A panel including FIA Karting Vice-President Kees van de Grint, representatives from the FIA Safety and Medical teams and CIK Race Director Nigel Edwards delivered a series of presentations during the half-day programme in the build-up to this weekend’s second round of the FIA Karting Karting Academy Trophy.

Following an introductory video message from CIK-FIA President Felipe Massa, who is attending the final round of the FIA Formula E Championship in New York this week, Charles Leclerc and CIK Executive Secretary Kay Oberheide outlined the Karting structure and Licensing model for both Karting and FIA Single Seater championships.

To follow, a presentation by the FIA Medical department, together with Dr Amjad Obeid, Chief Medical Officer for the Bahrain Motor Federation, on Well-being and Anti-Doping, including an introduction to the FIA Race True E-Learning Programme.

FIA Safety experts provided an insight into FIA approved Karting Safety Equipment, including helmet and racesuit standards, and body protection, and their importance in mitigating injury in the event of an accident.

A comprehensive overview of Race Procedures and the Code of Driving Conduct was provided by CIK Race Director Nigel Edwards, following which there was an open Q&A session with Charles Leclerc, who spoke of the importance of Karting in his own burgeoning career progression. The young karters relished the opportunity to speak to one of Formula 1’s rising stars, and Charles clearly enjoyed the opportunity to return to his roots and to share the valuable lessons he learned along the way.

Kees van de Grint, CIK-FIA Vice-President, commented: “This Educational Programme is an important step in the development of CIK-FIA and in preparing the next generation of Academy drivers for future success. Even at this fledgling stage of their racing careers, it is never too early to instil in them the important lessons of code of conduct, safety and well-being. It was wonderful to have Charles Leclerc present to inspire the young karters, answer their questions and remind them that there are no limits to what can be achieved if they heed the valuable lessons shared in the Programme.”

“It is extremely important to educate future drivers at this stage of their racing career, so I believe the CIK-FIA Educational Programme is an extremely valuable initiative’, said Charles Leclerc. “We spoke about some key subjects which, for me, it is important that they learn now for the future, not least respect for the rules and for their fellow drivers. My best piece of advice for them was to stay in karting and compete in all categories until they are completely ready for the next step to cars, just as I did until I was 16 and a half years of age. On a personal note, it was amazing for me to come back into a karting paddock in Lonato. It reminded me of so many happy memories and that the road to becoming a racing driver is extremely long but incredibly rewarding.”