KA100 Senior podium

The third of nine rounds was held at K1 Circuit in Winchester, California, from March 21 to 22. Participation numbers were high yet again, nearing triple-digit attendance despite the warmer temperatures throughout the weekend, beginning with a 100-degree open practice on Friday.

Members of the international Champions of the Future team were present once again to aid the American staff in providing an exemplary race weekend execution.

The third round was an extra special event for K1 Circuit, as it marked the first time in the track’s history that the race was run on a reverse track layout of the Pro Track with D’s and Tic-Tac-Toe, creating an entirely different challenge for all teams and drivers. Tire manufacturer Presa by Maxxis provided all the tires for the event with professionalism.

The third round of the 2026 season celebrated the maiden wins of six great drivers: Sebastian Matyjaszczyk (Pickle Rick Racing), Axel Tibbs (GFC), Sebastian Hauser (HRT), Keagan Kaminski (Formula Works), Tony Gomez (Lakeside Karting), and Erik Doan (West Coast Motorsports).

MINI U10: Matyjaszczyk Makes Moves, Takes Maiden Win

Mini U10 podium

After losing out on a podium in Round 2 with just four laps to go, Lyon McPhail (Kartnick) came in with a point to prove, becoming the first driver to claim a Qualifying Heat victory (3rd overall in the combined Mini class) before notching another win in the Super Heat, giving him pole position for the Final. It wasn’t clear sailing for back-to-back winner and championship leader Carson Bishop (Bishop Motorsports), but two qualifying heat wins meant he was the only other driver to claim a heat victory leading up to the Final, starting behind McPhail in the combined Mini class.

At the green flag, Carson Bishop rocketed up four positions to claim the class lead and third place overall, while McPhail dropped to ninth overall and second in class on the opening lap, with Dan Duculescu (GFC) right behind him and Lucas Freitas Melo (Sanner Race Engines) close behind. On Lap 5, Sebastian Matyjaszczyk (Pickle Rick Racing) moved up to fourth. On Lap 7, drama struck both Bishop and McPhail: Bishop was out of the race after contact with Mini driver August Stringer (DC Racing), and McPhail dropped behind new leader Duculescu, Matyjaszczyk, and Freitas Melo. A move by Matyjaszczyk put the Polish driver into the lead. On Lap 9, McPhail overtook Freitas Melo to return to the podium. These positions held for the final three laps, as Sebastian Matyjaszczyk took his maiden COTF America win. Duculescu and McPhail raced wheel-to-wheel across the line, with Duculescu edging out McPhail by two hundredths of a second. However, McPhail later received a 5-second technical penalty, dropping him to fourth and giving the final podium position to Freitas Melo. Vallon Jin (Kupgang) finished fifth, Spencer Antle (West Coast Motorsports) sixth, and Carson Bishop seventh. Timothy Borodavchenko was disqualified for being underweight.

Despite a race to forget, Bishop still retains his lead at the top of the championship standings with 271 points, some 33 points ahead of Matyjaszczyk, who sits 52 points ahead of Jin in third.

MINI: Tibbs Recovers To Win on Debut!

Mini podium

Championship leader Forrest Blair (GFC) sat this round out, but with Axel Tibbs taking his place at GFC — even wearing the same Lando Norris helmet — the field could be forgiven for thinking Blair was still out there. After consecutive fifth-place finishes in the first two rounds of the season, Asher Biezonsky (Competition Speed) set the benchmark for the Mini class, sweeping all heats on his way to pole position for the Final.

From the pole, Biezonsky kept the lead and began to pull away early over Maddax Carlucci (Nash Motorsportz). But Carlucci wasn’t going to let the gap stand, closing it down by Lap 3, with Axel Tibbs catching the duo in third after a difficult start. On Lap 9, Tibbs moved up to second past Carlucci. On Lap 10, Tibbs took over the lead with one lap to go. Biezonsky attempted to reclaim the lead but lost his position to Carlucci in the process. Despite Carlucci and Biezonsky on his bumper, Tibbs held on to take his first COTF America win over Carlucci. It was a happy podium all around, as Carlucci took a season-best second-place finish, and Biezonsky scored his first podium of the season.

Mexico’s Matteo Gomez (Position One Motorsports) finished fourth, followed by teammate Kendall West in fifth, Canadian William Wark (Wark Racing) in sixth, Benjamin Tavi (Nash Motorsportz) in seventh, Jason Tucker (Neliton Race Concepts) in eighth, Aaron Seneviratne (Position One Motorsports) in ninth, and Sebastian Ochi (Kartnick) in tenth.

Carlucci’s consistency now moves the young driver into the championship lead with 253 points. West sits only 38 points behind in second with 215 points, and Biezonsky sits in third, just 11 points behind West with 204 points.

KA100 Junior: Third Time’s a Charm for Hauser

KA100 Junior podium

Local Winchester racer Sebastian Hauser (HRT) had twice been left disappointed with a third-place finish, so he came to the track fully determined to reach the top step of the podium in Round 3, sweeping all heats on his way to pole position for the Final. Championship leader Braydon Wagner (Formula Works), meanwhile, seemed to struggle to find the same rhythm with the track running in reverse, failing to finish in the top three in any of the heats.

Hauser led from pole at the start, while Bronson Koustas (Kartnick), who shared the front row, dropped to third. Arran Speirs (Nash Motorsportz), enjoying a strong weekend, sat in second. At the end of Lap 2, Hauser took too much kerb at the Tic-Tac-Toe final section, costing him three positions by the second turn of Lap 3. This promoted Speirs to the lead, with Koustas and Troy Ferguson (Kartnick) second and third respectively. But Hauser wasted no time, moving back into the lead by Lap 5. Behind him, the action was frantic among Speirs, Koustas, Ferguson, and Tyren Scott (HRT), who joined the podium battle after starting eighth on the grid. Meanwhile, Wagner, having started ninth, worked his way up to fifth by the end of Lap 9. Hauser kept it clean to take his long-awaited main event victory by 1.6 seconds over Ferguson in second and Tyren Scott in third. Koustas finished just outside the podium in fourth, Wagner scored solid points in fifth, Luis Martinez (Position-One Motorsports) took sixth, Speirs finished seventh, Diesel Biezonsky (Competition Speed) eighth, Nathan Ramirez (Kartnick) ninth, and Sebastian Johnson, in a remarkable drive from 20th, completed the top ten.

Hauser now leads the championship with 267 points, just 33 points ahead of Wagner in second, while Koustas moves up to third, 76 points behind Wagner.

KA100 Senior: Kaminski Wins in Class Debut, Formula Works 1-2

Keagan Kaminski (Formula Works), an X30 Pro driver in Round 1, returned to the series in the KA100 Senior class and quickly made a name for himself, winning all three of his Qualifying Heats and his Super Heat to claim pole position for the Final. Johnie Stamps (Formula Works), the championship leader heading into Round 3, continued his winning ways with a Qualifying Heat and Super Heat victory, lining up on the front row alongside Kaminski. Matthew Cagle (Formula Works) and Josh Leslie (GFC) each scored one heat win.

At the start, Kaminski got off the line to hold first, while Archer Eversman (Axis Kartsport) and Stephen Eisert (racing for Kartnick in Speed Sense’s absence) passed to take second and third respectively, dropping Stamps back to fourth. Stamps moved past both drivers to reclaim second on Lap 2. Cagle, meanwhile, dropped from fourth to eighth at the start but worked his way back to fourth by Lap 7 on the strength of a series of fastest laps. Two laps later, Cagle passed teammate Stamps before passing Eversman for second at the first turn on Lap 10. Stamps followed his teammate through, giving Formula Works a provisional 1-2-3 with five laps to go. But on Lap 14, Eisert spoiled the Formula Works party with a move on Stamps into Tic-Tac-Toe to take third. Shortly after, contact between Leslie and Stamps dropped the championship leader to seventh. Kaminski went on unchallenged to win from pole in his first KA100 Senior race, Cagle made it a Formula Works 1-2, and Eisert took home his first COTF podium in third. Leslie finished fourth, John Michael Dunnigan (Precision Works) put in a remarkable drive to move up eight spots and finish fifth, Luis Perez (Mike Manning Karting) delivered another outstanding performance to move up ten spots and finish sixth, Eversman settled for seventh after battling for the podium, Stamps finished a disappointing eighth, Kameron Perry (Lakeside Karting) — another strong early contender — finished ninth, and Lewis Dilley (NRC) completed the top ten.

Despite a difficult main, Stamps still leads the championship with 223 points, a 55-point advantage over Archer Eversman in second, and a 67-point advantage over Matthew Cagle in third.

KA100 Heritage: Gomez Becomes Third New Winner of Season

KA100 Heritage podium

Newcomer Blake Lawrence (Precision Works) emerged as the next driver to beat in the Heritage class, with previous main event winners Austin Elliot and Ryan Casner sitting out Round 3. Lawrence swept all heats on his way to pole position for the Final.

But misfortune struck Lawrence at the start, when he found himself sideways at Turn 1. This allowed Tony Gomez (Lakeside Karting) to sweep into the lead, with fellow COTF America rookie Diego Pelosi (Nick Racing) second and Andrei Isac third. The podium positions held until Lap 9, when Craig Vasquez (Mike Manning Karting) moved up to third with a pass on Isac. Gomez went on to take the win, with Pelosi holding off an attacking Vasquez for second, while the 66-year-old Vasquez took an emotional spot on the final step of the podium. Lawrence charged hard to make up the time lost on the opening lap but had to settle for fourth, with Isac finishing fifth.

Gomez now leads the championship by 55 points over Paul Bonilla (who sat out this round), and 60 points ahead of Joshua Daley (who also did not compete this weekend).

X30 Pro: Doan Dominates Weekend, Leads Championship

X30 Pro podium

Championship leader Jake Drew sat this round out, leaving the top step suddenly open to his rivals. His biggest rival so far, Erik Doan (West Coast Motorsports), seized the opportunity by sweeping all heats on his way to pole position for the Final.

Doan led from the start over Wrigley Keyes (Nash Motorsportz) and Sergei Karamseili (Maxwell Sim Racing Team). On Lap 7, Karamseili passed Keyes for second, and from there Doan was in a class of his own, extending his lead lap after lap until he crossed the line to claim his first COTF America win by nearly four seconds. Karamseili finished second and Keyes third. Kurt Harnasch (Kartnick) finished in fourth and final position.

Doan now leads the championship with 274 points, 44 points ahead of Karamseili in second, and 74 points ahead of Jake Drew.

Round 4 Later This Month

Round 4 of Champions of the Future America sees the series return to K1 Circuit, competing on the Pro Track layout with the hairpin final turn from April 18 to April 19, with optional open practice on April 17.

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