Parolin Motorsport made a winning start to the 2026 Champions of the Future Euro Series at La Conca, with Dean Hoogendoorn taking a superb victory in OK after running at the front throughout the weekend.

The Italian manufacturer also celebrated a strong overall performance in OK-Junior, where Gioele Girardello finished 6th in the Final after winning his Super Heat, while Giacomo Giusto, Oskari Walle and Juan Garciarce all gained ground across the event. Ward Racing added further encouraging results, led by Iskender Zulfikari in 6th in the OK Final.

The opening round of the series proved especially demanding, with storms on Wednesday and Thursday delaying Free Practice and Qualifying and contributing to mixed-up grids. Conditions improved for the remainder of the meeting, with mostly dry weather for the heats and a dry track for the Super Heats and Finals, but the level of competition remained extremely high with 90 drivers in OK and 93 in OK-Junior.

In OK, Hoogendoorn delivered the top result for Parolin Motorsport. After qualifying 9th overall, the Dutch driver moved up to 3rd after the heats thanks to five top-three finishes, before securing 2nd place in his Super Heat. Starting 3rd on the grid for the 24-lap Final, he produced a controlled and decisive performance to gain two places and claim victory, giving Parolin Motorsport a major success at the first event of the campaign.

William Calleja also showed resilience in the same category. A difficult sequence in the heats dropped him down the order, but he fought his way through the Super Heat to secure a place in the Final and then gained 14 positions to finish 22nd.

In OK-Junior, Girardello led the Parolin Motorsport effort with a highly competitive weekend. He qualified 11th overall, climbed to 6th after the heats with several 2nd-place finishes, then converted 3rd on the grid into victory in his Super Heat. In the Final he remained in the leading battle and finished 6th, securing an encouraging opening result in one of the most competitive classes of the meeting.

Behind him, Giusto and Walle both underlined the strength in depth of the Parolin Motorsport line-up. Giusto progressed from 23rd on the Final grid to finish 13th, gaining eight places, while Walle completed the race in 12th after having moved forward strongly from Qualifying through the heats. Garciarce delivered one of the strongest recoveries of the weekend, rising from 75th overall in Qualifying to 21st in the Final after gaining 12 places in the decisive race.

Ward Racing also contributed valuable results. In OK, Zulfikari finished 6th in the Final after a strong recovery weekend, while William Marshall gained 10 places to take 14th. In OK-Junior, Antonio Pizzonia finished 18th, while Martin Bertolaccini retired late in the Final after progressing through the Super Heat. Benjamin Manach was unfortunate to miss out on the OK Final despite making up 23 places in his Super Heat.

Marco Parolin said:

“It is very satisfying to begin the Champions of the Future Euro Series with a victory for Dean and Parolin Motorsport in OK. He was competitive in every phase of the weekend and managed the Final very well. In OK-Junior we also saw strong performances from Gioele, Giacomo, Oskari and Juan, all of whom showed good speed and fighting spirit in very difficult racing conditions. The results from Ward Racing were also very encouraging and confirm that the Parolin package is competitive across both categories.”

Parolin Motorsport will now remain at La Conca for the opening round of the FIA Karting European Championship for OK and OK-Junior next weekend, with the team aiming to carry this momentum straight into another major international event.