Rocco Coronel: From victory in Valencia to world top three

Rocco Coronel is a perfect illustration of the speed with which the VictoryLane team was able to fight its way to the front, having only just arrived in OK-Junior. Finishing 4th in the team's very first race in January, the Dutchman went on to win a round of the Champions of the Future Euro Series at Valencia (Spain) in March in preparation for the European Championship. A month later, Coronel finished on the podium of the French round of the European Championship. His top-three finish in the World Championship therefore comes as no surprise. A strong performer in the dry, as evidenced by his 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishes in the heats, he outdid himself in the rain, coming back from 11th to 3rd place.

Louis Cochet also made a comeback. The Frenchman didn't get the result he'd hoped for in Qualifying, before coming back from 74th to 37th place. He would have deserved his place among the finalists, but delighted his team with the enormous progress he had made throughout the year. India's Jagrat Detroja scored three top-10 finishes during the heats, while Dutchman Juste Mulder and Switzerland's Florentin Hattemer enjoyed a rewarding experience at the wheel of their high-performance VictoryLane KR-IAMEs.

VictoryLane the only team to place four drivers in the top eleven in OK

During the Final of the FIA Karting's top category, the whole team was thrilled by the exploits of the four drivers who qualified for the Final. Jimmy Helias was faultless for three days. His 4th place in the rain behind three British drivers with perfect knowledge of the PF International Kart Circuit was a real achievement. Already 3rd in the intermediate rankings on Saturday evening after five heats all finished in the top four, the Frenchman was just as good in the dry.

His team-mates did their utmost to move up the order. In his first season in OK, Britain's Joseph Smith followed up the splendid progress he made in 2024 with a return to P9 (+9). He also set four fastest dry laps in six races!

Luxembourg's Guillaume Bouzar and Brazilian Miguel Costa have just joined the VictoryLane team. They were able to appreciate the professionalism and skills of the technical team. Guillaume moved up 22 places to complete the top 10, just ahead of Miguel, who climbed from 29th to 11th place! The team also included a female driver, Moroccan Sofia Zanfari, who made great progress, as well as Jacob Micallef from Malta, who deserved better after finishing 4th in the final Free Practice session before the Timed Qualifying.

Comment from Nicolas Martins, VictoryLane manager

"When I look at the results achieved in the World Championship at PFI, I can only be proud of the work accomplished in such a short space of time and proud of all the members of the team. Aurélien Fath and his technical staff are doing a fantastic job, as are our coaches. We're one big family. VictoryLane is 3rd in OK-Junior, 4th in OK, a category in which we are 4th in the Team Championship ahead of big names such as Forza Racing, Tony Kart Racing Team and Parolin Motorsport. We have demonstrated our ability to provide all our drivers with high-performance equipment, but above all to train them to become real competitors and build a solid foundation for their future careers. Our extremely advanced working methods are part of the reason for the success we have enjoyed in recent years in other categories and today in OK-Junior as well as in OK. The decision to join Kart Republic last winter was also a key factor in our success, and I would like to thank Dino Chiesa for his confidence in us. VictoryLane doesn't want to stop there, we still have other goals to reach."