World Championship dress rehearsal at Le Mans: Senna Van Walstijn and Markus Kajak on top, with many potential contenders

Organised by Victory Concept, the event took place at Le Mans on August 29-30, in preparation for the World Championship to be held at the French circuit from September 17-20. Le Mans last hosted the sport's premier event in 2022. In typical Sarthe conditions, alternating sunshine, clouds and rain affected much of the programme. As in a national-level event, the racing itself was condensed into just Saturday and Sunday, although almost all the teams had spent most of the week at the French circuit carrying out their pre-World Championship testing.

In KZ, the podium already had a World Championship feel to it, with reigning World Champion Senna Van Walstijn (Sodi/TM) taking the top step. The result underlined the strength of the Sodi operation, which looks set to arrive at the World Championship with a competitive package, not least thanks to the home advantage. Orlov also showed strong pace, but a five-second penalty dropped him to third after crossing the finish line in second. Gustafsson (CRG/TM), who won the World Championship here in 2022, finished second, ahead of another former World Champion, Hiltbrand (Birel ART/Iame). Hiltbrand once again confirmed himself as one of the leading title contenders after several editions of the World Championship in which he has been an unlucky protagonist.

 

Overall, the fight for the title at the end of September remains wide open. There is also the feeling that the teams may still have a few cards to play, and that not everything they have to offer was necessarily on display during this first taste of World Championship competition. In the Final, it was unfortunate to see Palomba, the 2024 World Champion, and Vasile ruled out of the fight for the leading positions following incidents.

 

In KZ2, the picture remains equally open. In this World Championship dress rehearsal, however, Markus Kajak (IPK/TM) was faultless, highlighting the quality of the work carried out by the IPK racing operation, as also demonstrated by Denner in KZ and Forè in KZ Master. Goldstein (TB Kart/TM), who looked particularly comfortable as track conditions changed, once again confirmed himself as a potential title contender. His victory in the European Round at Genk therefore appears to have been anything but a one-off. More generally, there are at least ten drivers who could realistically be considered title candidates. At Le Mans, Sodi drivers Morgatto and Jayden Thien, along with Civico (Tony Kart/TM) and Tami (Parolin/TM), all showed strong form, although Tami was disqualified from the Final. 

 

Finally, in KZ Master, the renewed battle between Forè (IPK/TM) and Lombardo (Maranello/TM) points towards another chapter of the duel they fought out a year ago at Franciacorta, with Abbasse once again close behind them in third at the finish. Another noteworthy entry was veteran Rubens Barrichello. After competing in numerous Rotax Grand Finals in DD2, the Brazilian has now taken on the challenge of KZ as well. His performance in the wet qualifying session was particularly impressive, with sixth overall among 54 drivers, followed by 11th place in the Final. Not a bad result for a 54-year-old guy...

 

Full results: Apex Timing – GPK Le Mans 2026 results