The 2026 Rotax MAX Challenge Winter Cup marked the official start of the European Rotax Karting season at KartCenter Campillos. The CIK/FIA-homologated circuit once again proved to be a true benchmark, with a demanding layout combining long straights, technical sections and a wide racing surface that rewarded precision, consistency and racecraft.

PREMA Racing is thrilled to announce that David Cosma Cristofor will be part of the team's lineup for the 2026 UAE4 Series. The 16-year-old Romanian racer made his F4 debut last year, collecting multiple overall points finishes and rookie podiums in the Italian Formula 4 Championship.

BRP-Rotax is pleased to announce that the Rotax Racing Club International Finals and the Rotax Racing Club Team Trophy will take place at Silverstone (UK) in 2026. The RRC International Finals are scheduled for 29–30 May 2026, followed by the RRC Team Trophy on 31 May 2026.

Munich. The Road to DTM youth development program will be realigned within the German Kart Championship (DKM) for the 2026 season. Going forward, the program will be fully anchored in the OK-N category. As a result, the champion of this class will receive the entry fee for the BMW M2 Cup or ADAC GT4 Germany in the following season, providing a clear opportunity to take the next step toward professional motorsport.

The 2026 International Karting season has already begun. Next week, with the first tests at the Muro Leccese track, engines will officially fire up for a new and exciting season of racing. The CRG colours will once again be represented across every category by the CRG Racing Team, the racing squad which — in the company’s 40th anniversary year — aims to further enrich its prestigious palmarès, which currently boasts 27 World titles and 25 FIA World Cups.

The season starts on January 21 - 25 with the opener of the WSK Super Master Series, which will be preceded by the Collective Test on January 16-17-18.
 

WSK Promotion announces a new partnership with ITAKAshop, a leading e-commerce platform and industry benchmark, specialized in karting equipment, accessories and spare parts.

Prefinals and Finals marked the closing day of the 2026 Rotax MAX Challenge Winter Cup at KartCenter Campillos. After the difficult weather conditions of the previous days, the sun returned, delivering spectacular racing across all categories and allowing the first European Rotax champions of the 2026 season to be crowned.

The Rotax racing season in Europe officially kicks off once again at KartCenter Campillos, as the Rotax MAX Challenge Winter Cup returns to its traditional home for the 2026 edition. Scheduled from January 6 to January 10, the event will see five categories in action: Mini MAX, Junior MAX, Senior MAX, DD2 and DD2 Masters.

The qualifying heats of the 2026 Rotax MAX Challenge Winter Cup came to a close today at KartCenter Campillos under dramatically changed weather conditions. After yesterday’s stable sunshine, drivers faced wind, cold temperatures and rain, reshuffling the competitive order across all categories.

Atlassian Williams F1 Team is pleased to welcome reigning Italian F4 Champion Kean Nakamura-Berta to the Williams F1 Team Driver Academy.

Karting graduate Jay Leverton has been confirmed as the first driver in Idola Motorsport’s line-up for the 2026 GB4 Championship.

The 2026 Rotax MAX Challenge Winter Cup continued today at KartCenter Campillos with the completion of the Qualifying Practices and the first Qualifying Heats, providing the first clear competitive indications across all categories.

Within CRG’s headquarters, the guidelines for the first full season that the Lenovo Kalì Kart team will face in 2026 have been outlined. The official Kalì Kart team (a brand owned by CRG), which has been racing under the prestigious colors of its title sponsor Lenovo since last September, looks to 2026 with high ambitions, bringing to the track a broad and structured project focused particularly on youth categories.

The Rotax racing season in Europe officially kicks off once again at KartCenter Campillos, as the Rotax MAX Challenge Winter Cup returns to its traditional home for the 2026 edition. Scheduled from January 6 to January 10, the event will see five categories in action: Mini MAX, Junior MAX, Senior MAX, DD2 and DD2 Masters.
 

The Rotax racing season in Europe officially kicks off once again at KartCenter Campillos, as the Rotax MAX Challenge Winter Cup returns to its traditional home for the 2026 edition. Scheduled from January 6 to January 10, the event will see five categories in action: Mini MAX, Junior MAX, Senior MAX, DD2 and DD2 Masters.

The 2026 Rotax MAX Challenge Winter Cup has officially taken shape at KartCenter Campillos, with 135 drivers successfully verified for the opening event of the new season.

Ahead of the start of the next racing season, their sports division presents the 28 drivers who will take part in the main international competitions in the MINI, OKJ-N, OKJ, OK, and KZ/KZ2 categories.

Al Ain Raceway is proud to officially announce the launch of the RMC MENA Trophy 2026, an exciting new multi-round championship created to elevate karting competition across the Middle East and provide a direct, prestigious pathway to the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals. Designed to reward performance, consistency, and strategy, the championship will feature three point-scoring events, with the best two results counting toward the final standings, ensuring intense competition throughout.

The MP Group has further strengthened its position in the Northern European karting scene by acquiring Chrono Karting, the leading organiser in Dutch karting with the Dutch 2-stroke (Dutch Rotax Max Challenge) and 4-stroke championships among its portfolio. With the acquisition of Chrono Karting, the MP Group aims to enable Dutch karting talent to make the transition to motor racing in a structured and professionally supervised manner.

Fortec Motorsports has confirmed that Franciszek Cegielski will join the team in 2026, making his car racing debut in the GB4 Championship.

The international karting community was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of six-time World Champion Mike Wilson, who died on 5 January 2026 at the age of 66. With his passing, kartsport has lost not only one of its most accomplished competitors but also a true ambassador whose influence shaped karting for more than four decades.

The Rotax racing season in Europe officially kicks off once again at KartCenter Campillos, as the Rotax MAX Challenge Winter Cup returns to its traditional home for the 2026 edition. A venue that has become synonymous with the Winter Cup over the years, Campillos will host the first major showdown of the new season.

Happy Holidays, KartXpress wishes you a healthy and successful 2026

Multi-category race winner Nikita Bedrin will join VRD Racing for a GB3 Championship title challenge in 2026. The 19-year-old has won races in every category he has contested, including Formula 4, Formula Regional Middle, and the FIA F3 Championship.

The opening of the 2026 WSK Promotion season at La Conca with the Official Collective Tests on January 16-18 will be followed by the first round of the WSK Super Master Series from January 21 to 25.

The Italian group will play a leading role in the newly created FIA Karting Arrive & Drive European Championship and FIA Karting Arrive & Drive Asian-Pacific Championship over the next two years, supplying Kosmic Kart chassis and Vortex Engines

Patricio Gonzalez will continue to race in GB3 next year, staying with the VRD Racing squad, having contested the second half of the 2025 season with the Anglo-American team. The 17-year-old Mexican driver was able to quickly get up to speed in GB3, earning a best qualifying result of seventh at Donington Park, and a best race result of sixth at the same venue.

In 2025, in only their second year in the USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire, Zanella Racing and Leonardo Escorpioni achieved both of the goals that they’d set out for themselves in the off-season. Escorpioni won six races in the USF Juniors series enroute to the Driver Championship, while he and his teammates worked together to bring Zanella Racing the prestigious Team Championship as well. After celebrating with Zanella in 2025, the 15-year-old will remain with the Orlando, FL based operation for 2026, bringing his $250,000 scholarship with him as the team expands into the USF2000 series.