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Valencia FIA Euro weekend marked by comebacks for Birelart drivers

OK Senior – Ivannikov fighting for the top ten, Sala among the fastest
After the previous Champions Of The Future weekend, the FIA Karting round in Valencia was also affected by the weather. After qualifying, drivers had to deal with heavy rain on Saturday and tough racing conditions.
Already competitive in Friday’s heats, Ivannikov confirmed his speed with strong recovery drives toward the top five positions and no mistakes on the wet track. He kept the same pace in the Super Heat, gaining five positions, and later finished eleventh in the Senior Final after another comeback drive while battling near the front. Sala also had a solid weekend and was once again among the most competitive drivers during the heats, matching his teammate’s pace. Unfortunately, the CL Racing Team driver was involved in an incident shortly after the start of the Super Heat and had to start the final from the back of the grid. Even so, his consistent pace and speed allowed him to recover sixteen positions, one of the best comeback performances of the OK Senior weekend.

Mazzola also ended the weekend positively, gaining nine positions in Sunday’s final and showing good pace in both dry and wet conditions. Sharp and Rousseau were unlucky during Saturday’s program but both were competitive in the Super Heats, with Sharp gaining eighteen positions and Rousseau sixteen, confirming their improving competitiveness.

OK Junior – Morales and Legenkyi battling hard
It was also a demanding weekend in Spain for the Birelart Junior drivers. Racing at his home round, Morales secured another competitive qualifying result before focusing on the heats. He finished in the top ten on Friday and again in the final heat on Saturday. Race incidents and wet track conditions slowed the Spanish driver in the other heats. A unlucky retirement in the Super Heat did not take away from an encouraging and improving weekend overall.
A very similar story for Legenkyi, who fought back into the top ten during the heats and showed strong pace until the end. It was not the weekend Rea and Julia Angelard had hoped for, but another important step in their development in the Junior class. Rea’s wet-weather heats and Angelard’s two clean comeback drives on Saturday were especially noteworthy.

The Birelart Junior and Senior season will now pause for a few weeks before the start of the FIA Karting European Championship for KZ and KZ2, scheduled next week at the Genk circuit in Belgium from May 22 to 24, 2026.

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