Isaac Malcuit was awarded the win in Senior MAX after penalties (Photo: EKN)

The final day of racing was completed on Sunday to close out the 2026 RMC Trophy Final at the New Castle Motorsports Park. Weather was the story all weekend, with the threat of serious rain hounding the New Castle, Indiana facility all day, forcing the format to go by timed races with 11 minutes plus one lap for the Super Heat and 18 minutes plus one lap for the Final. Moments of mist in the air hit during the Super Heat and Finals throughout the day, however, all sessions were contested on dry tires. With the final laps put in, eight drivers were crowned the winners in the eight categories on the weekend, including six tickets to the coveted Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in Portugal while multiple entries to the SKUSA SuperNationals 29 in Las Vegas were awarded to podium finishers as well.

The final main event of the day was the Senior MAX category with RMC America’s Trophy champion Ayden Ingratta (REM / Kosmic) leading the field to the green flag after winning the Super Heat earlier in the day. Ingratta led a five kart lead group early before Ryan Raffa (FTR / CS55) went from fourth to the lead by lap four. After Raffa paced the group for four circuits, four-time defending race winner Oliver Hodgson (Factory Karts) took control. Eventually, the lead pack grew as Blake Nash (Factory Karts) was making his way forward. The California driver suffered a DNF in the Super Heat after a mechanical issue on the opening lap in turn two put him on the sidelines. Starting 18th, Nash was up to sixth by lap four and began running down the front five. Lap eight was a crucial moment with Ingratta getting shuffled out of third by Malcuit with Antoine Lemieux (Firano / Tony Kart) following through. Going through the ‘Shark Fin’, Nash attempted to pass Ingratta to push him back to sixth. The two made contact entering and exiting the corner, with Ingratta off into the grass to lose ground with the leaders. With Hodgson in the lead, Malcuit began making his way toward the front as did Nash after getting into fifth. Lap 14, Malcuit and Nash put Hodgson back to third. Hodgson played blocker for Nash to keep the rest of the lead pack off, allowing him to pressure Malcuit. On the final lap, Nash made the over under move out of Scoreboard corner and into the ‘Shark Fin’. Nash was able to get a run out of the final corner, reaching the checkered flag first. Officials, however, penalized Nash for contact with Ingratta, dropping him off the top of the podium and back to eighth. This promoted Malcuit up to the top step of the podium. Hodgson and Lemieux joined Malcuit on the podium with Raffa classified fourth and Finnegan Bayliff (TKG / Birelart) up from 14th to fifth.

At the podium, Malcuit was awarded the Senior MAX ticket to the 2026 RMC Grand Finals in Portugal to be part of Team USA. Hodgson and Lemieux were provided entry to the SKUSA SuperNationals 29. Currently, the second ticket in class to be awarded for a DD2 spot at the 2026 RMC Grand Finals has not been claimed as the process of confirmation continues down the finishing order.

Big victory for Nicolas Orbezo, becoming the fifth different winner in Junior MAX (Photo: EKN)

Nicolas Orbezo was able to grab the victory he had been working for all season long in Junior MAX. The Iron Rock Motorsports / Tony Kart driver came in with the RMC America’s Trophy title but earned it without a win over the four rounds. Having swept the Saturday action, Orbezo was shuffled back in the Super Heat, finishing 12th after leading early but still started the Final from P3 behind Super Heat winner Darren Kidd (MPG / Kart Republic) and Clayton Stiles (IRM / Tony Kart). Kidd and Orbezo were able to clear the field early and broke away with a solid lead. Kidd led the first six laps before Orbezo took control. Kidd attempted a few times over the final few laps however Orbezo fended him off, going on to secure the victory. Kidd settled for second while Diesel Biezonsky (Factory Karts) won the battle for third ahead of William Vetor (MPG / Kart Republic) and Brandon Ng (Factory Karts).

Orbezo with RMC Grand Finals ticket in hand from the title at the RMC America’s Trophy, Kidd was presented the ticket to Portugal to join him on Team USA. Biezonsky was then presented with the entry to compete at the SKUSA SuperNationals 29 in a Junior category.

Billy Cleavelin was named winner in the Masters MAX division (Photo: EKN)

After a good battle all weekend long, the Masters MAX winner was decided after the checkered flag was waved. Mundy Loyer (Evolution / EOS) became the top contender after winner the Super Heat on Sunday morning. He led the first seven laps before Scott Roberts (SCR / CS55) took the lead. The following circuit, Loyer spun in turn one while fighting for position, ending his race. This moved Christopher Mann (REM / Kosmic) into the top challenger role as he and Billy Cleavelin (REM / Kosmic) worked to reel in Roberts. While they got close, it was not close enough as Roberts took the checkered flag. Unfortunately for Roberts, he would not get clear through tech with a carburetor issue removing him from the results. This promoted Cleavelin to the top step of the podium for his victory at the event, becoming the fifth different winner in five year. Mann was promoted to second with last year’s winner John Bonanno (Fulkrum / Factory Kart) in third. Yasumasa Onoe (MDR / LN Kart) was fourth with Rob Maier (SCR / CS55) in fifth.

Cleavelin took the 2026 RMC Grand Finals ticket to become a now four-time member of Team USA. Mann received the SKUSA SuperNationals 29 entry to compete in Vegas this November.

Yousef Adi drove away to the victory in Mini MAX (Photo: EKN)

The race for the victory looked to be a two driver battle early on in the Mini MAX main event. Super Heat winner Yousef Adi (Prime / Redspeed) came up from fourth on the grid to join polesitter Hudson Howard (MPG / Alonso Kart) at the front of the field. Howard led the first seven laps before Adi took the lead, only to have Howard retire the following circuit with a rear hub sliding in, forcing him to pull off and out of the race. Their lead they built up over the rest of the field was maintain for the remainder of the 18-minute plus one lap distance with Adi securing the victory by over two seconds. Slate Harrell (MPG / Alonso Kart) was second at the line ahead of British driver Teddy Murphy (RPM / Nitro Kart). Charlie Pape (Prime / Redspeed) was fourth with Aidan Go (Parolin USA) in fifth.

Last week, Adi had secured a 2026 RMC Grand Finals ticket to be part of Team Canada through the RMC Ontario program. This presented Harrell with the ticket to Portugal as he will join Team USA for the event this October. Murphy then received the entry to the SKUSA SuperNationals 29.

Alessio Tosi was named winner in Micro MAX after tech (Photo: EKN)

The Micro MAX division was another class that was decided on the sidelines after an amazing finish on track. Tre Sanders (RPM / Nitro Kart) came in with two heat wins and taking the top spot in the Super Heat on Sunday morning to lead the field to the green flag. He led the first two circuits before getting shuffled back to fourth as RMC America’s Trophy champion Alessio Tosti (MPG / Kart Republic) jumped out to a big lead. Eventually, the group of Grand Heckman (FWD / EKS), Sanders and Cohen Scott (Mint / Kart Republic) caught Tosti toward the end of the race. Tosti ran a defensive line over the last lap, with Heckman getting a great run out of the final corner. In a drag race to the line, Heckman reached the checkered flag first by 42 thousandths of a second. The celebration was cut short with Heckman removed from the results following tech for a carburetor issue. This promoted Tosti to the top step of the podium for the victory, becoming the fifth different winner in five years of the event. Sanders was on the podium in second with Scott in third. Dusty Strayer (SCR / Nitro Kart) and Chase Zolman (RPM / Nitro Kart) made up the top five.

With the top step of the podium, Tosti will compete at the 2026 RMC Grand Finals in Portugal. Sanders was awarded the SKUSA SuperNationals 29 entry to the Micro category.

Gage Korn ran away with the victory in FZ125 Senior (Photo: EKN)

Sunday was a dominated day in the FZ125 Senior category for Gage Korn (Maranello USA). The RMC America’s Trophy champion went on to lead every lap of the Super Heat in the morning, grab the holeshot for the Final, and set the pace for all 17 laps. Korn was able to post the only lap time below the 1:08 mark as he pulled away to a eight-second margin of victory. Theo Kekati (Factory Karts) was second after fighting with Owen Gaccione (Factory Karts), who pulled off on lap 11 with a mechanical issue. This promoted Xander Malatesta (CompKart) to the third step on the podium ahead of Mason Mitchell (Factory Karts) and Larry Hernandez Jr. (Factory Karts).

RMC America’s Trophy champion Brandon Ng score the win in FZ85 Junior (Photo: EKN)

The two driver fight in FZ85 Junior continued on Sunday with Brandon Ng (Factory Karts) getting the Super Heat win over Christopher Youtsey (Factory Karts). Ng led the first two laps of the Final before Youtsey took control. He led up until receiving the white flag when Ng made his move for the lead. Ng held on through the final lap, reaching the line first by 71 thousandths of a second for the inaugural victory. Youtsey, in his first shifterkart race weekend, settled for second with Wyatt Kroeger (Factory Karts) on the podium in third after RJ Brown (Factory Kart) retired with a mechanical issue. Eli Furnish (Factory Karts) and Liet Simonelic (Factory Karts) completed the top five.

Dominating victory for Slate Harrell in FZ65 Mini (Photo: EKN)

Slate Harrell secured the inaugural FZ65 Mini title with a wire-to-wire performance in the Final. The Arrive and Drive Factory Karts / FZ Shifter program put the 12 drivers on the track from all different backgrounds and experience behind the wheel of a kart. Harrell was able to grab the holeshot from the outside of the front row to beat out Super Heat winner Chase Thixton for the lead. From there, Harrell established a solid lead, growing to just over four seconds across the 16-lap race to secure the victory. Thixton ran to second with Asher Biezonsky drive to third. Cole Harris won the battle for fourth ahead of Lincoln Willey.

The fifth edition of the RMC Trophy Final is complete and so is the first major season for Race Rotax, Karting Solutions Group and the FZ Shifter programs. For those with the tickets to the 2026 RMC Grand Finals, it is three months of preparation to take on the ‘Olympics of Karting’ over the November 7-14 event in Portimão, Portugal. For those with the SKUSA SuperNationals 29 entries, it’s an opportunity to put their name into the history books as a winner on SuperSunday. And now the plans for the 2027 begin for RMC program here in the USA with a busy schedule ahead that will include the RMC Winter Trophy, RMC America’s Trophy and the sixth edition of the RMC Trophy Final.

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