The Tribune

JONATHAN BURROWS

Tribune Sports Reporter

jburrows@tribunemedia.net

TEN-year-old Bahamian karting driver Lenox Lockhart opened the 2026 WSK Final Cup with a third-place position in the Mini Gr. 3 championship standings after the opening round at the Franciacorta Karting Track in Castrezzato, Italy.

Lockhart collected 51 points from the weekend and currently sits behind Morocco’s Nahyl El Gahoudi, who leads with 111 points, and Norway’s Theo Steindal, who has 72. The championship standings remain pending an appeal involving El Gahoudi, meaning Lockhart could move higher depending on the outcome. 

The Parolin Motorsport driver entered the final from second place after finishing second in Pre-final A. He eventually crossed the line sixth in the 10-lap final, posting a total time of 9:22.819 and a best lap of 54.814 seconds.

Lockhart was among the leading drivers throughout the earlier stages of the weekend. He finished second in his eliminatory heats before matching that result in Pre-final A, where he finished behind El Gahoudi. The official WSK results also confirmed Lockhart’s second-place finish in the pre-final.

Reflecting on his position in the championship after the opening round, Lockhart said he is focused on building his points total throughout the remaining races.

“I’m very happy to be in the top three in the standings,” he said. “My strategy is to take each race one race at a time, stay consistent, and score as many points as possible. I try to make smart decisions during the races and put myself in the best position to fight for a championship.”

Lockhart, who began karting at six, has already established himself as one of the leading young drivers from The Bahamas. He became the first Bahamian to win a major national karting championship in the United States when he captured the 2025 United States Pro Kart Series Micro Swift title. 

His move to Europe this year has brought another level of competition. Lockhart joined Parolin Motorsport for his international campaign and has already produced strong results, including pole position in the Mini Gr. 3 class at an ACI Italian Championship round at South Garda Karting, where he topped a field of 68 drivers. 

Lockhart said his first WSK Final Cup weekend gave him confidence in the work being done by his team.

“I felt really good about the weekend,” he said. “The team did an amazing job, and we were competitive from the start. Starting the final from P2 [second place] showed we had good pace. I’m happy with the result, but I’m always looking to improve and fight for better positions.”

The WSK Final Cup consists of three rounds, with the second scheduled for October 21-25 at South Garda Karting in Lonato del Garda. The final round is set for November 25-29 at the Leopard Circuit Viterbo in Viterbo, Italy. 

Before returning to the WSK Final Cup, Lockhart is scheduled to compete in Round Five of the ACI Italian Championship from September 24-28 at Leopard Circuit Viterbo.

The young Bahamian has already shown that he can compete at the front of international fields, and the remaining rounds will give him further opportunities to close the gap in the championship standings.