The first 2026 meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council was held yesterday, 26 March, via video conference. The meeting was also the first of the World Motor Sport Council’s new composition following the re-election of FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem during the 2025 FIA General Assemblies held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
The following is a summary of karting decisions taken at yesteday’s World Motor Sport Council meeting:
Streamlined 2026 FIA Karting Arrive and Drive Structure Announced
An updated calendar has been confirmed for the 2026 FIA Karting Arrive and Drive championships to further increase the accessibility of the format and offer more opportunities for young drivers to compete on the global stage.
Brazil has been confirmed as the host of the South American Arrive and Drive Championship which will take place as a single round at the Kartódromo Internacional de Imperatriz over 2-4 October 2026, subject to circuit homologation.
World Council also approved streamlining the 2026 Arrive and Drive European Championship which will now be held as a single round event at the Autodrom Slomczyn in Poland from 17-19 July. Updates to the Sporting Regulations were approved to reflect this format update.
To further expand the accessibility of the Arrive and Drive format, the World Council also approved a proposal for competitors to pay their entry fee for the Asia Pacific Championship in three instalments. Whilst Arrive and Drive offers a more affordable route for young drivers to participate internationally, this increased flexibility reflects the unique three-round structure of the Asia-Pacific Championship. Entries will open on 1 April for the 2026 FIA Karting Arrive and Drive Asia-Pacific Championship.
The three Arrive and Drive Continental Championships in 2026 serve as qualifying championships for the end-of-season Arrive and Drive World Cup. The material for the 2026 FIA Karting Arrive and Drive World Cup has been confirmed by a decision of World Council in December 2025 to designate OTK Group as single kart supplier, the same supplier as for the 2025 FIA Karting Arrive and Drive World Cup in Malaysia.
Akbar Ebrahim, FIA Karting Commission President, said:
“We launched Arrive and Drive last year to offer more drivers across the world the platform to begin their climb up the motor sport pyramid and this refreshed calendar will strengthen that pathway. Hosting the South American Arrive and Drive Championship in Brazil will certainly be one of the highlights of the 2026 season and a clear statement of how we’re making FIA Karting more globally accessible and inclusive.”
Rear wheel protection device
Ahead of the expanded deployment of the Anti-Launch device this year from experimental introduction in 2025 to an homologated product as from 2026, refinements to the technical regulations have been approved by World Council.
The Anti-Launch device was first developed as a fully ‘fixed’ attachment to the chassis without any movement and initially mandated in Academy Trophy and Arrive and Drive competitions. Successful track testing and constructive collaboration with teams and suppliers has informed a modification to the regulations to safely allow a maximum of 4mm of vertical movement.
The purpose of these refinements is to allow competitors and teams additional flexibility in the rear of the chassis as part of their setup tuning. Accordingly, the maximum ground clearance has also been raised for both Group 2 and Group 3 karts from 60mm to 80mm and it is a requirement for the mounting system that connects the device to the chassis to be specified on the Homologation Form.
Finally, the minimum total mass of the rear wheel cover has been increased by 50g to 700g for Group 2 and 600g for Group 3 (Mini category) karts where the device is now homologated and recommended in national competitions.
The Anti-Launch device will be mandatory in all FIA Karting competitions, as well as in all international events using CIK-FIA homologated engines (thus OK, OK-J, OK-N and KZ) from April 1; it will then become mandatory in all competitions entered on the International Sporting Calendar from January 2027.
Safety Device Approved by FIA to Support Drivers with Disabilities
World Council has today approved the first karting seat with roll hoop attachment to facilitate drivers with disabilities to compete in karting events. The seat has been approved for use in karting races aligned to the FIA Karting Guidelines for Drivers with Disabilities document and homologated according to FIA Standard 8873-2018.
Following approval from World Council today, the fiberglass high seat features an innovative lamination developed by Vita Carbon for enhanced impact resistance. Designed with an integrated roll hoop, the seat provides additional attachment points for competitors who require safety belt anchoring to support torso stability.
The development of the device was led by FIA Disability & Accessibility Commission member and disability driver Fabio Visentin and Vita Carbon, who worked with the support of the FIA Safety Department to design and manufacture the seat with roll hoop which has recently been homologated by the FIA.
Fabio Visentin, Member of the FIA Disability & Accessibility Commission, said:
“The development and testing of this new roll hoop represent a significant step forward for the safety of karters with disabilities. Ensuring that every driver can compete with the highest protection standards is our top priority. Our goal was to create a product that was not only safe and rigorously tested but also high-performing, ensuring it does not interfere with the chassis’ flexibility. Karters with disabilities now have access to a product that has all these features, and I want to thank Vita Carbon for the development and the FIA for their support in this project.”
Nuno Costa, FIA Safety Director, said:
“Safety should complement accessibility and we’ve been proud to work on this project with Fabio to raise safety standards for karting drivers with disabilities. The karting high seat is a simple but important innovation that facilitates drivers to safety compete and I hope it will provide every karting driver with disabilities with greater confidence and independence.”
