Tight battles and TM dominance at Genk in the opening KZ FIA European Round

The FIA Karting season opener for the gearbox categories provided high-level racing at Genk, with packed grandstands adding to the atmosphere around the Belgian circuit. Experience, physical intensity and technical quality from both KZ and KZ2 drivers produced competitive races from start to finish.
In KZ, aggressive defending and decisive overtaking highlighted the level of competition among the many European and World Champions on the 2026 grid. The final was ultimately shaped by contact between CRG teammates Malheiro Suñe and Gustafsson in the closing laps. Adrian Malheiro Suñe eventually secured both the race victory and the first win of the 2026 KZ European Championship season.

KZ2 also delivered a closely contested final, with local driver Elie Goldstein taking victory by just half a second in front of his home crowd. The result carried additional significance considering Elie is the grandson of François Goldstein, who held the record for the most CIK-FIA World Karting titles for many years thanks to five championships won between 1969 and 1975. With only four points separating the top three drivers in the standings, the KZ2 title fight remains completely open heading into the next round in Sarno.

KZ
The final Super Heat of the weekend slightly reshuffled the order, although Gustafsson managed to protect his 21-point advantage in the standings. The Swedish driver held the lead at the start while Albanese defended from the attacks of Stan Pex, who later moved into second place both in the heat and in the intermediate classification.
In the closing stages of the Super Heat, Pex was unable to seriously challenge Gustafsson, allowing the Swede to secure pole position for the final ahead of Pex and Albanese.
Further back, Van Walstijn recovered more than ten positions in the opening laps and closed in on the leading group. However, contact with Palomba forced the reigning World Champion into retirement, continuing a difficult start to his European Championship campaign.

Despite receiving a five-second penalty for a jump start in the Super Heat, Gustafsson retained the lead in the classification and pole position for the final. At the start of the race, however, the Swede struggled off the line and Stan Pex immediately took advantage to move into the lead. Gustafsson dropped to third, with Malheiro Suñe slotting into second between himself and the race leader. Behind them, Hiltbrand remained close and ready to capitalise on any opportunity.

By lap three, Malheiro Suñe had overtaken Pex to take the lead as the pace of the race steadily increased. Starting from 23rd, Van Walstijn recovered nine places during the opening laps and eventually finished 11th, a solid comeback although still below expectations. Emilien Denner also produced a strong recovery drive, climbing from 14th on the grid to sixth place.

After an intense opening phase, the race settled around mid-distance, with Malheiro Suñe leading by roughly half a second over Pex and Gustafsson. On lap 14 of 23, Gustafsson passed Pex for second position, bringing Denner and Hiltbrand back into contention for the podium places.
With renewed momentum, Gustafsson began preparing an attack on teammate Malheiro Suñe, carefully managing both pace and tyres while waiting for the right opportunity. At the same time, Denner and Pex were also closing back in on the leaders.

 

By the penultimate lap, the top four drivers were separated by only a few metres. Gustafsson launched his decisive attack on Malheiro Suñe, who defended the position. Contact between the two sent the Swedish driver into a spin and forced him into retirement, while Malheiro Suñe continued on to take the chequered flag.
Behind him, Denner and Pex crossed the line within one second of the winner, with Denner producing an impressive 12-place recovery drive to finish second on the road. However, a front fairing penalty after the race dropped him out of the podium positions, promoting Danilo Albanese to third.
Hiltbrand, who had been part of the fight at the front through the middle stages of the race, retired following an incident, while Spirgel endured a difficult final before eventually finishing 16th.

Adrian Malheiro Suñe, CRG Racing Team, said: “It was a difficult 26 laps. On the final lap I had a little contact with my teammate, but he didn’t leave me space and there wasn’t much I could do. I like Sarno and I think I can be competitive there as well.”

 

When the lights went out for the final, Lehouck and Schleimer both aimed for the inside line into the opening corner, but Schleimer’s attempt to gain an immediate advantage did not work out as Morgatto, Goldstein and Tani all moved into the leading positions. Blin’s final, meanwhile, was compromised early after a poor start, undoing much of the strong work he had produced throughout the weekend after beginning the day at the top of the standings. Supported by the home crowd, Goldstein completed lap two with one of the standout overtaking moves of the weekend, moving into second position and rapidly closing on Lehouck while a tightly packed group formed behind them.
Starting fifth, Goldstein then made his decisive move exiting turn one, taking the lead and immediately beginning to build a small gap over the chasing drivers, confirming his strong pace around the Belgian circuit.

 

 

Lehouck’s difficulties continued shortly afterwards as Morgatto and Tani also overtook him by using Goldstein’s slipstream.
Fellow French drivers Girardet and Broggio also struggled during the opening stages, losing positions to Macia and Civico Espona, who both showed strong pace in the warm conditions at Genk. KZ2 newcomer James Anagnostiadis also impressed initially, gaining seven positions in his first FIA Karting gearbox final. However, a five-second penalty for causing a collision dropped him to 23rd in the final classification and 21st in the championship standings.
By lap 15 of 23, Lehouck still led the group fighting behind the leading trio, who had already built a gap of around five seconds. Schleimer and Macia continued chasing Tani, who remained secure in third place. Macia eventually overtook both Schleimer and Lehouck to move into fourth and begin pursuing the leaders despite a significant gap still to recover.

Once clear of his direct rivals, Macia left Schleimer involved in a battle for sixth place with several other drivers. The German managed to hold position and later found enough pace to close back in on Lehouck in the fight for fifth. In the closing laps, Goldstein carefully managed his half-second advantage over Morgatto to secure victory in front of the home crowd after an intense and highly competitive final. Goldstein leaves Genk as championship leader, although the gaps between the leading drivers remain extremely close. Following a weekend filled with changing scenarios and unpredictable races, the next round at Sarno is set to remain wide open.

Elie Goldstein, TBKart, said: “This victory means a lot to me. It was one of the toughest races of my life and it has special value because my family was here supporting me today. I tried to attack early and create a gap, but it felt like doing qualifying laps for 23 consecutive laps. I would like to thank TBKart for the equipment and for the work we have been doing together for the past three years.”