The illustrious list of Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Champions has today (20 September) welcomed a returning name as Viktor Gustafsson from CRG Racing Team, delivered a dominant, assured and commanding performance in Le Mans to take the race win, the World Champion title and lift the trophy in front of a buzzing crowd who had assembled to enjoy a final full of entertaining racing from the best gearbox karters in the world.
Other than a first lap overtake by Orlov which he quickly recovered from, Gustafsson never faced serious opposition in the final and looked comfortable as he steadily built a gap to Emilien Denner that reached over four seconds when he crossed the line.
Gustafsson’s name will be etched upon the World Championship trophy once again after he previously secured the title in 2022 and joined Max Verstappen, Jarno Trulli and Fabrizio Giovanardi who have all also won the most prestigious award in gearbox karting. Viktor will join FIA World Champions from the FIA’s five other world championship in Shanghai later this year for the FIA Awards when he will formally be awarded the world championship trophy in front of a global audience.
The FIA Karting World Cup (KZ2) was won by Markus Kajak who emerged victorious after a Formula K front-row lockout for the final produced a blockbuster race with his teammate and Friday’s polesitter Lehouck chasing him down for the World Cup victory. Kajak’s victory topped off an ultra-competitive weekend of racing in the KZ2 category with multiple drivers in contention until the very end of the weekend.
Finally, the FIA Karting International Super Cup (KZ2 Masters) went the way of Anthony Abbasse who becomes the first driver to win the International Super Cup multiple times. Abbasse’s victory came after a dramatic retirement by Davide Fore in the final race who had challenged for the lead earlier in the race.
Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship (KZ)
Super Heats
As Gustafsson, Orlov, Vasile and Kremers lined up on the front two rows of the KZ Super Heat, 15 laps laid before them to determine the grids for the final race which will decide the 2026 World Champion. Gustafsson’s ten-point lead over Orlov in the standings left an opportunity for a switch in the order at the front of grids and as the lights went out the hunger for any grid advantage was clear.
Despite the pressure Gustafsson held on to the lead throughout the heat to secure pole position for the final with Orlov and Vasile also maintaining their second and third positions in the standings. Olin Galli’s loss of four places gifted Emilien Denner fourth place on the final grid whilst Van Walstijn quickly made-up places and into the top three, igniting a strong defence of his 2025 world champion title after qualifying in eighth on Friday. He started the final in sixth position.
Spirgel and Leuillet were the biggest gainers, making up eight and eleven places respectively whilst Stan Pex, Giuseppe Palomba and Adrian Malheiro Suñe all retired from the super heat in the opening laps, relegating them down the final starting grids.
Final
Off the blocks, Gustafsson almost immediately faced a challenge from Orlov into corner two who successfully took over as race leader before a misstep from Orlov allowed a train of karts behind to take advantage and cruise past him, pushing the Sodi driver back into seventh.
Emilien Denner emerged as the beneficiary from the pack of karts behind Gustafsson to move up into second position with Vasile in third keeping Orlov at bay after he rapidly recovered into fourth.
After the first lap drama, Gustafsson went on to deliver a calm and assured drive when the race settled, building a healthy gap to Denner who in turn faced pressure behind from Vasile. The train of karts sitting between second and fifth provided the entertainment of the race as a World Championship podium place was on offer.
Orlov made the first move on Vasile and unleashed a burst of pace in the closing six laps to pile the pressure on Vasile who used every inch of the track to defend and keep Orlov at bay. As the battle for Orlov’s third position ensured, Danilo Albanese quickly emerged as a top five contender with a crucial overtake on Bertuca. Albanese chased Orlov down who was held up behind Vasile but as the final laps played out Albanese’s surge of five places ultimately stalled as Orlov maintained fourth.
The last few laps were owned by Gustafsson who grew his lead to four seconds and looked in a league of his own today, converting pole to victory as the grandstands leapt to their feet to recognise his newly resecured status as a World Champion.
Behind Gustafsson, Denner maintained his second place with a margin of just three tenths as Orlov could only close the gap to a tenth and unable to secure a podium, one year after he won the FIA Karting World Cup in KZ2. Whilst Orlov couldn’t achieve the World Championship title in his first try, his pace this weekend indicates he has all the potential to become a future champion.
Elsewhere during the race, Senna Van Walstijn couldn’t mount a defence of his title after having to retire following a collision with Pedro Hiltbrand, who was ultimately disqualified from the race. Kremers, Spirgel and Palomba also couldn’t reach the chequered flag. Lorenzo Camplese, meanwhile, achieved the greatest gain of positions during the World Championship final entering the top ten after starting in 23rd.
Viktor Gustafsson, 2026 FIA Karting World Champion (KZ), CRG Racing Team, said:
“It was a bit calmer this time, I didn’t have anyone on my rear bumper and I can finally breathe! We were really good this week and Iast week in Franciacorta testing I said this is the chassis I will win the World Championship in so apparently I was right!”
Top 3 in the Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship (KZ)
1) Viktor Gustafsson (SWE, CRG Racing Team)
2) Emilien Denner (FRA, Formula K SRP Factory Team)
3) Daniel Vasile (ROU, Maranello Kart Srl)
FIA Karting World Cup (KZ2)
Super Heats
Lehouck’s quest to convert his pole position from Friday’s qualifying into pole for this afternoon’s final proved fruitful after an assured cruise to the chequered flag in his super heat avoiding any challenge or obstacle in his path, cementing himself as a favourite for the World Cup victory later on.
Schaufler faced a nightmare start to his super heat as he dropped behind a leading train and into sixth position, denting his lightning performance yesterday which brought him to the top of the standings. As part of Schaufler’s climb back to fourth, a move on Civico Espona handed the Austrian a 5 second time penalty, relegating him to 7th position for the final.
Oliver Städtler’s position gain into second, at the expense of Schaufler, brought him up into third in the standings and a second-row start. Matej Preuss’ third place finish in the first super heat completed a top three of Formula K drivers signalling what could be a dream weekend for the French based team.
Maximilian Schleimer and Jayden Thien, both early favourites this weekend, retired in the super heat leaving them with considerable ground to gain to secure silverware this weekend.
The second super heat was less eventful as Markus Kajak and Kimi Tani converted their front row starts into a first and second place finish. Kajak’s win put him up alongside his teammate Lehouck on the front row for the final while Tani’s second place super heat finish confirmed him as the best-placed driver in KZ2 outside of the Formula K team after the super heats.
Final
Kajak got off to a lighting start from second position when we got underway, steaming past his teammate Lehouck and quickly building a considerable gap out front.
Städtler and Schaufler, meanwhile, faced a nightmare opening lap to lose 11 places and 8 places respectively before both of their prospects worsened as Schaufler retired following contact and Städtler dropped even further and ultimately crossed the line in 17th.
In the leading positions, Lehouck began to face pressure behind from Girardet who had climbed three spaces during the start of the race. Lehouck responded by cutting the gap to less than half a second in the lead as a battle for the lead amongst the Formula K drivers unfolded, with the CRG of Girardet waiting just one second behind them to pick up any spoils.
As the final few laps approached, Lehouck kept the gap to within a second of Kajak, planning his eventual move. Each Formula K driver seemingly responded to the others move, the gap between them widening and shortening continuously as anticipation whether any move clean would be clean between teammates would materialise.
Ultimately, a challenge didn’t unfold and in the last lap Markus Kajak held his teammate Lehouck at bay by almost two seconds to take the race win and the FIA Karting World Cup title, his first title in FIA Karting.
Girardet, occupying the other podium position, narrowly held off reigning European Champion Tani behind in the final lap by a margin less than three tenths of a second. Two French drivers therefore took to the podium, capping off a memorable and successful weekend for the Formula K team.
Elsewhere in the final, Elie Goldstein made up for his disappointing day of heats to cross the line in sixth position and Noah Wolfe, who started the weekend so positively before only just qualifying for the final after retirements yesterday, made up 17 places from his 32nd place start, the biggest gainer of the KZ2 Final.
Markus Kajak, 2026 FIA Karting World Cup Winner (KZ2), Formula K, said:
“I started the race, I won it at the start and I was scared to look back because I was afraid, I would make some mistake. I tried to keep as calm as relaxed as possible. It’s a really big achievement; the team has been working so so hard over the last year so I’m glad we can finally make it happen.”
Top 3 in the 2026 FIA Karting World Cup (KZ2)
1) Markus Kajak (EST, Formula K SRP Factory Team)
2) Arthur Lehouck (FRA, Formula K SRP Factory Team)
3) Alois Girardet (FRA, CRG Racing Team)
International Super Cup – KZ2 Masters
Super Heats
The first of the two KZ2 Masters super heats included a overtake for the lead as Daniel Bray’s move over Anthony Abbasse put him in the lead of both the race and the classification, putting him on course for pole position in this afternoon’s final.
However, Abbasse kept close on Bray’s tail and sensing the importance of retaking his lead in the race and standings, the French driver regained control and held off a last lap surge from Bray to confirm pole position for the final. Bray later received a five-second penalty for a start infringement, resulting in a fifth-place start for the New Zealand driver.
The battle to confirm the remaining front row position played out during the second super heat. Lombardo held his advantage despite mounting pressure from Davide Fore who was trying to recover ground lost yesterday since his pole position on Friday. Despite staying on Lombardo’s tail for the duration of the heat he was unable to make a successful move, confirming a second-place start for Lombardo and third for Fore in the final.
Thomas Mich was the big gainer from the super heats, gaining nine places to cross the line in third during the second super heat, lifting him up the order and rewarding him with a 11th place start as we got racing for the final.
Final
When the lights went out, Abbasse started well off the line but came under immediate pressure from Davide Fore who couldn’t have had a better start and used his decades of experience in karting to challenge for the lead and International Super Cup win.
Staying within three tenths of Abbasse, Fore gradually built up his attacking play, waiting to make his move which gradually brought Lombardo and Bray into play behind after Abbasse and Fore had originally broken away together.
Before Fore could make his move on the leader, his Italian compatriot Lombardo found a window to strike and passed Fore, recovering his second place, before restarting his pursuit on Abbasse who had been benefitting from the Italian battle behind.
Before Fore could bounce back, a mechanical failure dramatically struck, forcing his retirement from the race and ending his hopes of regaining the International Super Cup following his win in 2023.
Daniel Bray inherited Fore’s third place position in the race but couldn’t enjoy a moment of comfort in the podium positions as Thomas Mich crept up to his rear bumper following an impressive a climb of seven places through the field in the opening half of the race.
By lap 20 of 22, Bray went wide in the final corner, opening a gap for Mich to emerge through the main straight and into third position which he held for just a few moments until a mechanical issue ended his race on the final lap, denying the French driver a top three finish and re-promoting Daniel Bray to the final step of the podium,
Abbasse resisted any last-minute challenge from reigning International Super Cup winner Lombardo and crossed the line to become the first driver to win the Cup multiple times. The French national anthem therefore rang out across the Le Mans International Karting circuit as Abbasse lifted his winner’s trophy to the cheers of the crowd, a popular home race winner and undoubtedly a master of the KZ2 Masters category.
Anthony Abbasse, 2026 FIA Karting International Super Cup winner, CPB Sport, said:
“I arrived to the final with the best setup I could have had this weekend. I want to thank Sodikart and CPB Sport. It was the perfect go kart I have since a long time. I’m at home with my family here, my friends and also all the people from the Sodikart factory.. it’s amazing, it’s lke Ferrari in Monza!”
Top 3 in the 2026 FIA Karting International Super Cup (KZ2 Masters)
1) Anthony Abbasse (FRA, CPB Sport)
2) Angelo Lombardo (ITA, Maranello Kart Srl)
3) Daniel Bray (NZL, Modena Kart Racing Team)
Next up for FIA Karting is the FIA Karting World Cup in Viterbo, Italy which will feature the OK-N, OK-NJ categories and finale of the 2026 FIA Karting Academy Trophy Junior season.
All of the action is available to watch LIVE and FREE on the FIA Karting YouTube channel.
