Round 1 Recap: History Made in the California Sun
Since 2020, Champions of the Future, organized by RGMMC, has established itself as a leader in international karting, seeing talented racers like Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team driver Kimi Antonelli join its grids on their way to single-seater stardom. In 2026, the series made history by partnering with U.S. karting leader K1 to present the Champions of the Future America Series (COTF America). The series aims to provide racers with an upscale, more refined experience. For a seamless transition from U.S. karting to the world stage, COTF America introduces European regulations and will open doors to exciting partnerships and opportunities that no other series can offer.
The first of nine rounds was held on an unseasonably warm and beautiful mid-winter weekend at K1 Circuit in Winchester, California, from January 30 to February 1. Over 110 drivers took part: 14 drivers in the combined Mini U10 & Mini classes, 43 drivers in KA100 Junior, 36 drivers in KA100 Senior, eight drivers in KA100 Heritage, and 10 drivers in X30 Pro.
Members of the international Champions of the Future team were present to aid the American staff in providing a near-flawless launch of the series for the multinational grid, which included drivers from the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Uruguay.
Champions of the Future America has partnered with Kart Chaser to provide professional broadcasts of the entire season, complete with live commentary and interviews.
The first round took place on K1 Circuit’s Pro Track layout, the 1-mile-long signature track designed by Rocky Moran Jr. Tire manufacturer Presa by Maxxis provided all the tires for the event with professionalism.
The opening of the 2026 season celebrated the wins of six great American drivers: Carson Bishop (Mini U10), Forrest Blair (Mini), Braydon Wagner (KA100 Junior), Johnie Stamps (KA100 Senior), Austin Elliot (KA100 Heritage), and Jake Drew (X30 Pro).
MINI U10: Bishop Dominates Early
Carson Bishop (Bishop Motorsports) cemented his name as one to watch this season with a dominating performance, winning all three heats, the Super Heat, pole position, and the final race. That left the other two contenders, Sebastian Matyjazcyk (Pickle Rick Racing) and Vallon Jin (Position 1), to squabble over the runner-up position. The two drivers each had two runner-up finishes leading up to the final, but Matyjazcyk took runner-up honors in the final race.
MINI: Blair Wins With Dramatic Final-Lap Pass
With a win in the heats, Super Heat, and pole position, Maddox Carlucci (Nash Motorsportz) entered the final as a strong competitor for victory. But with Forrest Blair (GFC) and Benjamin Tavi (Nash Motorsportz) also posting victories in the heats, a three-way battle seemed imminent. So it came as some surprise to see Asher Biezonsky (Competition Speed) and Kendall West (Position One Motorsports)—two drivers who hit misfortune during the heats—leading the pack at the start of Lap 4 after some superb overtaking.
On the final lap, a small mistake saw Biezonsky run wide at the exit of the Turn 4 hairpin. Distracted by his ensuing wheel-to-wheel battle with West for the lead, Biezonsky opened the inside door to third-place Blair heading into the esses, allowing the GFC driver to perform an incredible double overtake and take victory. West finished strong as runner-up, and Carlucci—who was able to pass Biezonsky with two turns to go—salvaged the final podium position. Carlucci’s teammate Tavi finished fourth, and Biezonsky fifth. Emiliano Hernandez (Position One Motorsport) crossed the line sixth, Canada’s Sebastian Ochi (KartNick) seventh, Ishaan Jeevadeepan (Precision Driving Concepts) eighth, Canadian William Wark (Wark Racing) ninth, and Aaron Seneviratne (Position One Motorsport) rounded out the top 10.
KA100 Junior: Wagner Beats Teammate in Drag Race to Finish
Braydon Wagner (Formula Works) launched his Champions of the Future America title campaign in commanding fashion, sweeping all three heats he entered along with the Super Heat to earn pole position for the final. Sebastian Hauser (HRT) endured a frustrating opening heat, finishing sixth after leading for several laps, but the Winchester local rebounded strongly by winning each of his remaining heats and the Super Heat heading into the final. Wes Witt (Formula Works) also added his name to the winners’ list with a single heat victory.
Hauser carried that momentum into the start of the 14-lap final, getting the jump on Wagner to take the early lead. Behind them, Nixon Ellsworth (Formula Works) made an impressive opening move, climbing from seventh on the grid into the top four. An early stack-up on Lap 3 allowed Wagner, Hauser, Ellsworth, and Troy Ferguson (KartNick) to break clear of the field, establishing a gap of roughly three seconds that held for nearly the entire race.
On Lap 12, Ferguson slowed while leading the group into Turn 8, setting up a three-way fight for the podium between Wagner, Ellsworth, and Hauser. The battle came to a head in the final corner of the last lap, when Wagner forced leader Ellsworth to defend the inside line. Wagner carried the wider entry and a stronger exit, winning a dramatic drag race to the finish line by just two-hundredths of a second to claim the first KA100 Junior victory of the season. Hauser narrowly held off a late charge from Witt to secure the final podium position.
A five-second penalty assessed to Witt promoted Bronson Koustas (KartNick) to fourth, a remarkable gain of nine positions from his starting spot. Keegan Ellsworth (Formula Works) completed the top five, followed by Troy Ferguson (KartNick) in sixth, Mason Moses (Precision Works) in seventh, JohnJohn McLellan (Nash Motorsportz) in eighth, Alejandro Gonzalez (HRT) in ninth, with Witt rounding out the top ten.
KA100 Senior - Stamps Surges to Victory Despite Setbacks
After the first two heats of KA100 Senior, Johnie Stamps (Formula Works) looked to be a serious contender for pole position before misfortune struck in his final heat and Super Heat. Enter Stephen Eisert (Speedsense), whose consistent results in the heats—culminating in a win in the final heat and Super Heat—meant he started from pole position.
Drama struck early as Eisert went too deep on the brakes heading into the final turn on the first lap, dropping from first to fifth and leaving Archer Eversman (Axis Kartsport), Shea Aldrich (Precision Works), and Luis Perez (Mike Manning Karting) in the top three. It took Stamps less than half the race to climb back to the lead after starting sixth, making smart, decisive moves.
The second half of the race saw Stamps, Eversman, Aldrich, Perez, Jackson Menchu (Calvo Driver Development), and Matthew Cagle (Formula Works) jockeying for position, with Stamps consistently leading the field. When the white flag flew, Aldrich made his move, going side-by-side with Stamps through Turns 1 and 2 before completing the pass for the lead by Rocky Moran Corner. But the lead wouldn’t last long, as Stamps made a committed move down the inside at the next turn to retake first.
This brought Eversman back into the mix, and while attempting a move on Aldrich in Turn 9, Cagle pushed past both to try to claim second. The elbows-out move created an opening on the inside of Turn 10 for Perez and Izaac Gutierrez (Formula Works) to push through into second and third, with Gutierrez making up nine positions from his starting spot.
This allowed Stamps to cruise to the win with a gap of nearly a second over Perez and Gutierrez. Just three-tenths of a second separated Perez and Gutierrez, Menchu in fourth, Eversman in fifth, Ayden Aquino ( in sixth, Cagle in seventh—a gain of 11 positions—and Aldrich in eighth. Ethan Williams (Formula Works) made up four positions to finish ninth, and Connor Carpenter (Formula Works) gained five spots to finish tenth.
KA100 Heritage: Elliot Wins Tightly Contested Battle With Daley
From the first heat, Austin Elliot (Speedsense) became one to watch with a win, two second-place finishes, and a Super Heat victory to claim pole position. Paul Bonilla (Phil Giebler Racing) ensured Elliot didn’t have it easy, winning two heats and finishing second in the Super Heat to line up on the front row.
The final race delivered drama immediately, as Bonilla—running on the outside—was collected by Craig Vasquez (Mike Manning Karting) in the first corner and punted off the track, ending his day. Shane Hawkins (Lakeside Karting) was also caught up in the chaos. This allowed Elliot to remain out front with Joshua Daley (Nash Motorsportz) and Tony Gomez (Lakeside Karting) in second and third.
Brett Harrelson (Nash Motorsportz) made an early move to take third from Gomez, but the race soon became a two-horse battle between Elliot and Daley. On Lap 10, Daley made his move in Turn 1 to take the lead, but a mistake two laps later at the same corner allowed Elliot to reclaim first, where he remained to the finish despite Daley’s relentless pressure. With a few laps to go, it became clear Harrelson was battling engine issues, and on the final lap, Gomez was able to pass him for the final podium position. Hawkins would bring it home in fifth position after the first corner incident, with Ed Quinn (Geibler) in sixth. Bonilla failed to finish due to the contact from Lap 1 and Vasquez was disqualified for that incident.
X30 Pro: Drew Defeats Doan in Nail-Biting Classic
Though he won only one heat, Jake Drew (Formula Works) kept things consistent through the heats and Super Heat to earn pole position for the final. Erik Doan (West Coast Motorsports) scored two heat wins to start alongside him, while Keagan Kaminski (Formula Works) claimed a heat win to line up third. Sergei Karamseili (Formula Works) earned the Qualifying Heat pole after a strong qualifying performance and started fourth.
The opening lap ran line-astern, but the action intensified on Lap 2 when Doan passed Drew for the lead in Turn 1. Drew responded just three corners later at Rocky Moran Corner, retaking the lead heading into the horseshoe. By Lap 3, Kaminski found himself fourth behind Doan and teammate Karamseili.
Later, Mexico’s Gerardo Peralta (2B Racing Motorsports) made contact with Kaminski during a late-braking move, sending both drivers off the track and into the barriers, ending their podium hopes. At half distance, Drew and Doan’s battle drew Karamseili into contention, and on the final turn, Doan dove inside Drew, forcing both drivers wide and allowing Karamseili to slip into the lead.
Drew quickly rejoined and resumed his chase. With five laps to go, the trio regrouped, with Drew and Doan reclaiming the top two spots. The final lap kept fans on edge, with Drew forcing Doan wide onto the astroturf on the top straight to maintain the lead. In Turn 9, Karamseili challenged Doan for second, and the two made contact but recovered to follow Drew to the checkered flag. Doan finished second, with Karamseili third.
Santiago Hermida (Precision Works) and Lugo Luis (2B Racing Motorsports) both gained five positions to finish fourth and fifth. KartNick teammates Kurt Hanasch and Chris Tokunaga finished sixth and seventh. Kaminski and Peralta finished eighth and ninth after their earlier incident, while Uruguay’s Mathias Coito (Precision Works) rounded out the top 10 following contact with Tokunaga on Lap 2.
Round 2 Later This Month
Round 2 of Champions of the Future America sees the series return to K1 Circuit, competing on the Pro Track layout with chicanes and “D’s” added from February 28 to March 1, with open practice on February 27.