy.
Once again, the exceptionally high temperatures put both drivers and machinery under considerable stress, making consistency the key factor throughout the day. At the end of the heats, the category leaders are Sebastian Bearman (Mini MAX), Albert Friend (Junior MAX), Jeremy Reuvers (Senior MAX), Patryk Donica (DD2), Nicolas Picot (DD2 Masters), Marcos De Dios (E20 Senior) and Carl Cleirbaut (E20 Masters).
Consistency proved to be Sebastian Bearman's (Sam Pollitt Racing) greatest asset. Although the British driver did not win a single heat, a sequence of top-three finishes was enough to move him to the top of the rankings. He heads into Sunday ahead of teammate Austin Oman and Joshua Cooke (KR Sport). Friday's pole sitter, Oscar Kenney (Sam Pollitt Racing), slipped to fifth after the heats.
In Junior MAX, Albert Friend (Dan Holland Racing) emerged as the overall leader after the heats, edging out Friday's pole sitter Finlay Lines (Privateer), who will nevertheless start from pole position in Prefinal B. Championship leader Zdenek Babicek (Dan Holland Racing) sits third, while teammate Rares Pascu confirmed the fourth position he already held after qualifying.
The biggest changes came in Senior MAX, although Jeremy Reuvers (Karting Club Campillos) once again retained the top spot after another commanding performance. Behind him, Macauley Bishop (Dan Holland Racing) climbed from tenth after qualifying to second overall, while Freddie Lloyd (Evolution Racing) gained six positions to move into third. It was a more difficult day for home favourite Lars Lambers (Bouvin Power), who dropped from second to seventeenth, and Tereza Babickova (Dan Holland Racing), who fell from third to twelfth.
The picture remained largely unchanged in DD2, with Patryk Donica (Birelart by KSB Racing) maintaining control ahead of reigning champion Jakub Bezel (Kraft Motorsport). Wout Kurstjens (DAEMS Racing) moved up one position to third. In DD2 Masters, Nicolas Picot (Privateer) once again finished comfortably at the top of the rankings.
The battle in E20 Senior remained one of the closest of the weekend. The duel between Marcos De Dios (Privateer) and Friday's pole sitter Lucas dos Santos Pinheiro (Privateer), ultimately went in favour of De Dios, who heads into Finals Day at the top of the standings. In E20 Masters, Carl Cleirbaut (Bouvin Power) continued his consistent weekend by maintaining the lead.
Sunday will crown the winners of Round 3 of the 2026 Rotax MAX Challenge Euro Trophy. Alongside the race victories, the event will also award the third Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals ticket of the season in Mini MAX, as well as the first Grand Finals tickets for the E20 Senior and E20 Masters categories.