In OK, none of the championship leaders delivered standout performances, therefore handing an advantage to Baglin who doesn't yet face a strong contender this weekend and ends the day as the leading championship contender in the classification. Baglin's closest rival, Zac Drummond, didn't get the launch to the weekend he hoped for after a tough timed qualifying session with Hoogendoorn and Schaufler also behind in the order. Dan Allemann ultimately secured pole position for the qualifying heats.

In Junior, Miron Lorente gave everything to stay in contention setting an unrivalled qualifying time to secure pole and maintaining his advantage in the opening heats. Meanwhile, Will Green had a less positive qualifying and then retired following contact in his second heat presenting a new challenge to the championship leader seeking to secure the junior European title this weekend.

In Academy Senior, Polish driver Michal Zajac secured pole position with Albie Lapper, Alexis Genolet and Filip Planeta occupying the positions behind to set up a spectacular and unpredictable final round.

OK

This morning all four remaining contenders for the title made their way on track for one last qualifying session of the championship, all relying on a strong performance to edge one step closer to the European crown they've been racing towards all season. For Hoogendoorn and Schaufler, who trail Baglin and Drummond in the standings quite significantly, perfecting their qualifying laps was imperative to keep their championship hopes alive.

In the first qualifying group, Baglin went head-to-head with Hoogendoorn in their six-minute timed session however neither driver managed to light up the timing screens. Dan Allemann took the first provisional pole of the morning setting a 48.843 second lap with Nicolo Cuman marginally behind the Swiss driver's time.

Baglin was over a tenth of a second shy leaving him in 13th position overall and Hoogendoorn was over two tenths short of the time to beat and in 25th position, a heavy blow to his chances of keeping his championship prospects alive.

Benjamin Manach, a polesitter favourite heading into today, led the second group but time struggled to match Allemann's time from the opening session. Manach's second attempt to secure pole also fell short with Mülsen polesitter William Calleja setting the best time of the group, though still short of Allemann who claimed the final pole position of the OK European season.

Meanwhile, Zac Drummond faced a nightmare qualifying as the Scot couldn't secure the electric start to the weekend he needed to meaningfully challenge Baglin. He set a time nearly half a second off the leading pace which ultimately left him in 44th position.

Niklas Schaufler was the last of the championship contenders to set their qualifying time and will similarly be bitterly disappointed to be three tenths of a second off the pace which left him in 33rd place overall.

The blockbuster heat of the afternoon came when Baglin, Hoogendoorn and Drummond all faced each other. Baglin delivered an assured if not spectacular performance to gain two places into fourth, knowing a steady bank of points is all he needs to claim the title on Sunday. Behind him, Hoogendoorn climbed three and Drummond an essential eight places and he fights to remain on Baglin's coattails.

Baglin did bounce back in his second heat to overtake Dan Allemann for the lead in the opening laps which he converted into an important heat win. Allemann went on to retire by the midpoint of the heat with Hoogendoorn picking up just a handful of places to finish inside the top five.

Schaufler, meanwhile, only managed a single place gain to cross the line in tenth in his first heat and four places to finish seventh in his second heat as he struggled to reignite his campaign at the final opportunity.

Across the other heats, Calleja performed an overtake on polesitter Allemann to take his first heat win of the weekend, Joe Turney secured a gain of ten places after qualifying back in 72nd position and Gustavo Marques Da Silva surged four places to challenge Henry Domain for the heat win.

OK standings after Friday's qualifying heats

1. William Calleja (AUS, Parolin) – 100 points
2. Henry Domain (GBR, MP) – 100 points
3. Davide Bottaro (ITA, Lenovo Kali Kart) – 88 points
4. Noah Baglin (GBR, KR) - 88 points
5. Nicolo Cuman (ITA, Parolin) – 85 points

View Friday's results

Junior

Will Green's healthy championship lead puts him in prime position this weekend to secure the title, and he headed onto track in the first qualifying heat seeking an early advantage to seal the deal as early in the weekend as possible.

Green secured provisional pole early on in the session with a 50.739 time which was quickly beaten by a flurry of rapid times that knocked the championship leader down to fifth position in his qualifying group. Gioele Girardello set the time to beat, banking an impressive 50.594 second lap before the second and third groups had their chance to challenge for pole.

Daniel Miron Lorente, who is currently second in the standings, went out on track in the second session with a mission to close the gap to Green. Miron Lorente set a statement lap with a blistering 50.542 second time, snatching provisional pole from Girardello and commencing his last-ditch attempt for the title.

As the final Junior qualifying group went out on track, Many Nuvolini prepared to replicate Miron Lorente's attempt to keep the title race open. The French driver couldn't do enough however to match Miron Lorente and had to settle for 14th position. Stan Ratajski was the fastest driver of the final group with a 50.562 second lap, just two hundredths shy of Miron Lorente who began this afternoon's heats on pole position with Green in 15th position in the standings and starting his first heat in fifth position.

Green, who qualified in 15th position overall, made steady progress in his first qualifying heats of the weekend, with a steady gain of places that he needs to cruise through the final round. However, a retirement in his second heat plunged him down the intermediate classification and will be looking to recover tomorrow to finish the campaign strongly.

Miron Lorente kept Stan Ratajski and then Zack Zhaoqi Zhu at bay behind him to claim double heat wins and complete a perfect day of results. Many Nuvolini, meanwhile, held sixth position in his heat and didn't pick up the places needed to gain on Will Green in the standings.

Elsewhere, Alex Molota picked up ten places in his first heat after a tough qualifying earlier in the day, Mason Robertson surged five places to take an impressive heat win this evening and Jarlath Sayer was one of the biggest gainers of the day as he picked up 12 places in the final junior heat of the day

Junior standings after Friday's qualifying heats

6. Daniel Miron Lorente (ESP, Fusion) – 100 points
7. Gioele Girardello (ITA, Parolin) – 100 points
8. Stan Ratajski (FRA, Ricky Flynn) – 88 points
9. Xavier Lazaro (POR, Parolin) - 84 points
10. Mason Robertson (GBR, KR) – 84 points

View Friday's results

Academy Senior

Academy Trophy frontrunners Lapper, Kurg and Planeta were among the first group out on track to set their qualifying times, with Albie Lapper fastest of the bunch on a 52.217-second lap. Planeta, Carr and Kurg all finished marginally adrift of his time.

With the standings so tight heading into the final round, current leader Lapper needed provisional pole to protect his advantage, but with round-one polesitter and race winner Alexis Genolet still to run in the second group, he couldn't afford to relax.

Genolet duly went quickest, though his hold on provisional pole lasted barely a second before Michal Zajac of Poland produced a blistering 51.795 to snatch the final pole position of the Academy Senior season.

Lapper, Genolet and Planeta, the top three in the current Trophy standings, all qualified inside the top four, meaning any of them could still emerge as 2026 Academy Trophy Senior champion when the season concludes here on Sunday afternoon.

Top 5 after Qualifying Practice

1. Michal Zajac (POL)
2. Albert Lapper (GBR)
3. Alexis Genolet (SUI)
4. Filip Planeta (CZE)
5. Ioan Tudor Jercan (ROU)

View Friday's results

Action resumes from the Åsum Ring tomorrow morning as Qualifying Heats continue from 10:00 CEST. All of the racing is avaliable to watch LIVE and FREE on the FIA Karting YouTube channel.