Ben Sulayem: Bahrain’s new karting world championship another boost for Mena motorsport

Dubai: Mohammed Ben Sulayem, President of the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), says Bahrain’s staging of the 2026 FIA Karting World Championship will be another boost for motorsport development in the Mena region.

Ten years after hosting its third ‘World Championship’, the Bahrain International Kart Circuit will organise the Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championships in the OK and OK-Junior categories from November 4-7 next year.

As was the case in 2016, while the young hopefuls battle it out on the karting track, competitors in the WEC (FIA World Endurance Championship) will be on the motor racing circuit on the same dates to close their 2026 campaign with an 8-hour race.

Ben Sulayem said: “Bahrain has played such an important part in the growth of Mena motorsport since it first welcomed Formula One 21 years ago, and this continues with the return of the Karting World Championship, which is so important for the future development of motorsport in the region.”

Meanwhile, Ben Sulayem has hailed the new FIA Karting Arrive and Drive World Cup as another significant milestone for the future of grassroots motorsport.

The debut of this historic event last week saw local crowds filling the grandstands to witness world-class karting from drivers aiming to prove themselves around the 21 corners of the LYL International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur.

Troy Ferguson from the United States and Zach Tucker from New Zealand took home the junior and senior cups respectively. They, along with the second and third place finishers, now go through to the FIA Karting Shootout to be held in Valencia, Spain from December 2-7.

Opening the event in Malaysia, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem had told the competitors via a video message to “Learn from every lap and give it your all. May this experience be the beginning of a long and successful journey in motorsport”.

Of the UAE drivers taking part, Zain Elhommossany, who won in the recent MENA Karting Championship Nations Cup, was unable to catch the front pack in the senior category final and finished fifth, while Aaryan Singh took sixth place in the junior category.

The debut of the FIA Karting Arrive and Drive World Cup forms a central part of the FIA’s new Global Karting Plan, supporting the expansion of grassroots motorsport to reduce financial and technological barriers associated with karting and increase global participation in motorsport.

Ben Sulayem, said: “The success of the debut FIA Karting Arrive and Drive World Cup reflects the global growth of karting over the past year and the talented drivers that race in every corner of the world. Congratulations to the drivers on their victories.

Designed to unite the FIA Karting champions and winners in one event, next month’s shootout forms a cornerstone of the FIA’s Global Karting Plan.