Luna Fluxa Cross made history by clinching the inaugural Champions of the Future Academy Program OK-N Senior class title in dominant fashion, with six final wins, nine podiums, and a remarkable display of speed and consistency throughout the season.
Luna Fluxa Cross, 14, made history as she claimed her sixth final win of the season and, in doing so, was crowned the inaugural champion in the Champions of the Future Academy Program (COTFA) in the Senior class, the top category in the RGMMC-promoted series.
A Mercedes Junior driver with an outstanding record in national and international karting across classes, Fluxa became the first female driver to win an FIA International championship since 1966, when Susanna Raganelli became Karting World Champion.
Fluxa—who is also part of the Iron Dames program—was a dominant force all season, claiming five out of six wins in the first half of the season. She then returned to the top step of the podium at Al Forsan, Abu Dhabi, which hosted the final round of the inaugural year for the series.
Created with the support of F1 Academy's Discover Your Drive initiative, the series aims to develop and foster female talent in a high-level, mixed-gender, yet cost-effective environment. F1 Academy announced it would support three female drivers in each class—and Fluxa repaid the trust with an outstanding campaign that saw the Spaniard taking the crown with one race to spare, in a field of over 45 elite karters who entered at least one round.
Returning to the track where the Champions of the Future Academy program was launched last year, Fluxa was at the top of her game again. She showed the same pace that had marked her dominant first half of the season, building on the speed she displayed in the OK-Junior class during her first appearance as an F1 Academy-supported racer.
An unbelievable run in the European legs of the championship saw Fluxa lose only one final—Valencia's second race—where she still claimed second place. Dominant in every round on every track, Fluxa maintained her strong form as the series headed to the Middle East, where she encountered some bad luck but consistently battled at the front in every race.
After a DNF took her out for the first time at Al Ain in the penultimate round, she bounced back with a third-place Race 2. Entering the season finale at Al Forsan Circuit with a healthy margin, she remained comfortably in control of the championship standings.
At the Abu Dhabi facility, it was business as usual for Fluxa. Straight from practice, she was consistently among the top three in the timesheets in every session. She qualified second for the first day's heats, clocking a 55.243-second lap.
In the first heat on Tuesday, starting from the front row, Fluxa was pushed to the outside line and dropped to third behind her closest rival in the standings, Hugo Herrouin. As she tried to charge back, Markas Silkunas also found a way past; despite losing some ground, Fluxa remained focused. By lap six, she overtook Herrouin to reclaim third and began pressuring Silkunas, clocking the fastest laps of the race. Though unable to pass the fast Lithuanian, Fluxa settled for third, in a smart drive given her championship lead.
In the second heat, Fluxa had a cautious start and dropped to fourth as she avoided chaos in turn one. Knowing she only needed a start from the front-rows for the final to unleash her pace, she focused on staying consistent. She engaged in good battles with Gale and Mneimneh, passing the latter on lap five to finish fifth. Her performance secured her third place on the grid for the first final.
Starting from P3 in the first final of the week, Luna Fluxa lined up behind Daniel Kelleher and Markas Silkunas, with closest title rival Hugo Herrouin in P4.
Fluxa made an excellent start from the inside row, immediately gaining a position to take second place behind Kelleher.
While drivers in the mid-pack engaged in skirmishes that eliminated a few, Fluxa maintained her composure; by the end of the first lap, she made her move on Kelleher and surged into the lead.
Fluxa began to pull away from the pack, but Austin Gale—who had gained two positions off the start—moved into second and started to challenge her. Gale clocked the fastest lap on lap three, briefly closing the gap to Fluxa, who responded with a 55.767 lap to maintain her lead.
For several laps, the battle was tense. Gale was relentless in his pursuit, closing in once again. But Fluxa responded with unmatched consistency, lowering the fastest lap to 55.560 on lap nine. By this point, she had extended her lead to 1.8 seconds.
Herrouin, meanwhile, pushed hard to snatch the fastest lap and the extra championship point, but Fluxa had already built an unassailable gap. With unrelenting pace, Luna crossed the finish line well ahead of the competition, taking her sixth win of the season in dominant fashion.
With this victory, Fluxa secured the championship title with one race to spare, amassing 629 points — a 127-point margin over Herrouin — and became the inaugural champion of the Champions of the Future Academy Program, further solidifying her position as one of the brightest talents in global karting.
Other notable performances from female drivers in the race included Skye Parker finishing P13, Sofia Zanfari recovering to P16, and Elizaveta Kozlova in P15.
The final day of the championship began with another remarkable performance from Fluxa, as she took pole position in qualifying for the heats, clocking a 54.969 lap which was the fastest anyone had recorded at the Al Forsan circuit throughout the weekend and the first under the 55 second barrier.
In the first heat, Fluxa lost the lead to Hamza Al Fayez at the first corner but kept her cool; she fought back on lap three, engaging in a clean battle with Al Fayez. After trading positions, Fluxa made a decisive move on lap six to secure the lead and, from there she could pull away and take victory with unmatched pace in clear air.
In the second heat, Fluxa had a better start and held off Al Fayez through the opening corners. Silkunas however first moved up into second and eventually passed her to win the heat, but Fluxa’s second-place finish was still enough to secure pole position for the final.
The last final of the year was again a showcase of Luna Fluxa’s determination and speed. Starting from pole position after strong qualifying heats, Fluxa shared the front row with Lithuania’s Markas Silkunas, still in competition for second in the standings.
Under the watchful eyes of Susie and Toto Wolff, as well as several F1 Academy drivers observing from the stands, the lights went out. Silkunas had an exceptional getaway and took the lead around the outside as Fluxa was engaged in intense wheel-to-wheel battles.
Hamza Al Fayez, Austin Gale, and Daniel Kelleher all challenged her aggressively into Turn 1 and, in a dramatic chain reaction, Al Fayez spunwent around while attempting to pass Fluxa, triggering a multi-kart crash that also took out Hugo Herrouin, ending his race. Fluxa, momentarily sideways, managed to avoid disaster and regained control, emerging in second place.
Silkunas had taken full advantage of the chaos to build a commanding lead. Fluxa, however, kept her head down and immediately began pushing to close the gap. Behind her, Rafalik and Motlekar capitalized on the early incidents to move into third and fourth, while Fluxa opened a comfortable margin over this chasing group.
Meanwhile, British driver Skye Parker was having a strong race, running in 12th, closely pursued by Sofia Zanfari, who had made an impressive recovery from 21st to 13th by lap two. Further back, Elizaveta Kozlova also avoided the first-lap melee, climbing into the top 15.
By lap three, Fluxa began to showcase her incredible pace, consistently setting the fastest laps. She broke the 56-second barrier on lap five, recording a 55.5 and cutting the gap to Silkunas to just over two seconds. As she kept chipping away at Silkunas’s lead lap by lap, the margin was under a second by lap nine.
Fluxa’s charge through the middle portion of the race put Silkunas under pressure: by lap 10, she was just half a second behind the Lithuanian and she continuosly improved her fastest lap of the race—reaching a 55.288. However, as she prepared to mount a final attack, she started to lose pace with a couple of laps to go and Silkunas managed to hold her at bay with a flawless defensive drive.
Behind the leading group, Sofia Zanfari continued her charge, eventually finishing an impressive 11th after gaining ten places. Charlotte Page also had a standout race, climbing 12 positions to finish 12th, while Skye Parker and Elizaveta Kozlova completed their races in 13th and 15th, respectively.
Despite falling short of the win, Fluxa’s second-place finish rounded out an extraordinary season. With six Final wins, nine podiums from 12 races, and a staggering 665 points, she secured the OK-N Senior class title in dominant fashion, leaving no doubt about her potential.
In the championship standings, British racer Skye Parker was the best classified female after Fluxa; despite joining the championship only at the Middle East rounds, she was still able to collect 82 points and finish 17th. Williams Academy's Sara Matsui moved to the Senior class after the European rounds but nevertheless finished 20th with 68 points.
Ella Lahdemaa had a strong start of the season but missed the last round, finishing 22nd. F1 Academy Discover Your Drive-supported driver Charlotte Page was P25 in the standings, ahead of Elizaveta Kozlova in P28, Sofia Zanfari in P30 and Payton Westcott in P35 - as the American, also supported by the F1 Academy programme, missed the second half of the season and started a testing programme in F4 machinery. Gianna Pascoal was P36, Yana Kapoor P38, and Anastasia Gerasis P41.
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