Karting championships: where many racing drivers start.

Who runs international karting

Britannica describes karting as racing small, skeleton-frame, rear-engined machines, usually without bodywork, with the driver sitting only inches off the ground. It began in the United States in the 1950s and grew into an international sport centred on Europe. Wikipedia (secondary), citing FIA Karting, records the first kart as the Caretta-West Bend, built in Glendale, California, in August 1956 by Art Ingels and Lou Borelli.

International karting is governed by FIA Karting, long known as the CIK-FIA (Commission Internationale de Karting). Wikipedia (secondary) says the FIA created it in 1962 and that it is based in Geneva. The FIA lists its karting world championships alongside Formula 1, rallying and endurance racing among the FIA world championships. Akbar Ebrahim of India has been president of the FIA Karting Commission since February 2022, when he succeeded Felipe Massa, according to Wikipedia; the FIA's 2025 karting awards page and a Kartcom report from 7 September 2026 both still name him in the role.

The categories

Wikipedia (secondary) lists FIA Karting's international categories as:

• OK: the senior direct-drive class, with no gearbox.
• OK-Junior: the junior version of OK.
• KZ: the top gearbox class.
• KZ2: the second gearbox category.
• FIA Karting Academy Trophy: a series for young drivers, held since 2010.

Drivers need a licence for international events, and the youngest grades are used in karting. The FIA's 2026 Appendix L, which sets international licence rules, says the ITG grade is required for OK-Junior and is for drivers who turned 11 before 1 January of the year they race, while the ITF grade, for non-gearbox OK Senior karting, starts at 13 on the same basis. Both grades also have an upper age limit and other conditions, so check Appendix L itself before applying.

The FIA Karting World Championship

Wikipedia (secondary) says the Karting World Championship was first held in 1964, making it the second-oldest FIA world championship after Formula 1, and that its main classes are OK and KZ. Kartcom's list of world karting champions also starts in 1964. Wikipedia adds that a European Nations' Cup began two years earlier, in 1962.

Recent OK world champions

The 2026 Bahrain venue comes from FIA Karting's calendar as found in October 2026 and was not cross-checked, so check FIA Karting for the final arrangements.

KZ in 2026

The FIA reports that Viktor Gustafsson (CRG) won the 2026 KZ world title at Le Mans on 20 September 2026, his second after 2022, ahead of Emilien Denner and Daniel Vasile. Markus Kajak won the KZ2 World Cup.

Future F1 drivers in the record books

Wikipedia (secondary) names Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris among drivers who began in karting. Two of them were world karting champions:

• Max Verstappen won the CIK-FIA KZ world title in 2013 at Varennes, France, aged 15, according to the FIA.
• Lando Norris became CIK-FIA KF world champion in 2014, according to his Formula 1 profile.

The SKUSA SuperNationals

In the United States, Superkarts! USA runs the SKUSA SuperNationals. Wikipedia (secondary) says it was first held in November 1997 in Las Vegas and is now held at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Superkarts! USA's own site calls its 2025 event "SuperNats 29", which fits a 1997 start.

Wikipedia lists the SuperNationals classes as Pro Shifter, Pro X30, KA100 Senior, Master Shifter, KA100 Master, X30 Junior, KA100 Junior, Mini Swift and Micro Swift. Recent premier-class winners and the 2026 date could not be confirmed from Superkarts! USA for this page, so we do not list them.

How drivers get to this level

Rotax's beginner guide suggests researching local tracks, taking lessons, starting in rental karts, joining a club to race, and buying a kart only once you are committed. In the UK, Motorsport UK says newcomers take the ARKS novice test, a theory paper plus an on-track assessment, to get a race licence, and it lists arrive-and-drive kart racing such as Club 100 as a way to race without owning a kart.

Our karting guide covers the discipline and the classes in more depth. For what to wear, see karting gear and our karting gear guide, and always follow the rules of the club or series you enter.