AUSSIE JAMES ANAGNOSTIADIS RUNNER-UP AT WORLD KARTING CHAMPIONSHIP

Victorian teenager James Anagnostiadis achieved the biggest milestone of his promising career, finishing on the runner-up at the 2024 Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship – Junior at England’s PF International Circuit on Sunday.

As a Mercedes Formula 1 Junior driver, Anagnostiadis competed against 118 of the world’s top young drivers, with only the top 34 qualifying for the final. Starting from fifth on the grid for the main event – the highest by an Australian since James Wharton’s fourth-placed start in 2019 – Anagnostiadis skilfully handled the tricky wet conditions during the race’s early stages.

In the closing laps of the race, Anagnostiadis was running fourth when a dramatic exchange between the leading pair on the final lap opened the door for a place on the podium. After contact with fellow Brit Kenzo Craigie, race-long leader Noah Baglin came to a halt at the final corner, allowing Craigie to cross the line first.  He was followed by Kit Belofsky in second and Anagnostiadis, just under two seconds further adrift.

Belofsky was given a penalty post-race for causing an incident during the race and also a starting infringement, which elevated Anagnostiadis to second and Dutchman Rocco Coronel to third.

Anagnostiadis’ result marks the first time an Australian has stood on the podium at the FIA Karting World Championship since James Courtney’s victory in the 1997 Senior World Karting Championship. Notably, Australian Formula 1 drivers Oscar Piastri and Jack Doohan finished sixth in the Junior category at the 2016 and 2017 events, respectively.

Anagnostiadis’ fellow Australian William Calleja was unable to qualify for the Junior final having been classified 62nd at the end of the heat races, while Lewis Francis (37th), Xavier Avramides (64th), and Mika Lemasurier (66th) missed out the cut in the Senior category that featured 105 drivers.