In KZ, the starting gun was fired for the 32 drivers in contention for the 2026 FIA Karting World Champion title this weekend. In qualifying, a six-minute shootout saw the times tumble and tumble until Viktor Gustafsson nailed the Le Mans Karting International Circuit to put himself ahead this weekend with Maxsim Orlov just behind in second.

In KZ2, a packed entry list of 117 drivers took to the track across four qualifying sessions where Arthur Lehouck came out on top of a strong field, setting his time in the third session. Current European Champion Kimi Tani qualified in eighth position and with a number of strong drivers further back, overtakes galore and a shuffling of the pack may define tomorrow's heats.

In KZ2 Masters, it was Davide Fore who put to together the perfect lap to take pole position moments after Anthony Abbasse had set the time to beat. Rubens Barrichello qualified in 23rd position as the former Formula 1 driver encountered a tough challenge to excel amongst a group of the most experienced karters in the world.

The racing action continues tomorrow morning from 10:00 as the first qualifying heats get underway. The Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship is avaliable to watch LIVE and FREE on the FIA Karting YouTube Channel.

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Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship – KZ

As the green light signalled the start of the sole six-minute session, tension around the track was raised as the first indications of who will be the 2026 World Champion began to emerge.

After the first timed laps were set, Senna Van Walstijn, who is defending his 2025 title set the early fastest time with a 50.168 second lap which showed there was still advantage to be gained from the track.

As the final minute approach, it was Viktor Gustafsson who showed his hand first with a 49.483 second lap almost immediately matched exactly by Emilien Denner to the closest thousand of a second.

As the prospect of a tied time for pole dawned, Gustafsson put together a blistering lap to squeeze an extra 2 tenths out of his time and cross the line with an unmatched time of 49.248 seconds.

The final times to be set saw Maksim Orlov take second position and then David Trefilov in third, pushing Denner out of the top three. Further back, Van Walstijn crossed the line in eighth, Hiltbrand in ninth and Albanese in 11th position. Spirgel sits further down the order in 17th and Adrian Malheiro Suñe, the KZ winner in Genk earlier this year, faced a disastrous qualifying to place in 28th position.

View the KZ Qualifying Results

FIA Karting World Cup – KZ2

In KZ2, a formidable group of drivers comprised the first group to hit the track this afternoon during qualifying practice. Elie Goldstein, who finished 5th in the European Championship this year and won the Genk round of the KZ2 European Championship, set the early time to beat with a strong 49.896 second lap time. Behind him Kimi Tani was just four hundredths of a second shy of him with Filippo Sala and Jindrich Pesl rounding off the top five drivers in the first session.

The second of the four KZ2 groups was led by Noah Wolfe who stole provisional pole position from Goldstein by over two tenths of a second, a rapid time that gave every chance for the British driver to claim prime position for the first heats tomorrow. Markus Kajak and Marek Skirvan set times just short of Wolfe's in the second group of drivers to secure them sixth and 10th positions overall.

Niklas Schaufler's third expedition into the KZ2 category was fruitful for the young Austrian who finished fifth in this year's Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship (OK). He ended the third qualifying group with the second-best time of the session to place him fifth overall.

French driver Arthur Lehouck sensed pole position on home soil and topped the third group to bank a blistering 49.610 second lap, handing him provisional pole and a nerve-wracking wait to see if would stand.

One final group of 29 drivers then stood between Lehouck and pole position as the final qualifying session of the KZ2 category went out on track. Teo Blin, Tom Spirgel, Genis Civico Espona all provided the strongest challenge on paper, but it was Leni Robillot Lagache who emerged on top of the timings with a 29.689 second lap, but short of Lehouck's time, confirming his pole position.

Lehouck's pole is not his first in FIA Karting this year as he claimed the award during the first round of the European Championship earlier this year in Genk. He will however, be hoping for a more assured weekend on home soil this weekend after he only managed a fifth-place finish in the Belgian race with Goldstein ultimately lifting the trophy.

Some favourites for the FIA Karting World Cup faced a challenging qualifying session with Jindrich Pesl qualifying in 20th position, Maximilian Schleimer in 25th position and Blin in 35th, setting up an exciting day of heats tomorrow as drivers bid to make their way through the pack.

View the KZ2 Qualifying Results

International Super Cup – KZ2 Masters

The first of two KZ2 Masters groups saw razor thin margins between the drivers, reflecting the competitiveness of the category reserved for the most experienced karting drivers in the world.

Anthony Abbasse set the early benchmark with a 50.788 second lap, just 0.060 seconds clear of Alessio La Martina. Behind Abbasse seven drivers set lap times within 0.2 seconds of the benchmark set by the French driver, a reflection of the talent within the 2026 KZ2 Masters category.

Reigning International Super Cup winner, Angelo Lombardo could only manage third position in the first group and fourth overall, leaving the Italian with work to do to navigate through the pack this weekend if he is to retain his title.

In the second group, Davide Fore and Rubens Barrichello began their campaigns for a grid advantage in the qualifying heats. In the closing seconds of the session, Fore pulled his lap together to bank a 51.016 second lap to lead the group, but still three tenths of a second behind Abbasse's time set in the first group.

Sensing the track had more to give, Fore's second attempt secured him a 50.627 second time and the pole position for the 2026 FIA Karting International Super Cup. Behind him, Aurelien Rey set a 50.870 second lap and a strong grid advantage whilst Barrichello could only muster a 51.261 second lap, leaving him in 23rd position after qualifying.