Justine Strauven takes Karting Endurance gold, home hero Belén García secures silver

The Karting Endurance 4-hour race at the FIA Motorsport Games in Valencia showcased thrilling action, culminating in Team Belgium's Justine Strauven winning gold, while Belén García secured silver for Team Spain and Team UK's Rhianna Purcocks took bronze.

Photo credits: RFEDA

The third FIA Motorsport Games, held in the Spanish city of Valencia after Vallelunga and Le Castellet had hosted the first editions, once again provided exciting action across the disciplines, with several new ones alongside the established events.

Making its return to the schedule was the Karting Endurance race, which had been a highlight at Paul Ricard for female drivers: the format mandates at least one female driver per team, and this Valencian edition of the Games saw an exceptionally competitive field battling for medals until the final minutes of the four-hour race.

At the end of a very strategic competition, Team Belgium claimed its second gold medal in the discipline, returning to the top step of the podium two years after the inaugural Karting Endurance contest. Justine Strauven, alongside teammates Maxime Drion and Maverick Dessy, emerged as winners at the fast and technical Aspar Circuit, preceding home heroes Belén García, German Sanchez, and Jose Manuel Perez Aicart.

The Spanish team, featuring W Series and ELMS podium finisher Belén García, remained in contention for the win until the final minutes, but a late-race penalty for contact with a lapped team sparked a fierce battle for second with Team UK, who had also led the race until the final round of pit stops. Rhianna Purcocks, Jack O'Neill, and Andrew O'Neill eventually finished third, securing bronze for the United Kingdom.

After entering her first Motorsport Games at the inaugural Vallelunga event, Belén García finally claimed her first medal—a valuable silver—having just missed the podium in the Formula 4 discipline. It was also the first medal for both Strauven and Purcocks.

Just like in 2022, Team Portugal featured an all-female team: after Sofia Correia, Mariana Machado, Rita Teixeira, and Anastácia Khomyn became the first-ever all-female crew at the Motorsport Games, finishing eighth at Le Castellet, the Portuguese federation entered Matilde Magalhães, Margarida Furtado, and Francisca Queiroz at Valencia.

Photo credits: SRO / JEP

Track action at the Aspar karting venue began on Friday as the 26 teams, each with three drivers, got up to speed with the identical FIA-supplied 4-stroke Sodi RT10-Honda karts. Team Hungary (with Nikolett Pipicz teaming up with Szabolcs Lantos and Adam Szabo) led the opening practice, then UAE (Rauda Altenaiji, Humaid Alketbi, and Ahmad Alhammadi) topped the timing sheets in the second session. Reigning champions Belgium were fastest in the third practice, ahead of Chile and Spain, with each driver running a session.

The fourth practice was open to all drivers, and Team Hungary returned to the lead, with Spain, Belgium, and Slovakia emerging as the leading contenders, showing consistency at the top ahead of the qualifying session.

Hungary ultimately secured pole position, followed by Team Israel, Georgia, and the Netherlands.

The four-hour race got underway on Saturday afternoon with big battles at Turn 1, where the Netherlands was spun around. Spain gained third after a few laps, while the UK climbed the order, nearly gaining 10 places in the first 5 minutes. Israel and Slovakia led, trading positions and allowing Spain and Hungary to close in. Meanwhile, the Netherlands began to catch up, making up several positions.

Spain took the lead a few minutes later, but positions continued to change in the lead, with Slovakia and Israel still in contention and Belgium joining the fray. Belgian Maxime Drion took the lead, with three teams now trying to pull away as Slovakia and Spain kept up the pressure.

After the first stint, Belgium led Slovakia and Spain, with some teams beginning driver changes. Spain went longer in the stint, eventually pitting from the lead, and Belén García took over. The all-female team from Portugal had been making up ground, moving from P23 to close to the top 20.

Photo credits: RFEDA

Belgium and Spain emerged as leaders after the first round of pit stops, working together to gain ground, with Hungary in third and Georgia and the UK making up several positions after the pit cycle. Slovakia, however, had dropped to 8th.

Hungary and Georgia continued to make up positions and joined the battle for the podium, with Belgium in control one hour into the race. Portugal moved into P20 one hour in.

During pit stops for fuel, the UK took the lead with Israel in second before their stops; Slovakia, Spain, and Hungary followed closely after Belgium pitted, with Justine Strauven taking over. Portugal climbed up to P15 with more good stints. Meanwhile, Spain cycled back into the lead after fuel stops, with Belén García completing her first stint as the home team looked strong on strategy.

Slovakia, the UK, and Hungary remained in contention for the podium. Sanchez entered from the lead, with Perez Aicart returning after the opening stint, for a quick stop by the Spanish team. Slovakia and the UK cycled back ahead. Belgium, meanwhile, attempted to recover after a more challenging second stint, making it back into fourth, though Estonia was right behind and eventually got past.

Portugal moved up to P18 with Queiroz at the wheel. The UK's Rhianna Purcocks entered for her first stint, taking over from second place. Purcocks held a 20-second lead, though Spain remained second on a different fuel strategy.

Perez Aicart held off Belgium's Maxime Drion under heavy pressure, but both were gaining ground on Purcocks, who still retained a safe margin. Slovakia received a penalty and had to make an unscheduled pit stop, a serious blow to their medal hopes.

Spain pitted for fuel and a driver change, with Sanchez back in, just before Belgium, who remained behind the host nation after the round of pit stops.

Rhianna Purcocks pitted from the lead after a solid stint, and Jack O'Neill returned to the British kart with 1 hour and 15 minutes to go.

With one hour remaining, Spain led Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Estonia, with 8 teams still on the lead lap in an incredibly tight and strategic race.

Photo credits: SRO / JEP

Georgia, who narrowly missed a medal two years ago in France, had a stunning race in 6th, with Mariam Davitidze running a strong race again as she had at Paul Ricard. The UK and Estonia fought hard for third, with the Baltic team charging up and well-positioned strategically for the final stint. Mia Mariette Pankratov eventually pitted for fuel on lap 158.

One lap later, the leader Spain also made a pit stop, with Perez taking over and having a great pit stop, emerging ahead.

Portugal made its final stop, refueling and rejoining in P18, having run all race within the top 20. Mathilda Olsson took over the Swedish kart for the final stint, in P11 and aiming to catch Israel for the top 10. Israel eventually dropped down when they ran out of fuel.

Belgium pitted and also made a driver change, rejoining just two seconds ahead of Spain in a thrilling battle for the win with 30 minutes to go. Georgia moved up into the top five with an outstanding performance.

With 15 minutes remaining, Spain charged to chase reigning champion Belgium, with lap times extremely consistent. The 2.5-second gap held steady as they pushed through lapped karts.

Maxime Drion held off Jose Perez, but the Spaniard was handed a penalty for a forceful pass on lapped Georgia with just 5 minutes remaining. After a drive-through, Spain managed to salvage second, rejoining just ahead of the UK in the fight for silver.

With 1 minute left, the UK's Jack O'Neill went for a move for second place, demoting Perez, who fought back while navigating traffic.

Belgium won again, two years after current Ligier European Series' Sita Vanmeert was part of the winning team, with Justine Strauven now succeeding her compatriot to take gold in Karting Endurance.

Photo credits: SRO / JEP

In an incredible last-lap battle for second, Spain took silver by just 0.07 seconds, with Belén García becoming a Motorsport Games medalist, and the UK's Rhianna Purcocks securing bronze.

"Overall, I’m incredibly proud of our performance and thrilled with the result", sportscar star Garcia said. "We pushed to the absolute limit, achieving the best we could for our country. I'm profoundly grateful and thankful to the Real Federación Española de Automovilismo, to my teammates in la Selección, and to the whole team that has supported us throughout these past few months. It is a true honour to compete for my country and represent it with such spirit and determination."

Estonia brought home 4th place, ahead of Slovakia, who came back to gain a position on Georgia and the Netherlands. The UAE and Germany completed the top ten.

The all-female Portuguese team finished P18.