Report
Champions of the Future Academy Round 2 Recap: Getting down to business
Our nine F1 ACADEMY DISCOVER YOUR DRIVE supported karters returned to action for Round 2 of the 2025 Champions of the Future Academy Program campaign.
Heading to the Kartodromo Internacional Lucas Guerro, the karters soon got to grips with the Valencian circuit’s high-speed and technical configuration, with Seniors’ Chiara Battig and Klara Kowalczyk fighting hard against each other in a last-lap podium battle.
MINI 60 (8 TO 11 YEARS OLD)
Alba Cueva was quickest out of the box on Day 1, qualifying in P6 and battling hard throughout both Heats to earn herself a P7 start for the Final. The Spanish karter would line up behind Ava Lawrence who fought back after a difficult Qualifying only resulted in a 14th place finish. The Emirati racer steadily made up four places in each Heat, with her consistency being rewarded with a spot on the third row.
Atiqa Mir faced her own challenges in the Heats after a promising P10 result in Qualifying. Losing ground in the fierce battles, she was classified in P15 and P17 respectively, which resulted in a P17 start for the Final.
Both Lawrence and Cueva dropped back slightly in the middle stint but ended up being classified where they started inside the top-seven. Mir clawed back three places on track and was promoted up one place following a post-race penalty for the race winner.
Day 2 got off to a positive note with a strong Qualifying performances from Lawrence in P6. Pushing on ahead across both Heats, the Emirati karter made up four places to secure a top-four start for the Final. Losing out slightly, she finished seventh overall, crucially keeping her inside the top-eight in the Standings.
Cueva might have qualified behind Lawrence initially, but the Spaniard would ultimately end the weekend ahead after converting her P6 start for the Final into a top-six finish. The second day proved to be more difficult for Mir, but she managed to make progress after Day 1’s challenges. Qualifying in P19, the Indian karter cut her way through to bring home a P13 finish in the Final.
OK-N JUNIOR (11 TO 14 YEARS OLD)
Victoria Farfus led the charge from the trio in the OK-N Junior category, securing a top-five spot in the Time Qualifying session, one place ahead of Angelina Simons. The Brazilian’s pace continued to look strong across both Heats, jumping into P4 on the opening lap of the first Heat. After dropping back to P7 the following lap, Farfus eventually settled for a P6 finish, following that up with a P5 in Heat 2, which awarded her a spot on the third row for the Final.
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Meanwhile, Simons found herself facing two tough Heats. Forced to retire early from Heat 1 on Lap 4, the Spaniard dropped six places in the second Heat, leaving her to start the Final from P23. Vanesa Silkunaite struggled to match the pair’s pace in Qualifying, finishing 17th overall. However, the Lithuanian quickly made up for lost ground, cutting through the pack to finish P11 and P9 in the Heats, gifting her an eighth-place start.
In the Final, Farfus had the podium in her sights as she put the pressure on, making up two places in the melee early on. Stuck in a four-kart train, she lost fourth with three laps to go before a brief trip over the run-off at Turns 15 and 16 gave Silkunaite a chance to get through for fifth. This subsequently turned into a top-four finish after a penalty was awarded to the third-place finisher.
Simons also mounted a comeback, surviving a chaotic opening lap to claw her way back up from P23 to P9. However, she was later demoted to P15 due to a 5-second penalty for a technical infringement.
The Spaniard was the initially the fastest in the trio on Day 2, qualifying fourth for the Heats. Whilst losing three places in Heat 1 was a setback, Heat 2 would prove more disastrous as she was forced to retire after a chaotic opening corner. Determined to fight back from P19, she cut through the mid-pack to secure a P5 finish to round out her weekend.
Farfus and Silkunaite also struggled off the bat, qualifying in P15 and P28 respectively. Farfus bounced back in the Heats to put herself on the third row for the Final. Getting stuck into the battles, the Brazilian narrowly missed out on a podium by six tenths. Silkunaite also made inroads, improving by a combined 22 places across both Heats.
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Unable to match the same progress in the Final, the Lithuanian karter did manage to make up five places to P11 to keep her towards the top end of the Standings in P6, with Farfus joining her inside the top-10.
OK-N SENIOR (14 TO 17 YEARS OLD)
Chiara Battig’s strong form from the opening round continued into Valencia as the Swiss driver turned a P4 result in Qualifying into a front row start for the Final, finishing both Heats in second.
Not far behind, Klara Kowalczyk and Ella Hakkinen each qualified inside the top-10 and tried to push their way up the order. Despite a tricky Heat 1 for Kowalczyk, the Polish racer managed to hold on to the seventh-place spot on the Final grid. Hakkinen was able to make more progress, gaining eight places across the two Heats to line up just behind Battig in third.
Unfortunately for Battig, the race start didn’t go according to plan. Getting squeezed by the pack into the opening corner, she tumbled down the order to P19 by the end of the first lap. Remaining undeterred by the setback, Battig picked her way through the field and recovered to a top-10 finish.
With Hakkinen falling back to P7, it was up to Kowalczyk to take advantage of the battles around her. Making her way into fourth, the Pole was chasing a podium but couldn’t quite get close enough to the silverware with Hakkinen making up lost ground to round out the top-five.
The hunt for the podium kicked up a notch on Day 2 with Battig and Kowalczyk qualifying inside the top-four. The Swiss karter’s impressive form in the Heats paid off as Battig lined up on pole for the Final, with the Pole just behind her in third. Although neither could take home the win, they were locked in a fierce last-lap showdown to determine the podium positions, with Battig eventually sealing second.
Hakkinen may have qualified a little bit further back in P8, but the Monegasque karter would end up only two tenths back from the podium by the Final chequered flag. A successful weekend for the trio has kept them all within the top-10 in the Standings, with Battig leading the way in P3 followed by Kowalczyk in P7 and Hakkinen in ninth.
The 2025 COTFA season continues in the summer with a visit to Jesolo, Italy from July 4-6. To see the full list of results from Round 2 and to view the remaining rounds on the calendar, visit the COTFA website here.