Four Australians are entered for the opening round of the FIA European Karting Championship in Spain this weekend.
All four now have considerable experience racing at this level and all four are driving with highly successful teams. Three of them finished in the top ten at this circuit at the recent Champions Of The Future Euro Series round.
The Australians
OK-Junior
- William Calleja (Forza Racing, Exprit/TM)
- Sebastian Eskandari-Marandi (Tony Kart Racing Team, Tony Kart/Vortex)
OK
- James Anagnostiadis (Prema Racing Srl, KR/IAME)
- Lewis Francis (KR Motorsport, KR/IAME)
The event takes place at the Campillos circuit in southern Spain on April 3 to 6. There are 98 drivers entered in OK and 89 in OK-Junior. All up, 43 nationalities are represented from five continents.
The Campillos circuit is a demanding, gently undulating 1,580-metre layout that offers drivers a significant challenge, with many bends and high average speeds, in excess of 95 km/h in OK.
As per last year, Maxxis is the control tyre (‘Option’ tyre for OK-J, ‘Prime’ for OK) and control fuel handled by Brava Fuel (Panta Spain).
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To follow the racing:
- full results will be posted on the FIA Karting website HERE
- live stream on Saturday and Sunday on YouTube HERE
from FIA Karting
OK: Who will succeed Joe Turney?
In 2024, the experienced Joe Turney (GBR) became FIA Karting European Champion in OK for the first time in his career. The 23-year-old has beaten all of motorsport’s greatest hopefuls and will be looking to retain his title. He will face strong competition from the last two OK-Junior World Champions, Dries Van Langendonck (BEL) and Kenzo Craigie (GBR). Thibaut Ramaekers (BEL), who came 3rd in the previous European Championship for OK, will have no shortage of ambition, as will other drivers with experience of the category such as Lewis Wherrell (GBR), Jindrich Pesl (CZE), Zac Drummond (GBR), Markas Silkunas (LTU) and Dmitry Matveev.
Among the younger drivers coming straight from the OK-Junior category, Christian Costoya (ESP), Rocco Coronel (NLD), James Anagnostiadis (AUS) and Iacopo Martinese (ITA) have already finished on the final podium of a World or European Championship. A number of women are taking part, including Luna Fluxa Cross (ESP), who has frequently featured at international level in recent years. Bernardo Bernoldi and Ella Hakkinen have names that resonate with F1 fans. They will be looking to stand out from the crowd.
OK-Junior: A very open category
Many of the most promising young drivers in 2024 have moved up a rung, but several of last season’s revelations have every chance of fighting for victory in 2025. Noah Baglin (GBR), the unsuccessful hero of the World Championship in the UK, is likely to be among the contenders for the Championship, along with Dean Hoogendoorn (NLD), Ilie Crisan (CDN), Bosco Arias (ESP), Iskender Zulfikari (TUR) and William Calleja (AUS).
Henry Domain (GBR), Michael McGaughy (USA), as well as the Walz brothers (USA), Devin and Drew, showed that they had learned the unique aspects of the category perfectly during the preparation races at the start of the season. The top two finishers in the 2024 FIA Karting Academy Trophy, Gilles Herman (BEL) and Dan Allemann (SUI), will be at the start with the aim of building on their podium finishes!
Provisional programme
Friday 4th April
09:00 – 11:25: Free Practice
11:45 – 13:16: Qualifying Practice
14:50 – 18:05: Qualifying Heats
Saturday 5th April
09:00 – 10:13: Warm-up
10:20 – 13:35: Continuation of Qualifying Heats
14:40 – 17:55: End of Qualifying Heats
Sunday 6th April
09:00 – 10:05: Warm-up
10:10 – 11:45: Super Heats
13:00 – 14:00: Presentation of OK-Junior drivers, Final and podium
14:10 – 15:10: Presentation of OK drivers, Final and podium
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