Two new names have been etched into the FIA Karting history books this afternoon as Polish drivers Kacper Turoboyski and Maksymilian Piatek conquered the Autodrom Słomczyn, masterfully racing to home victory to conclude the inaugural Arrive and Drive European Championship and in so doing securing their places at the 2026 Arrive and Drive World Cup in Malaysia later this year.
Both finals delivered an exhilarating racing spectacle, with overtakes and defensive showcases on display across the Junior and Senior fields. Only one retirement across the two finals this afternoon reflected positively on the promising racing talent displayed from the 42 drivers starting their early careers, each of them learning from every lap as they take these early steps on the motor sport pyramid.
Technical parity is a cornerstone of the FIA Arrive and Drive concept, and in addition to the equal equipment provided to every driver, each of them also had their engine swapped at least once over the weekend to ensure fairness and a level playing field across the grid. This keeps the focus on driver talent and potential alone. 88 per cent of the drivers this weekend also stated that the Arrive and Drive format makes it easier for them to compete as the more affordable and globally accessible format opens international karting to more young drivers.
Individual driver entries remain open for the Arrive and Drive Asia-Pacific Championship which will be held in Macau over 11-13 September 2026. All details are available on fiakarting.com
Senior
The first qualifying heat contained some of the best racing of the weekend. An epic battle for the lead ensued between Turoboyski, who defended against Adrian Potepa behind, and a storming Lukasz Jezierski, who climbed from seventh on the grid to challenge for the heat win. Jezierski ultimately crossed the line just a tenth of a second shy of Turoboyski.
The final heat was less fruitful for Turoboyski, who fell down the order as Yam Pinto led from Maayan Patel in the opening stages. Turoboyski’s recovery to fifth position was just enough, however, to secure prime position for the afternoon Final, as Potepa’s challenge for the lead left him just one point away from securing the lead of the intermediate classification. Turoboyski therefore locked in his pole position ahead of Potepa for a Polish front row final race. Behind them Lukasz Jezierski and Bernardo Pinto lined up as the lights went out for the final Senior race.
Final
Colin Wazny’s start was unrivalled as we got racing, sweeping past his fellow Polish drivers and into the lead of the race by the end of lap one. Behind him Turoboyski also lost out to Jezierski and quickly had to defend against an in-form Yam Pinto, who sensed the podium places were up for grabs.
By lap four, Turoboyski mounted a comeback past his two fellow Polish drivers and was into the race lead once more, with Potepa falling back to sixth before rebounding back into the top four as he fought for a position in the lead pack.
Jezierski held behind Turoboyski for a couple of laps, carefully planning his method of attack before closing in and launching an attempt for the lead, which was initially resisted by Jezierski defending well to stay ahead with the European Championship title on the line. As the lap unfolded, Turoboyski upped the pressure further and positioned his kart perfectly in the exit of the final corner to glide past Jezierski and back into the lead.
In the tussle for the title, Potepa retook second position, returning the starting three karts to their original positions as Yam Pinto closed in further to within 0.3 seconds on the top three Polish drivers.
In the midfield, a closely fought battle ensued between the karts of Maayan Patel, Hildebranski and Nikodem Osiecki, and on lap 14 Patel valiantly overtook Hildebranski and challenged Osiecki for ninth place. Patel’s advantage was, however, short lived, as he couldn’t resist the pressure from Landström who came into play during some of the most exhilarating track action of the day.
As the end of the race neared the tension rose at the front, with Yam Pinto moving up into the podium positions, benefitting from attempts by Potepa and Jezierski for the lead that shuffled the four karts’ positions. The close field brought Lieke van Boekel into play – he had already gained six places and added a seventh as he overtook Pinto and raced to put a Dutch flag on the podium and dash the hopes of a full Polish podium lockout.
As the final lap approached, Turoboyski held his nerve at the front to push ahead, with Jezierski forced to defend against Potepa behind. As van Boekel’s hopes of a podium waned, Turoboyski swept through the final corner knowing he had done enough to secure the first ever FIA Karting Arrive and Drive European Champion title, supported by Jezierski and Potepa behind to complete a triple-Polish podium in front of a home crowd.
Further down the field Indian driver Kiaan Shah gained seven positions, the most across the final, to claim a top ten finish he can be proud of.
Kacper Turoboyski, 2026 FIA Karting Arrive and Drive European Senior Champion, said:
“It feels very good, I just want to say thank you to my friends, my team, mechanics and everybody who is here for me – I just couldn’t imagine a better weekend. Of course I will win in Malaysia for the World Cup – see you there!”
Top 5 in the Senior FIA Karting Arrive and Drive European Championship
1. Kacper Turoboyski (POL)
2. Lukasz Jezierski (POL)
3. Adrian Potepa (POL)
4. Yam Pinto (ISR)
5. Colin Wazny (POL)
Junior
Heats
Blazej Kostrzewa maintained his advantage over the Qualifying Heats this morning to cement his position at the front of the grid for the Final. John Foley Jr had a more challenging morning, dropping seven places in the first session to ninth position and receiving a three-second time penalty in the last heat leaving him in eighth position on the final grid after his performance indicated far more potential yesterday.
An entertaining and tense final lap battle for the final Qualifying Heat saw a charge by Andie Stewart to unseat Kostrzewa from the lead before her brother Johnston Stewart entered the frame and signalled the start of a half lap sibling rivalry for the race win. As the pack condensed behind it was Maksymilian Piatek who navigated his way through the leading pack to take the chequered flag, with Andie Stewart settling for third and her brother ending the heat in seventh.
Final
A Polish front row of Kostrzewa and Piatek lined up on the grid this afternoon, with Andie Stewart and Rui Martins behind hoping to prevent a home victory over the 17 laps of the Final.
Kostrzewa got a lightning start off the line and pulled away from Piatek initially, but his Polish compatriot quickly closed in to prevent a gap from building out front. Martins and Stewart swapped position behind before Martins made his move to put him into second place, splitting the Polish drivers.
Martins continued to close in on Kostrzewa, bringing the gap down to 0.4 seconds by lap six. He was ready to make his move on the hometown hopeful, with Piatek maintaining position behind and waiting to capitalise on any lost momentum ahead. As lap ten approached, Martins closed in on the rear bumper of Kostrzewa and breezed past Kostrzewa, allowing Piatek through also.
Martins ultimately held the lead for just a few seconds before Piatek pounced and allowed his countryman Kostrzewa to join in his slipstream to reinstate the Polish 1-2 at the front of the pack.
Foley Jr meanwhile made up places after starting in eighth, reaching fourth in the early stages of the race, whilst Johnston Stewart also made up ground to get into the top ten by the midpoint of the race, watching from behind as his sister worked to stay in contention at the front of the pack.
As the race neared its conclusion, Andie Stewart pulled away from the mid pack and to within 1.5 seconds of the podium positions, leaving just a few laps to put herself in contention, ultimately falling just short in fourth at the flag. Just ahead, Rui Martins found some last-minute pace to secure his spot on the third step of the podium.
When the last lap board came out, the leading two drivers could sense home victory as the crowd cheered them around the 1.2km track. Ultimately just half a second separated Piatek from Kostrzewa to complete a dominant weekend for the Polish contingent of drivers who topped both podiums this afternoon.
Maksymilian Piatek, 2026 FIA Karting Arrive and Drive European Junior Champion, said:
“In the Final I had so much pace, I needed to manage the tyres and I’m feeling really good. It’s my first win in Juniors, so it’s very nice! The races this weekend have been amazing, the other drivers had some much pace, and it was great to fight with them.”
Top 5 in the Junior FIA Karting Arrive and Drive European Championship
1. Maksymilian Piatek (POL)
2. Blazej Kostrzewa (POL)
3. Rui Martins (POR)
4. Andie Stewart (GBR)
5. Vydūnas Piktys (LTU)
Arrive and Drive returns in September for the Asia-Pacific Championship held in Macau as young drivers from across the region compete to secure their spots in the World Cup, joining the best place finishers from the South American Championship to be held in Brazil in October.
FIA Karting returns later this month for the fourth and final round of the Mondokart.com FIA Karting European Championship in Kristianstad, Sweden. All rounds of FIA Karting are available to watch LIVE and FREE on the FIA Karting YouTube channel.
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