Hoogendoorn, Venant win FIA Karting world titles at La Conca

Dean Hoogendoorn and Antoine Sylva Venant were crowned FIA Karting World Champions in the OK and OK Junior categories on Sunday, November 8, 2026, at the La Conca circuit in southern Italy. The event drew 194 drivers for the two titles that sit at the top of the junior karting ladder, the same ladder the FIA says once carried a young Lando Norris toward Formula 1.

How the two finals played out

In OK, the category for drivers aged 15 and above, Williams junior academy member Dean Hoogendoorn broke clear from a three wide fight for second on the opening lap of the 24 lap final. He crossed the line in 19 minutes 4.435 seconds, 0.649 seconds clear of MP Motorsport's Henry Domain. Tony Kart's Ilie Tristan Crisan took third after contact between other frontrunners cleared his path to the podium.

In OK Junior, France's Antoine Sylva Venant took the lead at the turn 15 hairpin on lap nine of the 20 lap final and had pulled 1.923 seconds clear by lap 11. He won by 1.481 seconds over Daniel Miron Lorente, with Miguel Manzano more than four seconds behind in third after a scrappy midfield fight.

Why the race left Bahrain for Italy

The 2026 World Championship was originally due in Bahrain. FIA Karting moved it to La Conca in July, citing what it called logistical challenges linked to the ongoing geopolitical situation in the Gulf. The body thanked the Bahrain Motor Federation for its cooperation during the switch, which still needed sign off from the FIA's World Motor Sport Council before La Conca, already a European Championship venue earlier in the year, could host it.

What this means for India's karting ladder

No Indian driver was on the 194 strong entry list at La Conca. The FIA Karting World Championship sits above the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals, the event Indian national champions reach each year through the MECO FMSCI Indian National Karting Championship, and well above the domestic series where most young Indian karters begin. Getting to La Conca would mean an Indian driver first signing with a European OK team and racing a full CIK-FIA season, a jump in cost and travel that has not happened yet for an Indian karter. For now, the Indian story to follow stays one level down, at the Rotax Grand Finals running in Portugal this week.

Sources

• History to be Written as 2026 FIA Karting World Championships Decided in Italy
• Williams junior Hoogendoorn wins world championship in senior karting
• Antoine Sylva Venant crowned world champion in junior kart class
• Worlds Relocated