With every point in the classification critical to seize any advantage in the pursuit of World Championship glory, any misstep or loss of positions can prove calamitous to the hopes of every driver competing this weekend. Throughout the day, the toughest test of the year for the young drivers unfolded and as the dust settled on the qualifying phase this evening, the shape of tomorrow's finals has begun to form.

In OK, Schaufler was on course for a perfect run through the qualifying phase until a disastrous final heat saw the DPK driver cross the line in 15th. Bruno Blanco inherited control of the standings following his dominant run of form today, including a morning heat win where he pulled away from the pack and looked in a league of his own.

But, in a major twist for the championship, Noah Baglin was this afternoon disqualified from the competition, ending his hopes of securing back-to-back world championship titles and widening the fight for the crown.

In Junior, after losing positions in another qualifying heat today, Miron lost his prime position and ends the day fifth in the standings. Two wins and a third-place finish was enough for Perico to inherit prime position as he looks to claim two FIA titles in as many months tomorrow after winning the FIA Karting KZ2 World Cup in Viterbo last month.

Tomorrow's Super Heats offer the remaining 84 drivers in each category a last opportunity to improve their grid position for the final races in the afternoon, where two FIA World Champions will be crowned. All of tomorrow's racing action is available to watch LIVE and FREE on the FIA Karting YouTube account.

OK

Polesitter Niklas Schaufler successfully defended his advantage in the first of his heats yesterday, but he began today facing a stern test from Valerio Viapiana and Viktor Gustafsson.

Viapiana began his charge early in the heat to claim second position but before he could take the pressure to Schaufler, Nicolo Cuman refused to let Viapiana have a free pass and retook the position. Schaufler kept half a second to Cuman throughout and comfortably claimed his second heat win as a super heat pole increasingly looked within the grasp of the DPK driver.

The morning, however, belonged to Bruno Blanco who was in a league of his own during the second OK heat, pulling away from the pack with great ease to build a gap of almost three seconds when he crossed the line. Behind him, Henry Domain was the nearest challenger but stood no chance of hunting down the Kart Republic driver who added his name into the mix of favourites to claim the championship tomorrow.

The bulk of the final points available this morning went the way of Dean Hoogendoorn who swept to the inside line as soon as the lights went out handing the 2025 European Champion a pathway into the lead which he held throughout the heat. Drummond, who started in first position, succumbed to pressure from Kamenik and then Crisan which relegated the Fusion racer into fourth position across the line.

The blockbuster heat of the day got underway this afternoon with Schaufler and Baglin on the front row, offering a glimpse of what could unfold in tomorrow's World Championship final. A win would give Schaufler a perfect run of heat victories and secure him Super Heat pole position.

In a replication of the morning heats, Baglin again suffered a poor start to drop two positions whilst Viapiana quickly entered the mix. Entering the second lap Cuman made successfully made a move on the inside of Schaufler for the lead. As Schaufler's pace appeared to drop, a train of karts passed him pushing a leading contender for the title down into eighth. Schaufler's slip down the order showed no sign of stopping as the driver who was on course for a perfect points haul crossed the line in 17th position and ends the day in sixth place in the standings.

Cuman's time leading the classification was short-lived, however, as morning victor Bruno Blanco lost the lead of the race to Dean Hoogendoorn, which launched the Dutch driver to the top of the standings. Blanco's recovery to second position in the heat drew him level with Hoogendoorn in the standings and they ended the day equal on points in the classification, with Blanco's superior timed qualifying performance handing him pole in super heat A tomorrow morning.

Calleja almost completed a perfect day of heat wins this afternoon after overtaking Herman and Allemann, which he held until the penultimate lap when an engine failure ended the Parolin driver's heat early. His fourth-place finish yesterday afternoon leaves him with work to do if he is to bounce back into contention during tomorrow's final.

The last OK heat win of the day went the way of Bosco Arias to bring him into the top 10 while Drummond missed a final opportunity to gain ground ahead of the super heats. 2024 and 2025 World Championship podium finisher Joe Turney this morning finished in 11th position but his gain of 12 positions in his afternoon heat leaves him in 22nd position in the classification.

Finally, after qualifying in 65th yesterday, Gustafsson attempted to ignite a charge through the pack, but his boldness nearly came at the expense of his very place in the heat as the KZ World Champion's move almost ended in disaster. He ended his morning heat in 13th place with a gain of four positions, and his afternoon gain of five places brought him up into 42nd place in the classification.

Following Baglin's disqualification from the competition the field of potential champions has widened heading into the all-important day of finals tomorrow with Blanco and Hoogendoorn leading the charge.

Top 5 in the Intermediate Classification:

1. Bruno Blanco (ITA, KR) 144 points
2. Dean Hoogendoorn (NED, Parolin) 144 points
3. Gilles Herman (BEL, Tony Kart) 138 points
4. Nicolo Cuman (ITA, Parolin) 130 points
5. Niklas Schaufler (AUT, DPK) 124 points

View OK Intermediate Classification

Junior

In his first heat yesterday Junior polesitter Daniel Miron lost out to Oleksandr Legenkyi, but he looked buoyant and determined this morning as he renewed his bid to hold on to his top spot. Mason Robertson started to chase down Miron in the opening stages of the heat but soon Emerson MacAndrew-Uren joined the hunt with a gain of three places to swoop past Robertson. However, despite the Brit's best efforts he couldn't dent the morning dominance of Miron who took his first heat win of the weekend.

The biggest drama of the morning heats came from Gioele Girardello, who lunged on Venant, caught him by surprise and took the lead of the second heat, with Manzano following him through. Venant quickly hit back to reclaim a position from Manzano, for which he later received a five-second penalty, but Girardello had already built a comfortable cushion at the front and protected it to the chequered flag.

In the third junior heat of the morning, Max Felde navigated his way through the pack to take a heat win at the expense of both Babicek and Perico. The Ward Racing driver made his decisive move on the penultimate lap to complete an impressive gain of five positions over some of the favourites to win the junior title this weekend.

Rounding off the morning, Zack Zhu led a talented group of Frasnelli, Green and Molota onto track but Zhu resisted the mounting pressure led by Will Green behind. Green closed the gap to within a third of a second as Molota overtook Truchot to join the hunt for the heat win. The lap counter ultimately ran out before Green could challenge Zhu, handing the French driver the heat win and joint on points with Miron Lorente by the mid-point of the day.

Miron's final attempt to convert pole to Super Heat pole this afternoon unravelled for the young driver, who lost the leading position firstly to Legenkyi and then to Niccolò Perico who led the heat from the third lap to the finish. Dropping to fifth left Miron exposed in the classification for the rest of the afternoon, and he eventually settled in fifth. Perico's win, however, saw him overtake Miron in the standings and become the junior driver to beat this weekend.

Venant's afternoon win brought him to within seven points of Perico, following a heat Girardello also impressed in to gain positions and cross the line in third. They end the day in third and fourth position respectively whilst Babicek's first heat win of the weekend left him in seventh position in the standings.

Priam Bruno's final junior heat win of the day by two hundredths of a second over Will Green lifted him to 23rd after the qualifying phase whilst Green ends the day in 10th position in the intermediate classification, a gain of just two positions since timed qualifying. A fourth-place finish to end the day, meanwhile, was enough for Zhu to secure third place in the standings and a super heat pole position tomorrow morning.

Frasnelli had a nightmarish day of heats. He dropped back in the order in his first heat, then Lazaro made an overtaking move on the Tony Kart driver that ended in a collision, ending the heat for both drivers. Frasnelli's afternoon heat started in a similar fashion, and while trying to recover positions, he went off track and retired by the midpoint, leaving his qualification hopes in peril.

Perico's assured day has lifted him to the top of the junior order but with a talented and hungry field behind him.

Top 5 in the Intermediate Classification:

1. Niccolò Perico (ITA, KR) 141 points
2. Zack Zhu (FRA, VictoryLane) 135 points
3. Antoine Sylva Venant (BEL, VDK ) 134 points
4. Gioele Girardello (ITA, Parolin) 132 points
5. Daniel Miron Lorente (ESP, MP) 130 points

View Junior Intermediate Classification

Action resumes at the La Conca circuit tomorrow morning from 10:40 CET for the final heats and super heats before the World Championship final races tomorrow afternoon.