John Han has secured the 2026 FIA Karting Academy Trophy Junior title after a tense final race, which was ultimately won by Max Sulin of Finland. The Hong Kong driver’s points advantage heading into the final round allowed him to comfortably cruise to the chequered flag in second place and still secure the title with a 51-point gap to runner-up Domenico Coco.
Han’s victory is the second FIA title he has collected in as many months, after he won the 2026 FIA Karting Arrive and Drive Junior title in September.
The heats: Han withstands the pressure from Coco
Han arrived on the final day with a 38-point lead over Domenico Coco, who needed a perfect run on Sunday as well as a mishap from Han to stand a realistic chance of closing the gap and winning the Academy title on home soil.
Sensing the pressure that Coco was placing on him this weekend, Han strived to put himself in a strong position for the final, immediately passing Gorlero Pizarro in the final heat to take the win and bring himself into second place in the provisional standings, awaiting Coco’s attempt.
Coco carried his strong run of form this weekend into the Super Heats and quickly closed in on Grignet and into the heat lead on the second lap. The Italian driver’s attempt to pull away was hampered by a dual challenge for the lead from Sulin and Shimbashi, who were both in contention for top-five grid positions for the final.
A last-lap sprint to the line ended with Shimbashi taking the chequered flag ahead of Sulin, with Coco in third. Coco’s third-place finish in the heat left him level on points with both Gorlero Pizarro and Han in the standings, leaving qualifying practice to determine the final grids.
Gorlero Pizarro would therefore take pole for the final alongside Han on the front row, ahead of Coco and Max Sulin on the second row. Han’s final-heat victory was ultimately crucial to hand him the advantage heading into the final race, where he could seal the deal and win the 2026 Academy Junior title.
The final: Sulin wins, Han takes the title
Off the line Han delivered one of the starts of the weekend to sweep past Gorlero Pizarro in the opening corner and into firm control of both the final and the title race. In the opening laps, the biggest drama came from Zoltan Coigny, first-round winner and third in the standings, who dramatically retired on lap four to leave only Coco as Han’s rival for the title this year.
Max Sulin occupied second position, keeping Coco at bay from the lead, but as the gap to Han significantly reduced, the Hong Kong driver lost the lead of the race to the Finnish driver, leaving him unprotected from Coco behind.
Coco, however, in turn faced the pace of earlier heat winner Shimbashi, who continued to gain places and entered the podium spots by the halfway point of the race at the expense of the home hope.
It was the contest for the top ten places, however, which attracted the most on-track action. Juozaitis unleashed impressive race pace along with Kevin Pentell, but the charge of the day belonged to William Nielsen, who banked an impressive 18 overtakes to ultimately finish in ninth place.
As the race neared its conclusion, Han sat comfortably in second place, knowing a clean end to the race would be more than enough to secure the title. Keeping to within a second of Sulin, Han began to sense danger as Shimbashi approached from behind, with the Hong Kong driver keen to end his incredible weekend on a high, triggering his defensive end to the race.
As the chequered flag fell, it was a first Academy Trophy race win for Max Sulin, capping off an incredible weekend for the Finnish driver, who finished half a second clear of John Han, who kept Shimbashi at bay to occupy the second spot of the podium. Han’s second-place finish was, in the end, more than enough to win the 2026 FIA Karting Academy Trophy, ending the season with an impressive 51-point gap to his nearest rival, Coco.
Han: “A very amazing 2026”
John Han, 2026 FIA Karting Academy Trophy Junior winner, said: “It’s a very amazing 2026 for me, having three podiums in three races and managing to win the championship!”
Top 3 in the final round of the 2026 FIA Karting Academy Trophy Junior
- Max Sulin (FIN)
- John Han (HKG)
- Takeru Shimbashi (JPN)
Top 3 in the 2026 FIA Karting Academy Trophy Junior
- John Han (HKG): 208 points
- Domenico Coco (ITA): 157 points
- Takeru Shimbashi (JPN): 109 points
FIA Karting next returns for the 2026 Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship (OK, Junior) in La Conca, Italy, over 5-8 November 2026.
Source: FIA Karting.